2023 Penn State football snapshot profile: No. 4 Malick Meiga
Going into the 2023 football season, Nittany Lions Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Penn State roster. Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for James Franklin this season.
Next up in this series is a snapshot look at one of Penn State’s wide receivers to watch in 2023, Malick Meiga. Meiga is a player fans have wanted to see take some steps forward as a receiver prospect, and that could still be the case in 2023 as Penn State’s passing game looks to find some new contributors hauling in passes this fall. Here is a snapshot look at Meiga heading into the 2023 college football season.
Preseason Player Profile
Hometown: Saint Jerome, QC (Canada)
Height: 6-4
Weight: 204
247Sports Composite Ranking
Career Stats
Games | Receptions | Yards | Yards per catch | Touchdowns | |
2021 | 7 | 3 | 78 | 26.0 | 1 |
2022 | 12 | 3 | 19 | 6.3 | 0 |
Malick Meiga hasn’t had a ton of opportunities to shine for Penn State with just three receptions in each of the last two seasons, but he continues to be a player to keep an eye on just in case he steps forward as a solid contributor. Meiga’s first career touchdown was a big one with a 67-yard catch from Christian Veilleux in a late November game against Rutgers in 2021, but he has lacked the big plays since then.
You can't be more open than this 👀🔥
Malick Meiga hauls in his first career TD catch and extends @PennStateFball's lead pic.twitter.com/M6XEsm6zYW
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 20, 2021
Meiga was named the top special teams player with the team’s John Bruno Memorial Award for the 2022 season and he also earned academic All-Big Ten honors in 2022 and 2021.
Depth Chart Overview
After losing its top two receiving leaders to the NFL, Penn State should have some new faces emerging as the leaders in the passing game this season. KeAndre Lambert-Smith is the lone returning starter at the position and he is expected to be a main cog in the aerial attack this fall once again. But Penn State also addressed the position with help from the transfer portal by bringing in Dante Cephas from Kent State and Malik McClain from Florida State.
Cephas is expected to slide right in as the leading receiver in the offense, but the competition for the other starting job remains up for grabs. Harrison Wallace and Omari Evans could be the top two options in play, but Malick Meiga is a player that could be given some opportunities to contribute in some capacity.
Meiga will likely be one of the third-string options in the receiving unit this fall, but if a bunch of games goes Penn State’s way early on, Meiga should get some good opportunities to play and gain a little more experience.
