The early signing period for football prospects in the Class of 2020 is upon us, and Penn State is expected to bring in a larger-than-usual class throughout the day. On the Penn State blog today, I’ll be breaking down each of the signees. Here is my scouting report on another big prospect out of Canada, receiver Malick Meiga.
Penn State WR prospect Malick Meiga. PHOTO BY PENN STATE ATHLETICS
Height: 6-4
Weight: 195
School: Vieux HS (Montreal, PQ)
Projected position: Receiver
Rating: Three stars by Rivals.com, 247sports and ESPN
Other offers: Baylor
Projection: The Meigatron. There are some boom-or-bust types of prospects in this class for Penn State, and Meiga is right at the top of the list. On film, you see some good things. He seems to have good hands, and when the throw isn’t on target, he is athletic enough to go up and get it. He’s a decent enough blocker, and even at 6-foot-4, he doesn’t look awkward when he runs; he’s smoother than you’d think, and he even ran a 4.4 40 over the summer. But, he’s another prospect who played Canadian rules football in high school, and he benefited from the presnap movement. He’s going to have to get stronger, learn to get off the line against man coverage and run better routes at the major-college level. If he can do that, you have an ultra-athletic, 6-foot-4 receiver who can make things happen. But it’s going to take a while to get there, and a true redshirt season in 2020 looks very likely for Meiga.
Donnie Collins has been a member of The Times-Tribune sports staff for nearly 20 years and has been the Penn State football beat writer for Times-Shamrock Newspapers since 2004. The Penn State Football Blog covers Nittany Lions, Big Ten and big-time college football news from Beaver Stadium to the practice field, the bowl game to National Letter of Intent Signing Day. Contact: dcollins@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5368; @DonnieCollinsTT