What it Means: WR McClain Transfers to Utah
The University of Utah continued to bolster their already solid 2021 squad on Wednesday with the addition of USC transfer receiver, Munir McClain. The 6-foot-4 and 210 pound playmaker came to USC with high expectations, but due to an early injury and other matters, he was unable to fulfill them as a Trojan. Now, he’ll look to help bring home the same Pac-12 crown he was already chasing, but this time to Salt Lake City and the South division team that’s played for the conference championship in two of the last three years.
He made his intentions known on Twitter:
What Utah is getting
Courtesy of USC Publisher, Ryan Young
Ultimately, Munir McClain just never got a chance to showcase himself at USC — for a range of reasons.
He came in already somewhat overlooked as the lowest-ranked of the Trojans’ vaunted 2019 receiver class that included 5-star Bru McCoy, another Rivals100 standout in Kyle Ford and then 4-star Drake London. McClain had missed the first part of his senior season recovering from a torn ACL and his recruitment had pretty stopped with the injury and his USC commitment.
But in his first camp at USC, he quickly stood out and looked like he might be primed to exceed expectations quickly. The Trojans were very deep at receiver so his opportunities were limited, and then he sustained another torn ACL a handful of games into that season.
Worse, before he could even make it all the way back from the latest injury he was suspended from all team activities as part of an investigation into Pandemic Unemployment Assistance fraud. There has been no public resolution disclosed on that matter, but it became a heated situation between his family and the university/football program, with the receiver’s mother Shan McClain making repeated critical statements about head coach Clay Helton on social media. It always seemed like that would be too much to come back from, ultimately.
If McClain is cleared of any wrongdoing in the pandemic relief fund matter, he maintains considerable upside as a tall wide receiver who moves well for his size with reliable hands. He really did make a strong impression his first preseason at USC — unfortunately he never got a real chance to carry it over into games, for one reason or the other.
What this means for the position group
The Utes have added a potential deep threat and game-breaker in McClain. In doing so, they have strengthened a position that was anything but deep. After spring ball, the Utes set out to get two quality receivers in the NCAA Transfer Portal. Mission accomplished.