Marquis McClain

[aubiefifty 16,755]

Marquis McClain has 'a lot of growing up to do' before cracking Auburn's receiver rotation

Posted on May 24, 2017 at 9:00 AM

3 minutes

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Marquis McClain had the longest reception on A-Day and the lone touchdown catch of the day for Auburn.

Thanks to a 69-yard touchdown, McClain finished the spring game with two receptions for 73 yards -- third most among all receivers. The redshirt freshman still has a way to go before working his way into the Tigers' regular rotation at receiver in 2017.

"Just a lot of growing up to do," Auburn receivers coach Kodi Burns said of McClain before speaking at the Barbour County Auburn Club in Eufaula this week. "He's one of the more talented guys we have. I think just as far as the skillset, he's really, really good, but not it's just about really growing up, understanding how good he really is.

"I think if he takes that to a tee and develops, I think he can be a really good player for us."

McClain isn't quite there yet.

After signing with Auburn as a three-star prospect out of Crestview, Fla., McClain redshirted in 2016. He was the only one of Auburn's four freshman receivers to not see the field last season, as Kyle Davis, Nate Craig-Myers and Eli Stove all had their moments in the spotlight as true freshmen.

This spring, McClain was looking to break through and into the Tigers' rotation at receiver, and his long touchdown on A-Day capped a spring in which the 6-foot-2, 226-pounder made progress, according to offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey.

"You see flashes," Burns said. "With him, it's just kind of inconsistent. If he can begin to be a consistent guy who does that once every two catches or makes a big play consistently, he can really become a guy for us."

That has been McClain's biggest deterrent to this point, and the main reason he remains behind a handful of teammates at Auburn's split end position, including Darius Slayton and senior Jason Smith, though Craig-Myers and Davis could also see time in that role.

Before he can break into the rotation at receiver, however, McClain has some areas he needs to improve upon to reach that level of consistency Burns expects of his receiving corps. According to Buns, McClain needs to work on improving all-around, from hands, to route-running to, most importantly, understanding Lindsey's offensive system.

While McClain hasn't reached that level yet, Burns is excited to continue to help develop the big-bodied receiver over the next several years, adding that he believes McClain can be a "special" receiver down the road.

"The sky's the limit for that guy," Burns said. "His potential is big, and he's got a chance to really help us out at some point."

[AUApostle 7,651]

yikes...strong words.

[McLoofus 35,182]

Kodi seems to be taking a lot of notes from Garner. Not sure if it's the right tack for a young, quieter guy like him- he doesn't exactly have the decades of experience to back it up- but we'll see.

I will say that this sounds exactly like what we heard about Monty Adams at this point in his career. Hopefully we don't have to wait til McClain's a senior, though, to start realizing his ROI.  

[lionheartkc 6,150]

28 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Kodi seems to be taking a lot of notes from Garner. Not sure if it's the right tack for a young, quieter guy like him- he doesn't exactly have the decades of experience to back it up- but we'll see.

I was also a little surprised that Kodi was calling a player out in the press.

The advantage Kodi has, at this point, is that he has a few naturally talented guys who are already excelling, so he can use them to back up his words. It especially helps him that he has a walk-on kicker who cracked the rotation. Talk about a walking example of "if you do what I tell you, you can be great". McClain has a FAR bigger upside than Hastings if he can just do the little things that Hastings does well.

[McLoofus 35,182]

30 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

I was also a little surprised that Kodi was calling a player out in the press.

The advantage Kodi has, at this point, is that he has a few naturally talented guys who are already excelling, so he can use them to back up his words. It especially helps him that he has a walk-on kicker who cracked the rotation. Talk about a walking example of "if you do what I tell you, you can be great". McClain has a FAR bigger upside than Hastings if he can just do the little things that Hastings does well.

I'm not buying that. I mean, it might be true, but there's not really any hard evidence to back it up. Hastings had over 2,000 yards receiving in high school. According to him, Sean White- a great example of an Auburn player who has excelled without the benefit of world class coaching himself- identified him as a receiver at Auburn before the coaches did. Kodi only had one offseason with him before last year. I don't think he molded him into an ace WR in a matter of months, especially when so much of his unit was comprised of freshmen and he was likely devoting most of his attention to the 6'0 200 superstars. 

Kodi may end up being a great WR coach, but I'm more inclined to believe that he got lucky with Hastings. 

[lionheartkc 6,150]

5 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

I'm not buying that. I mean, it might be true, but there's not really any hard evidence to back it up. Hastings had over 2,000 yards receiving in high school. According to him, Sean White- a great example of an Auburn player who has excelled without the benefit of world class coaching himself- identified him as a receiver at Auburn before the coaches did. Kodi only had one offseason with him before last year. I don't think he molded him into an ace WR in a matter of months, especially when so much of his unit was comprised of freshmen and he was likely devoting most of his attention to the 6'0 200 superstars. 

