Jaylen "Tank" McCollough (born October 12, 2000) is an American professional football safety for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers.
| No. 39 – Los Angeles Rams | |||||||||||
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| Position: | Safety | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | October 12, 2000 Austell, Georgia, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 202 lb (92 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Hillgrove (Powder Springs, Georgia) | ||||||||||
| College: | Tennessee (2019–2023) | ||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2024 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 8, 2024 | |||||||||||
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Early life
editMcCollough attended Hillgrove High School located in Powder Springs, Georgia. Coming out of high school, McCollough was rated as a four-star recruit, where he held offers from schools such as Alabama, Auburn, South Carolina, and Tennessee.[1] Ultimately, McCollough committed to play college football for the Tennessee Volunteers.[2][3]
College career
editMcCollough's best season came in 2023 when he started all 13 games for the Volunteers, notching 58 tackles and three interceptions, with one being for a touchdown, where after the conclusion of the season he declared for the 2024 NFL draft.[4] McCollough finished his five-year career from 2019 to 2023 with the Volunteers playing in 60 games where he started in a school record 51 of them, totaling 242 tackles with 15.5 being for a loss, two sacks, 16 pass deflections, six interceptions, a forced fumble, and a touchdown.[5][6][7][8]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
202 lb (92 kg) |
31+1⁄2 in (0.80 m) |
8+3⁄8 in (0.21 m) |
4.74 s | 1.62 s | 2.65 s | 4.58 s | 7.52 s | 32 in (0.81 m) |
9 ft 7 in (2.92 m) |
17 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day[9] | ||||||||||||
After not being selected in the 2024 NFL draft, McCollough signed with the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent.[10][11] He was one of four UDFAs signed by the Rams to make the team's initial 53 man roster.[12]
McCollough intercepted his first pass, thrown by quarterback Jordan Love on October 6th, 2024, which he returned 4 yards for his first NFL career touchdown during the Rams’ Week 5 loss to the Green Bay Packers.[13]
Personal life
editOn October 10, 2022, McCollough was arrested on felony assault charges, after a man allegedly entered McCollough's apartment on accident, where McCullough proceeded to punch him causing him to lose conciseness.[14][15] On June 16, 2023, McCollough was officially indicted on a felony aggravated charge where he faced a 3 to 15-year prison sentence.[16][17] On September 13, 2023, McCollough's trial date was set to begin on February 12, 2024.[18] On February 9, 2024, McCollough pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge where he was put on probation for a year and ordered to pay $22,000 to the victim.[19][20]
References
edit- ^ Kaplan, Phil (13 April 2019). "Tennessee football: Who is freshman Jaylen McCollough? Nickname is 'Tank'". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ "Tennessee-bound Jaylen McCollough ready to compete with the best at UA All-America Game". USA Today. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ Wilson, Mike (17 August 2018). "UT Vols: Jaylen McCollough commits to Tennessee football, Jeremy Pruitt". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ Kellar, Liz; Sparks, Adam (15 February 2024). "Tennessee football's Jaylen McCollough gets probation in assault case". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ "Jaylen McCollough - Football - Tennessee Athletics". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ Low, Chris (28 October 2022). "Sources - Vols' Jaylen McCollough cleared to play after arrest". ESPN. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ Polacek, Scott. "Tennessee Starting Safety Jaylen McCollough Arrested on Felony Assault Charge". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ Ezman, Alfred (7 August 2023). "Jaylen McCollough Needs To Assume Larger Role For Tennessee". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ "2024 NFL Draft Scout Jaylen McCollough College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
- ^ Morrison, Dan (28 April 2024). "Report: Jaylen McCollough agrees to UDFA deal with Los Angeles Rams". On3.com. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ Vierra, Brock (23 August 2024). "Jaylen McCollough is a sleeper to make Rams' roster entering preseason finale". Rams Wire. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ DaSilva, Cameron (2024-08-27). "Five undrafted rookies made Rams' 53-man roster, all on defense". Rams Wire. USA Today. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
- ^ Barshop, Sarah. "Rams' Jaylen McCollough snags pick 6 and TD". ESPN. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ Schlabach, Matt (10 October 2022). "Vols' Jaylen McCollough arrested on felony assault charges". ESPN. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ Sparks, Adam (10 October 2022). "Tennessee football's Jaylen McCollough arrested on felony assault charge". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ Kellar, Liz (16 June 2023). "Jaylen McCollough indicted: Tennessee football DB faces aggravated assault charge". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ Moore, Hannah (June 16, 2023). "UT football captain indicted in October 2022 assault case". WATE6. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ Kellar, Liz; Sparks, Adam (13 September 2023). "Tennessee safety Jaylen McCollough faces February trial date in assault case". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ North, John (9 February 2024). "Jaylen McCollough placed on diversion after pleading to misdemeanor assault in 2022 Fort Sanders incident". WBIR.com. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ Morgan-Rumsey, Camruinn (16 February 2024). "Former Tennessee football player pleads guilty in assault case, chargers diverted". WVLT. Retrieved 25 August 2024.