THE SKINNY

Height/Weight: 6-foot-8, 330 pounds
Hometown/High School: Easthampton, MA (The Williston Northampton School)
Ranking: ★★★ (0.8577 247Sports Composite)
Notable Offers: Auburn, Boston College, Duke, Rutgers

HIGHLIGHTS

THE TALE

Massachusetts offensive lineman Maleek McNeil first came onto Penn State’s radar two years ago. McNeil visited campus for the first time in October 2019 for the White Out Game against Michigan. However, he was still waiting on a Penn State offer.

The Nittany Lions continued to monitor McNeil and with Phil Trautwein expanding his offensive line board Penn State extended an offer to McNeil on February 15 of this year. A month later, he visited campus and it quickly became clear that the Nittany Lions were shooting to the top of McNeil’s list.

OUTLOOK

McNeil is a big, physical dude. He is extremely physical and a punishing blocker. While a big part of this is due to McNeil’s immense size and strength, that is not is only strength as a player.

For a 6-foot-8 330 pound frame McNeil has very good feet and athleticism. Often times high school offensive linemen struggle with their footwork, especially linemen as big as McNeil, but that is not an issue here.

There are some areas where McNeil can improve. He plays a little high at times which is not uncommon for taller linemen. His hand placement also needs improvement but that is a very coachable trait.

McNeil will also need a year or two with Dwight Galt in the strength and conditioning program to refine his body. He also still has some growing to do as a player but is a fine piece of clay for Trautwein to mold.