Zakoby McClain (born March 7, 2000) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

inside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

High school career

McClain attended Valdosta High School in Valdosta, Georgia. Coming out of high school, McClain was a 4-star prospect. He was ranked the 13th best outside linebacker prospect and 24th best prospect from the state of Georgia. McClain committed to Auburn over

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

and many other programs.

College career

McClain played very little his freshman season. As a sophomore, McClain became a full time starter, and in the 2019 Iron Bowl against rival

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, he had a 99-yard Pick Six that helped propel the Tigers to a 48–45 upset. In his junior season, McClain led the nation in total tackles with 113. In his senior season, McClain was named to the Second-team All-SEC Team. On December 27, McClain announced he would skip Auburn's bowl game and enter the

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

McClain signed with the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

after going undrafted in the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

. He was waived on August 30.

New Orleans Breakers

McClain signed with the New Orleans Breakers on January 7, 2023. The Breakers folded when the XFL and USFL merged to create the United Football League (UFL).

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On January 30, 2024, McClain signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the

(CFL).

References

External links

Auburn Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McClain, Zakoby 2000 births Living people Players of American football from Valdosta, Georgia American football linebackers Auburn Tigers football players Baltimore Ravens players New Orleans Breakers (2022) players