Three Big Winners From Oklahoma State’s Fall Camp and Practices

Jalen McKleskey – Freshman – Wide Receiver

Jalen McKlesky just became an adult this month, but you wouldn’t know it by the way he performs on the field.

The son of former NFL cornerback and wide receiver J.J. McKleskey, the younger McKleskey entered camp with an aggressive mindset, and the advantage of being the only wide receiver recruit in the 2015 class. Oh, and McKleskey also met up and worked out with former star Cowboy receiver Josh Stewart this summer, who has a very similar build and skill set as the freshman.

McKlesky is listed at 5-foot-10, possess 4.4 40-yard dash speed, and a 40-inch vertical jump, allowing him to blow by defenses off the block while still being able to extend for higher passes, ala Stewart. Naturally, he’s now being mentioned as a candidate to return kicks, just as his NFL contemporary did, and did well.

Although the wide receiver position is arguably the deepest of any on the team, McKleskey’s camp performance commanded immediate attention, with the 163 lb. receiver pulling in catch after catch, causing many of the media in attendance to constantly check their notes to see who the heck that skinny #88 was that kept making plays. Gundy was pretty vocal about McKleskey towards the end of camp, and specifically named him among the few freshman that were definitely going to be seeing the field in 2015.

Teammates have taken notice too, such as linebacker Kevin Henry:

File McKleskey under yet another young player who surprisingly emerged in fall camp, and stands to make a deep receiving corps even better, fresh into his first few months of adulthood.

Next: Previewing the 2015 opener against Central Michgan