Year at WKU: 5, Year in CFB: 5, Eligibility Remaining: 1
Feature Story (Oct. 11, 2019): "It's Just Me and the Person With the Ball"
2022 Reese's Senior Bowl American Team MVP
2022 Reese's Senior Bowl Invite Accepted (Nov. 20) – Watchlist (Aug. 12)
2021 Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year
2021 All-Conference USA First Team
2021 PFF College All-CUSA First Team (Nov. 29)
Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week (Nov. 27, 2021)
2021 C-USA Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
2021 Conference USA Preseason Watch List
2021 Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List
2021 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List
2021 Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List
2021 Phil Steele Preseason All-CUSA First Team
2021 Athlon Sports Preseason All-CUSA First Team
2021 The Athletic's Bruce Feldman's "Freaks" List (No. 66)
2022 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl Big Board
2020 All-Conference USA First Team
2020 Phil Steele All-CUSA First Team
Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week (Nov. 7, 2020)
Reese's Senior Bowl Defensive Senior of the Week (Nov. 7, 2020)
2020 C-USA Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
2020 Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List
2020 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List
2020 Ted Hendricks Award Watch List
2020 Phil Steele Preseason All-American Fourth Team
2020 Athlon Sports Preseason All-American Fourth Team
2020 Phil Steele Preseason All-CUSA First Team
2020 Athlon Sports Preseason All-CUSA First Team
2020 The Athletic's Bruce Feldman's "Freaks" List (No. 43)
2019 Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year
2019 All-Conference USA First Team
2019 PFF College All-CUSA First Team
Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week (Nov. 23, 2019)
PFF College C-USA Team of the Week (Sept. 7, 2019)
PFF College C-USA Team of the Week (Sept. 28, 2019)
PFF College C-USA Team of the Week (Oct. 5, 2019)
PFF College C-USA Team of the Week (Nov. 9, 2019)
2019 Ted Hendricks Award Watch List
2018 Conference USA Honorable Mention
2018 Phil Steele All-CUSA Third Team
2021 (Sr.) | 14/14: Malone retained his senior year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic and in turn – along with Jeremy Darvin and Antwon Kincade – became the first Hilltopper Football players to ever earn five letters. He started all 14 games in his senior season and racked up 94 total tackles – including 17.5 for loss – with nine sacks, four forced fumbles and four pass breakups. His 17.5 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles tied for the C-USA lead, while the nine sacks tied for second. The 94 total tackles led all FBS defensive linemen, marking the second time in the past three seasons (99 total tackles in 2019) that he accomplished that feat. The league's 14 head coaches voted him the 2021 Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year, as he became only the fourth player in C-USA's 27-year history – and first since UCF defensive end Bruce Miller in 2009 and 2010 – to earn the honor twice. In addition, he was the first WKU player in the program's FBS Era to earn conference First Team honors three times – and the first Hilltopper since offensive lineman Buster Ashley, who was All-Gateway Football Conference First Team in 2002, 2003 and 2004. He is the all-time WKU program record-holder with 34 career sacks, which also led all active FBS defenders (Western Michigan's Ali Fayad ranked second with 33.5). His 60 career tackles for loss also led the nation (Texas Tech's Colin Schooler ranked second with 58.5) and rank second in Hilltopper history behind only Sherrod Coates' 75. His 349 career total tackles rank second, behind only Devon Key's 350, in the program's FBS Era (since 2009). His 53 career starts are second in WKU history among non-specialists, trailing only offensive lineman Brandon Ray's 54 from 2014-17.
2020 (Sr.) | 12/12: Following his breakout season of 2019, Malone was voted Conference USA Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. He put up 71 total tackles (42 solo, 29 assisted) – including 11 for loss – with six sacks, nine quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and two blocked kicks. The year started out with a bang, putting up 3.5 tackles for loss – and a forced fumble – in the season opener on Sept. 12 at Louisville. In a three-game span in November, he totaled 23 tackles (11 solo, 12 assisted) with four sacks – for 27 negative yards – and eight quarterback hurries. On Nov. 7 at Florida Atlantic, he had a career-high 12 tackles, along with two sacks – for 14 negative yards – and three quarterback hurries. For his efforts in Boca Raton, he was named C-USA Defensive Player of the Week for the second time in his career. In the following game on Nov. 14 vs. Southern Miss, he made two sacks – for 13 negative yards – pushing his career total to 25 and set the program's FBS Era (since 2009) record. The next week on Nov. 21 vs. FIU, he produced a career-high four quarterback hurries and his forced fumble in the third quarter led to a 24-yard defensive touchdown after the recovery by Roger Cray. Had a blocked field goal on Oct. 3 at Middle Tennessee and a blocked extra point in the LendingTree Bowl vs. Georgia State, becoming the first WKU player since Jared Clendinin in 2011 to have two in the same season. Malone entered the 2021 campaign with 42.5 career tackles for loss, only 0.5 behind Andrew Jackson for that FBS Era record as well.
