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George Washington High product McClain signs with Ravens
Sometimes it's better for a player to do the picking.
In the, ahem, eighth round of the NFL draft, which began Sunday night and continues around the country even as you read this, Jameel McClain selected the Baltimore Ravens and agreed to free-agent terms.
"It was probably the quickest decision I made in my life," he noted.
The 6-1, 256-pound McClain, a dual-degreed product (communications, sociology) of George Washington High, Syracuse University and North Philly (30th and Lehigh), subjected himself to private scrutiny by the Eagles and Browns and hoped to at least be a late-round selection as a defensive end or linebacker.
Didn't happen. Didn't crush his spirit.
"Even as the sixth and seventh rounds were going on," McClain said, "I was getting calls from teams asking about the chances of signing me as a free agent. It was like, 'We don't have any more picks, but we still like you.' That kind of stuff.
"My agent and I decided to go with Baltimore within a half-hour [of the draft's conclusion]. I was hearing from Cleveland, Atlanta, Houston . . . But I'm best suited for Baltimore because of the strengths I bring to the table and how they run their system.
"I can fill either hole. I'm universal. I'm a football player."
McClain reports Thursday for a minicamp.
"I'd love to be anywhere in the NFL," he said. "But I think Baltimore is a great decision." *
- Ted Silary