Kodi may end up being a great WR coach, but I'm more inclined to believe that he got lucky with Hastings. 

You got me totally wrong on what I was saying.  I'm not giving Kodi credit for Hastings. What I'm saying is that he can leverage the fact that a walk-on kicker who is consistently doing all of the things he's telling McClain to do is in the rotation, so he can use that as motivation... "if a walk-on can do it, you can do it" or if he's going more the Garner route "why aren't you doing it when that walk-on is?"

Basically, what i'm trying to say is that Kodi's message to McClain, or any other receiver who is struggling, is helped a lot by the talent around him.

[McLoofus 35,182]

Just now, lionheartkc said:

You got me totally wrong on what I was saying.  I'm not giving Kodi credit for Hastings. What I'm saying is that he can leverage the fact that a walk-on kicker who is consistently doing all of the things he's telling McClain to do is in the rotation, so he can use that as motivation... "if a walk-on can do it, you can do it" or if he's going more the Garner route "why aren't you doing it when that walk-on is?"

GOTCHA, and great point. Apologies. 

 

[C'viewTiger 242]

3 hours ago, McLoofus said:

GOTCHA, and great point. Apologies. 

 

Guys don't take this as a dig on McClain but KB's comments reflect MM's senior year as well. MM has a lot of potential and could be great but his work ethic in HS, like a lot of 17 and 18 year olds, left a lot to be desired. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

4 minutes ago, AU04ever said:

Guys don't take this as a dig on McClain but KB's comments reflect MM's senior year as well. MM has a lot of potential and could be great but his work ethic in HS, like a lot of 17 and 18 year olds, left a lot to be desired. 

Interesting nugget. Thanks.

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

It's hard for me to believe that Kodi would call out a freshman like that. It's not like Kodi was oozing with consistency during his playing days. 

As far as Hastings goes, he was a record setting WR in high school. Sure he may be a WR now, but had to walk on as a kicker to get his foot in the door. And it's not like Hastings is some world beater. Truth be told, again in my opinion, he has absolutely no business playing ahead of more talented underclassmen below him. 

This kinda makes me sick. If he is so inconsistent, and is so raw, exactly what kind of coaching did he get last season? I was under the impression you redshirt kids to get them extra coaching before their eligibility starts. 

I'm still not sold on Burns as a coach. I love the guy. He is the very definition of an Auburn man. He could of left the team or split the locker room right down the middle before moving to WR. But he didn't. And sure he coached two guys at Middle Tennessee to 1000 yards in a season, but let's be honest, how much could he actually coach them in 1 season? The majority of his coaching resume has either been a GA or a RB coach. For all the crap you guys give D. Craig for not developing WRs and saying he was basically just a recruiter, Kodi isnt even an ace recruiter. At what point do most stop giving him a free pass because he was on the 2010 team and scored the first TD of the National Championship? The receivers haven't exactly gotten better under him, not from the outside looking in anyway.

Again about McClain, if he is this far behind, I SERIOUSLY have to question the coaching he recieved last season...during the season his eligibility wasnt running...when he was supposed to be coached into the position. 

By the way Kodi just talked about him, it sure seems he didn't get that last season.

 

I'm sure I'll be bashed for this. I know most of you adore Kodi, I'm just calling it like i see it.

[alexava 6,973]

Don't we all have some growing up to do?

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

25 minutes ago, alexava said:

Don't we all have some growing up to do?

Until the day we die. Well said. 

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

35 minutes ago, alexava said:

Don't we all have some growing up to do?

Speak for yourself?

"And Never Land will always be/The home of youth and joy/And neverty/I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up/Not me!"

WDE

 

punctuation edit

[jared52 4,354]

I'm a Toys'R'Us kid.

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

5 minutes ago, jared52 said:

I'm a Toys'R'Us kid.

That's EXACTLY what I thought reading his post

[WDE_OxPx_2010 5,295]

I see this a lot in my work setting. Some guys need to publicly called out or motivated through external sources. I bet you that Kodi did what he thought was necessary to get the most out of MM. Who knows what MM has been told behind closed doors or how he's responded.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

43 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

It's hard for me to believe that Kodi would call out a freshman like that. It's not like Kodi was oozing with consistency during his playing days.

So a coach isn't allowed to expect more of his players than even he, himself gave as a player? By that logic, only star players should be allowed to become coaches.

44 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

As far as Hastings goes, he was a record setting WR in high school. Sure he may be a WR now, but had to walk on as a kicker to get his foot in the door. And it's not like Hastings is some world beater. Truth be told, again in my opinion, he has absolutely no business playing ahead of more talented underclassmen below him.

