Meet the Mizzou Freshman: Linebacker Dante McClellan's Ceiling, Fit with Tigers

The second of Missouri's incoming freshman linebackers is Ohio native Dante McClellan, a dynamic athlete with certain NFL potential. McClellan appears to be a player who could break into the rotation sooner than some expect.

McClellan is joining a position group that is very clearly stacked and it will be interesting to see when he does manage to crack the rotation. The same goes for freshman Jason King, but Eli Drinkwitz has long gone into his linebacker depth.

This could definitely benefit McClellan and King, especially McClellan, if he continues to mold into a certain type of player. His skill set, size and athleticism make him viable to fill the STAR role that senior Triston Newson plays.

Here's everything you need to know about incoming linebacker, freshman Dante McClellan.

Player Info

Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 215 lbs.
Hometown: Canton, Ohio
High School: McKinley

Recruiting

Consensus: 4-Star prospect
247Sports: Not ranked nationally, No. 92 position, No. 9 state
On3: No. 274 nationally, No. 62 position, No. 18 state
Rivals: Not ranked nationally, No. 25 position, No. 14 state
ESPN: Not ranked nationally, No. 32 position, No. 13 state

High school career

McClellan was quite productive during his junior and senior seasons with McKinley High School, totalling 174 tackles and 34 for loss, along with four sacks, three interceptions and a forced fumble. His two-year stat line was impressive, but so was the winning during that time.

He helped his team win 23 consecutive games over his final two seasons, making two straight conference semifinals. He was also named his division's Defensive Player of the Year as a senior.

Fit with the Tigers

This might be repetitive, but the versatility at multiple linebacker roles that McClellan provides presents an exciting option for the Tigers to utilize. His experience as a defensive end and a linebacker should make for a perfect future STAR, a multi-faceted role that Newson plays currently.

McClellan does lack some natural fluidity of movement and could stand to add more weight to his frame. Adding weight could turn him into more of a true linebacker, but no team utilizes a unique linebacker, such as Newson, like the Tigers do.

Watching the path that McClellan takes will be truly interesting. There are two ways it could go and there's a path to him having success at both of them. Regardless of which route the coaching staff and the talented linebacker take, he has the skills to be solid either way.

Analysis

"McClellan has some versatility along the defensive line. At McKinley High School, he lined us a edge-rusher, but was also dropped back in pass coverage frequently."MissouriOnSI reporter Joey Van Zummeren

When will he play?

McClellan has plenty of athleticism and strength to contribute right away. He is more refined in his skills as a freshman compared to his freshman counterpart in King, making him more of a candidate to play early in his career.

His ability to play on the outside as an edge rusher, while also being able to drop back into coverage, will also help him get on the field early. There may be a special teams spot for him based on his ability to make tackles, but he still has plenty of people in front of him on the depth chart before he earns a consistent role.

Ceiling and Floor

Ceiling: McClellan finds ways to contribute in the linebacker rotation and becomes a replacement for Triston Newson in the future.

Floor: He doesn't crack the rotation as a freshman and takes longer than expected to develop.