2019 (Jr.) | 13/13: Malone established himself as one of the most productive defensive players in the country, and one of the most dynamic defensive ends in recent memory. He became the first Hilltopper to be voted Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year since joining the league prior to the 2014 campaign, producing 99 total tackles (54 solo, 45 assisted) – including 21 for loss (ranked fourth in the nation) – with 11.5 sacks (ranked 12th in the nation), 16 quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown. He set the WKU FBS Era record (dating back to 2009) in tackles for loss, while becoming only the fourth defender in all-time Hilltopper history with double-digit quarterback takedowns. His 11.5 sacks were the third-most ever by a Hilltopper, while his 19 career sacks rank fifth all-time. His 99 total tackles were the third-most by an FBS defensive lineman in a single-season over the past decade. He had at least one tackle for loss in 11 games, at least one sack in six games and at least one quarterback hurry in nine contests. He scored his first career defensive touchdown on Nov. 23 at Southern Miss, when he strip sacked the Golden Eagles' quarterback and scooped up the fumble himself and ran in for a five-yard score; it was WKU's first "fumble six" since Wonderful Terry's 95-yard score on Sept. 6, 2014 at Illinois. He was voted C-USA Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts in Hattiesburg, where he recorded seven tackles – including two for loss – and 1.5 sacks. His most notable performance of the season came on Oct. 5 at Old Dominion, where he recorded nine tackles – including a career-high four for loss – with a career-high three sacks along with three quarterback hurries. Among all returning players to college football in 2020 (pre-COVID), he ranks fourth with 11.5 sacks and third with 21 tackles for loss. In addition, he is only 1-of-3 returning conference Defensive Players of the Year out of the 10 FBS leagues.
2018 (So.) | 12/11: Malone burst onto the scene in his sophomore season, recording 60 tackles (31 solo, 29 assisted) to lead WKU defensive linemen, including nine for loss, while adding six sacks, eight quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles. His six sacks were a team best, while his nine tackles for loss and eight quarterback hurries ranked second on the Hilltoppers in 2018. He made a career-high 11 tackles on Nov. 10 at Florida Atlantic, while adding one sack for a loss of eight yards, which was also a strip sack, and his lone pass breakup of the season. On Sept. 15 at Louisville, he recorded the first interception by a WKU defensive lineman since Derik Overstreet on Nov. 5, 2016 vs. FIU. Then on Nov. 24 at Louisiana Tech, he sacked the Bulldogs’ quarterback in the end zone for the Hilltoppers’ first safety since the 2016 season opener vs. Rice, when the Owls’ punt snapper flew one out of the back of the end zone. In the 2018 season finale in Ruston, he also had a career-high two sacks for 17 yards lost, while forcing another fumble and picking up a quarterback hurry. In all, he had at least one tackle for loss and one quarterback hurry in seven games.
2017 (Fr.) | 11/3: Malone recorded 25 tackles in 11 games, which included three starts, as a true freshman, with 1.5 sacks and five quarterback hurries. He had at least one tackle in each appearance, including a career-high six on Sept. 9 at Illinois, making his first start on The Hill in place of an injured Derik Overstreet. He assisted on a four-yard sack on Sept. 16 vs. Louisiana Tech, then made his first solo takedown on the second-to-last play of the game on Oct. 14 vs. Charlotte, a seven-yard loss. He had all five of his quarterback hurries in the span of six weeks in the middle of the campaign.
HS/Misc.: Malone brought a state championship from the Georgia High School Association’s 3A division to The Hill after spending his prep career at Cedar Grove under coach Jermaine Smith. He racked up 49 tackles, including eight tackles for loss his senior year. He helped the Saints to a 13-2 record and GHSA 3A state title as they took down Greater Atlanta Christian, 30-19. As a senior, he picked up Georgia Sports Writer Association All-State first team honors as a defensive lineman as well as All-Metro honors from the Atlanta Journal Constitution. He was a three-star prospect in the 247Sports composite rankings and a top-200 player in the state of Georgia by the service.