I think you missed the entire point of referencing Hastings. The fact that a walk-on is in the playing rotation should be motivation to any recruited player who isn't. It doesn't matter if the walk-on is a "world beater" or whether fans believe he should be in rotation or not, he is and that should motivate McClain to put in the work.

46 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

This kinda makes me sick. If he is so inconsistent, and is so raw, exactly what kind of coaching did he get last season? I was under the impression you redshirt kids to get them extra coaching before their eligibility starts.

I find it very bothersome that, if a kid doesn't perform, the go to response for many of our fans is to assume our coaching sucks. It's even more of an issue when we have 1 receiver under-performing, while the rest are not only doing well, but continually improving. It's like the band parent who says "look, my kid is the only one marching in the right direction." The truth, more likely, is that the player isn't processing the coaching they are getting or, as we've seen in several other positions... especially with freshmen, the player isn't putting in the necessary work. A consistency issue seems to speak to the latter.

[aubiefifty 16,755]

i like kodi. and different kids need different motivation. and kodi owes it to the kid to bring the tough love if needed. there could be millions at stake. i bet he has already tried the nice guy type thing. if one thing does not work try something different. and for what it is worth i like coach lindsey and he seems high on kodi. and maybe kodi deserves a little more of our trust. i am sure coaches have growing pains as well. i mean come on the young man has just started coaching receivers. and i bet he has a ton of ga's etc helping him along as well. for me i trust kodi and believe maybe the kids does need to be called out. schollies are too valuable to let someone go through the motions..especially with that much talent.

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

45 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

So a coach isn't allowed to expect more of his players than even he, himself gave as a player? By that logic, only star players should be allowed to become coaches.

I think you missed the entire point of referencing Hastings. The fact that a walk-on is in the playing rotation should be motivation to any recruited player who isn't. It doesn't matter if the walk-on is a "world beater" or whether fans believe he should be in rotation or not, he is and that should motivate McClain to put in the work.

I find it very bothersome that, if a kid doesn't perform, the go to response for many of our fans is to assume our coaching sucks. It's even more of an issue when we have 1 receiver under-performing, while the rest are not only doing well, but continually improving. It's like the band parent who says "look, my kid is the only one marching in the right direction." The truth, more likely, is that the player isn't processing the coaching they are getting or, as we've seen in several other positions... especially with freshmen, the player isn't putting in the necessary work. A consistency issue seems to speak to the latter.

I was waiting for this type of comment from you 

1. I call that type of a person a hypocrite. Do as I say and not as I do (or did in this case.) We are talking about a redshirt freshman.  This is the very first negative thing I've seen reported about McClain. Bowl practices and spring nothing like this was said.

2. Maybe you missed the words "IN MY OPINION." And it doesnt matter who we are talking about McClain, Slayton, RD, Stove, NCM, or KD Hastings doesn't possess the natural Talent of the people he is playing ahead of. Yes, Hastings has heart and he can catch  ball, but he poses absolutely no threat after he catches the ball. He cant break tackles or outrun any top tier DB. So again, IN MY OPINION, he has no business playing ahead of more talented underclassmen.

3. I'd sure like so see where I said Kodi sucks. I see you left out the part that I said I love Kodi. You left out the part where I said he is the definition of an Auburn man. However there are some facts you can't twist. He had a single season coaching WR before being hired as our WR coach.... The very coach who most on this board were glad to see go, because he was a recruiter and not a WR coach was pushed out. So we push out a WR coach who just happened to be our ace recruiter for a WR coach who had 1 single season coaching WRs. One of them it was fine to dog, one it isn't. May I go back to the first response?

 

Like i said in my original comment, I love Kodi as an Auburn man. I'm not sold on his coaching ability. Maybe you are. Doesnt make me right, and it doesn't make you right. But it is highly hypocritical to dog our former WR coach, and not say anything about our current one. 

And I will also say that I don't think it's ever a good thing to call out a freshman like that. Let him get a season of playing, then if he deserves it, put him on blast. But the kid hasn't played a single snap in a real game yet. 

[gr82be 14,423]

Kodi may not should have said these things for the media to print but McClain does need to get the message somehow. Being from out of state he is receiving a scholarship worth a lot of money and if he has the talent he needs to apply it. The job market won't be any kinder to him down the road. Maybe Kodi is trying different approaches to get his attention. 

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

I just feel it's wrong to put the kid on blast like this. If you Google his name, you will find many articles praising him, and the absolute only negative is different reports of this quote by kodi. 

