If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve seen him before: Malick Meiga, No. 80, tall, fast and seemingly only on the field late in the games.
The now-sophomore receiver had an up and down freshman season as he battled through injuries and the rocky road of being new to campus, or as the case might be as a Canadian, new to the country.
In turn, a busy receivers’ room saw Meiga make just three catches over the course of the season including a 67-yard touchdown against Rutgers to open a few eyes as to what he might be able to do with more snaps.
“I just want to be a downfield threat for the team,” Meiga said last weekend.
“[Injuries are] something that happens everybody. I can’t get down on myself. I trust in God, I trust in everybody. Everybody at home, everybody on the team, they got my back. I know they got my back. So I’m just trusting them. Putting the work in and you just get results back.”
Despite the fact Meiga had a quiet freshman season, Penn State’s willingness to put him on the field late in games when the Nittany Lions needed to move the ball and create the potential for big plays speaks volumes to what those inside the Lasch Building think he can become.
“He has a chance, the rest of the season and long-term, to be that type of home-run threat for us that can really take the top off the coverage,” Penn State coach James Franklin said during the season. “I have a lot of faith and have been very encouraged about Malick and his growth since he’s been here. And he’s one of the more popular guys on our team.”
Fortunately for Meiga, the time for him to breakout onto the scene for Penn State’s offense might be now. He isn’t in line to fill the void Jahan Dotson will leave behind or even become the primary target with Parker Washington and Ke’Andre Lambert-Smith on the field, but the 6-foot-4 Meiga has a place in this offense as a big, speedy target.
Then again, as spring ball gets closer, the ability to make an impact in the fall will come down to a lot of the work Meiga and put together during the spring and summer.
“Everything we do in practice, prepares us for the big game,” Meiga said. “So we just trust in the process and get it.”
