Malachi McLean is a defensive back who has not played this season; the last season with a stat line was 2025, at UConn.
McLean plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Played for three head coaches at two programs in four seasons: Jerry Kill, Jim Mora and Gordon Sammis. One game to point at: 13 tackles against Air Force — Week 12, 2025.
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
79 tackles. 2 passes defended. 1 interception. 2 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
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| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | UConn | 79 | 38 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2024 | UConn | 44 | 19 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 4 | -- |
| 2023 | New Mexico State | 12 | 7 | 3.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| 2022 | New Mexico State | 19 | 13 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 154 | 77 | 6.5 | 1.0 | 7 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 9 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 4 | W 31-25vs Ball State | 9 | 5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 20-17@ Buffalo | 8 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 51-10vs Florida International | 8 | 5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 8 | W 38-23@ Boston College | 10 | 6 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 34-37@ Rice | 9 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 10 | W 38-19vs UAB | 8 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 37-34vs Duke | 8 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 26-16vs Air Force | 13 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 13 tackles |
| Wk 13 | W 48-45@ Florida Atlantic | 6 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 79 | 38 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 2 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
3%2 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
79tackles this seasonTFL rate
3%2 TFL79 tackles · 2 for loss · 1 sack · 2 pass breakups · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 9.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Road4g | 8.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 8.3 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 9.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Gordon Sammis
Pass share
53.5%
451 pass / 392 run
Plays / game
64.8
13 games
Team sack rate
3.1%
452 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2025
More tackles a game than nearly every FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #39 at the position.
The No. 2,193 recruit in the country is starting in the secondary in the FBS Independents as a junior.
A stat line in 32 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2022–2025
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Jerry Kill and Jim Mora.
