Robert "Reggie" McClain (born July 22, 1988) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

. McClain was a

punt returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punt (gridiron football), punts and kickoff (gridiron football), kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusivel ...

, and

kick returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

with the University of Connecticut Huskies. He was a co-captain in 2009 and was selected as All-Big East Second-team cornerback by the coaches and first-team Big East as a punt returner. He received the

Brian Kozlowski Brian Scott Kozlowski (born October 4, 1970) is an American former professional football tight end. He was originally signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 1993. He played college football at Connecticut. Early life As a ...

Award, named for the former Husky tight end and 13-year NFL veteran. McClain finished his senior season with 60 tackles, four interceptions, three pass breakups and a fumble recovery on defense, and stepped in as the punt returner halfway through the season running back 15 punts for a Big East leading 222 yards and a touchdown. McClain was drafted by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

in the seventh round of the

2010 NFL draft The 2010 NFL draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 NFL draft, draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first ...

Early life

McClain was an All-State selection at Patuxent High School in

Lusby, Maryland Lusby is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Calvert County, Maryland, United States. The population of the CDP was 1,835 at the 2010 census. Residents of the Chesapeake Ranch Estates and Drum Point communities als ...

, under head coach Steve Crounse. McClain was named first-team All-Metro by the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' as a cornerback, named All-League as both a running back and a cornerback as a senior and all league cornerback as a junior. He rushed for 1,105 yards and 12 touchdowns, caught 25 passes for 421 yards and four touchdowns, and returned five kickoffs for touchdowns in 2005, one short of the national single season record. McClain also returned a punt 98 yards for a touchdown, intercepted six passes in 2005, broke up 19 others, and made 53 tackles. He attended high school with former UConn tailback Terry Caulley. He attended Eaglecrest High School in Aurora, Colorado in 2002-2003, where he played as a starting running back. He then later attended Patuxent High School for the remainder of his high school career.

College career

2006 season

McClain played in the final seven games on special teams returning 13 kickoffs for an average of 19.0 yards and two punts. He made five tackles in coverage, four of them solo tackles, and was named the Offensive Scout Team Player of the Week on three occasions.Robert McClain
NFL Draft Scout CBS Sports

2007 season

McClain played corner back and on special teams in 13 games. He recovered a fumble at Pittsburgh and recorded his first career interception against Maine. He made five tackles at West Virginia, four tackles and an interception in a win over Rutgers, and intercepted an

end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on the opposite side of the field ...

pass in the against

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

. He became a starter in the final regular season game at

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

and was a

nickel back In American football, a nickelback, also referred to as a slot cornerback or slot corner, is a cornerback or safety who serves as the additional defensive back in a nickel defense. A base defense consists of two cornerbacks and two safeties, ma ...

for much of the season finishing with 30 tackles (19 solo), three interceptions and three other pass breakups.Robert McClain stats
college career CBS 5

2008 season

In the 2008 season, McClain intercepted two Cincinnati passes, returning one for a touchdown to help secure a victory. He started against Syracuse November 15 after an injury to

Darius Butler Darius Jermaine Butler (born March 18, 1986) is an American sports television personality and former professional American football, football player who was a Safety (gridiron football position), safety and cornerback for nine seasons in the Na ...

and returned an interception 37 yards for a touchdown. He played in all 13 games with four starts, recorded 30 tackles on the season and led the team in tackles in an

International Bowl The International Bowl was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) collegiate American football bowl game played in Toronto from 2007 through 2010. During its run, it was the only post-season bowl game played outside the United States ...

victory over Buffalo University January 3 with eight (including 3.5 tackles for a loss). He accumulated a total of three interceptions on the season, 5.5 tackles for a loss, five pass breakups, a quarterback hurry.

2009 season

McClain was tied for second best with 4 interceptions in the Big East, was third on his team with 60 tackles in regular season play, and was considered a prospect for the NFL draft. In 10 games he returned 15 punts for 222 yards, an average return of 14.8 yards, including one returned for a touchdown. He also returned two kickoffs for 24 yards. He intercepted 10 passes during his career at UConn. After a performance in the

PapaJohns.com Bowl The Birmingham Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game played annually in Birmingham, Alabama. First held in 2006, the game is owned and operated by ESPN Events. The University of Alabama at Birmingham (U ...

Legion Field Legion Field is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States in Birmingham, Alabama, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but occasionally used for other large outdoor events. Opened in 1927, it is named in ...

where McClain was "seemingly was everywhere on defense and special teams Saturday in the Huskies’ 20-7 win over South Carolina", with four tackles, two tackles for loss, three pass breakups" and impressive punt returns, McClain said he will be trying for a pro football career. "I’m praying to God it happens so I can continue playing football and work hard. Hopefully I get invited somewhere. If it works out, it works out, great. If it doesn’t, it’s the military. I’m going to the Marines. I’ve got to have a plan in case football doesn’t work out." McClain also said he would remember the season, his coaches and his teammate and friend "Jazz" ( Jasper Howard) who died in a stabbing during the season for the rest of his life.

Professional career

Carolina Panthers (first stint)

McClain was drafted in the seventh round, 249th overall pick by the

in the

. On September 3, 2011, he was released on the day of final roster cuts.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On December 12, 2011, McClain signed with the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

. On December 30, 2011, he was released after the team claimed offensive tackle William Robinson off waivers.

Atlanta Falcons

McClain had a standout season in 2012 for the Atlanta Falcons. After cutting

Dunta Robinson Willie Dunta Robinson ( ; born April 11, 1982) is an American former professional football cornerback. He played college football at South Carolina and was selected by the Houston Texans with the 10th overall selection in the 2004 NFL draft. Rob ...

, and letting Chris Owens and

Brent Grimes Brent Omar Grimes (born July 19, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Shippensburg University and signed with the Atlanta Falcons as ...

walk to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

and the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

, respectively, in free agency, McClain reprised his role in the nickel spot behind

Asante Samuel Asante Tyrell Samuel Sr. (born January 6, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He was born in Accra, Ghana and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He played colle ...

and

Desmond Trufant Desmond Trufant (born September 10, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington Huskies and was selected by the Atlanta Falc ...

in 2013. He intercepted

Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees is sec ...

in Week 1 of the 2014 season.

New England Patriots

McClain signed with the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

on March 18, 2015. He was released by the Patriots on September 5, 2015.

Carolina Panthers (second stint)

On December 15, 2015, McClain re-signed with the Panthers and became a starter. On February 7, 2016, he was part of the Panthers team that played in

Super Bowl 50 Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) ...

. In the game, the Panthers fell to the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

by a score of 24–10. McClain was released by the Panthers on December 9, 2016.

San Diego Chargers

McClain was claimed off waivers by the Chargers on December 12, 2016.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On May 10, 2017, McClain signed with the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

. On September 17, 2017, in Week 2 against the Chicago Bears, he intercepted quarterback Mike Glennon and ran the ball back 47 yards for a touchdown.

NFL statistics

Key * GP: games played * COMB: combined tackles * TOTAL: total tackles * AST: assisted tackles * SACK: sacks * FF: forced fumbles * FR: fumble recoveries * FR YDS: fumble return yards * INT: interceptions * IR YDS: interception return yards * AVG IR: average interception return * LNG: longest interception return * TD: interceptions returned for touchdown * PD: passes defensed

References

External links

*
Carolina Panthers bio

New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McClain, Robert 1988 births Living people Players of American football from Philadelphia American football cornerbacks UConn Huskies football players Carolina Panthers players Jacksonville Jaguars players Atlanta Falcons players New England Patriots players San Diego Chargers players Los Angeles Chargers players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players