I just don't see how we haven't heard anything negative before now. Cowart was having a hard time adjusting and putting out the effort, and we heard about that almost immediately. Woody Barrett had been said for months was having a very difficult time adjusting to the college game. Speaking of Woody, he basically got put on blast by taking less snaps in the spring game than the walk on QB. What happened? He transferred. I don't want to see McClain transfer. And I feel it was wrong of Kodi to put him on blast like that. If he has had an issue putting in the effort and such, why are we JUST NOW hearing about it? Why the positive articles about him with NOTHING negative until just now? I just don't get it. And IN MY OPINION don't think it was the right course of action.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

11 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

1. I call that type of a person a hypocrite. Do as I say and not as I do (or did in this case.) We are talking about a redshirt freshman.  This is the very first negative thing I've seen reported about McClain. Bowl practices and spring nothing like this was said.

That's a recipe for breeding mediocrity. In fact the mark of a good leader in any situation is to bring along people who are better at their job that you were. In order to do that, you have to require more from them then you were able to give. Basically you are saying all great leaders are hypocrites. 

As for not hearing anything negative in bowl practices or the Spring, you can bet McClain heard it, and you can also bet that Kodi felt that going public with it, this time, was a way to make things happen... possibly at the advice of Garner, who's known for such things.

15 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

2. Maybe you missed the words "IN MY OPINION." And it doesnt matter who we are talking about McClain, Slayton, RD, Stove, NCM, or KD Hastings doesn't possess the natural Talent of the people he is playing against. Yes, Hastings has heart and he can catch  ball, but he poses absolutely no threat after he catches the ball. He cant break tackles or outrun any top tier DB. So again, IN MY OPINION, he has no business playing ahead of more talented underclassmen.

No, I didn't miss the "in my opinion",  I just don't understand why you were even voicing your opinion on Hastings in this discussion, when, as I explained a second time, he was used as an EXAMPLE because he us a walk-on that is playing ahead of recruited players.  There are other threads that discuss whether he belongs on the field or not.

18 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

I'd sure like so see where I said Kodi sucks.

ok... There's this...

1 hour ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

If he is so inconsistent, and is so raw, exactly what kind of coaching did he get last season?

and this...

1 hour ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

Again about McClain, if he is this far behind, I SERIOUSLY have to question the coaching he recieved last season...during the season his eligibility wasnt running...when he was supposed to be coached into the position. 

 

 

20 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

However there are some facts you can't twist. He had a single season coaching WR before being hired as our WR coach.... The very coach who most on this board were glad to see go, because he was a recruiter and not a WR coach was pushed out. So we push out a WR coach who just happened to be our ace recruiter for a WR coach who had 1 single season coaching WRs. One of them it was fine to dog, one it isn't. May I go back to the first response?

I guess my only response to this is "so?"  Show me where the receivers are failing on the field and I'm 100% with you, but I don't see it. What I see is a young coach who the jury is still out on because he's coached our receivers for a total of 1 year, with a squad of receivers who was better last year than 2015 and is expected to be far better this year.  I don't see how one 3-star receiver not playing as well as he can and getting called out on it is a negative. I also don't see how anyone can have any real opinion of Kodi as a coach with so little to go on. Think of it this way... Kodi is really just a sophomore.

24 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

And I will also say that I don't think it's ever a good thing to call out a freshman like that. Let him get a season of playing, then if he deserves it, put him on blast. But the kid hasn't played a single snap in a real game yet.

This is where I'm inclined to agree with you.  I hate it when the coaches call a player out in the press. But I also don't know the situation, and it may be the thing that is needed to motivate him. If it works, and the kid makes it to the NFL, who am I to say it was wrong.

[McLoofus 35,182]

I think that sometimes "more physically gifted" gets confused for "more talented". I guarantee you that the best WR in history was never once the most physically gifted wide receiver on his NFL team. Of course, Hastings is actually one of the quickest guys on the team, but some folks just don't want to hear that.

Curious to hear what our resident coaches think of Kodi's comments. Might not be a big deal at all. #offseason

[aubiefifty 16,755]

  i

Auburn2Eugene

i believe in my heart you are doing the same thing with kodi. mm has been here a year and apparently whatever happened during that year did not bode well for him and the team so kodi changed gears. and you seem to be willing to throw kodi under the bus when he clearly is adjusting from a rb coach to wr's. kodi got his job because they saw talent and a hard working coach. it is just that simple. i doubt few will admit it but i smell sour grapes. i mean come one..how long has craig been a coach?

[McLoofus 35,182]

Oh, also, redshirt kids actually get less coaching than active roster kids, I believe. Because, you know, the coaches spend the season trying to win games...

And Kodi was actually quite consistent as a wide receiver. He was one of our best blockers in an offense that heavily depended upon quality blocking from the receivers, and he usually caught the ball on the rare instances that it wasn't thrown to DA or TZach. He scored a touchdown in a national championship game in which we scored... 2 touchdowns. 

If there is one thing that I won't question his expertise on, it's taking coaching and giving effort. Okay, that's two things. I don't coach math.