Junior wide receiver Rashad Medaris wears #17 on his jersey. He is the younger brother of Anthony McClung, who played receiver at UC from 2010 to 2014. McClung also went on to play in the NFL and CFL. Fun fact – he and Zach Collaros played together in Canada for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. McClung also wore #17 his first year in Clifton.
Much like McClung, Medaris is a small, compact speedster. At 5’ 11” and 182 lbs., Rashad can fly. He played football, basketball, baseball, and track and field in highs school.
Rashad grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. He attended one semester at Western Illinois before capitalizing on the mass exodus of UC wide receivers after 2015. Who can forget that group, including six seniors, Shaq Washington (Head Coach of Maple Heights), Chris Moore (still in NFL), Mekale McKay (still in NFL), Johnny Holton (still in NFL), Alex Chism (played in NFL), and Max Morrison. This will in all likelihood go down as the best group of Cincinnati wide receivers in history.
“It just felt right to come here,” according to Medaris. His whole family was already familiar with the campus and driving to games at Nippert Stadium.
Due to the transfer rule, Medaris sat out in 2016. In 2017, he played in the first five games on special teams and at wideout before suffering a season-ending lateral meniscus tear during the UCF game, requiring surgery and rehabilitation. Rashad is now 100% recovered and ready to play again.
This year we can expect him to pick up right where he left off, slated as a starting wide receiver. As Rashad indicated during our interview, Coach Fick wants everyone to play multiple positions, so he will continue his role on special teams.
Rashad is a Sports Administration major. He will earn his degree next fall during his final year of eligibility. He also told us his brother is back home in Indiana, soon to be a firefighter. Rashad comes from a close family and his whole family comes to Clifton on game days – just an hour and 45-minute drive away.
Medaris is excited to play in the UCLA game and go to California for the first time.
He describes himself as a very chill person. In his free time, you can catch him playing first-person shooter video games like Call of Duty and Fortnite on PS4. He also loves eating at Qdoba.
By Andy Smith