The path for a Division I football player takes many forms, and for WVU redshirt-senior and offensive tackle Nick Malone, he took the path many dread entering the collegiate level.
As Malone enters his sixth season with WVU Football this fall, his role stands as a solid option at right tackle for a team with Big 12 Championship aspirations. That current status is one seen all across the NCAA, but it is a far cry from where Malone began at West Virginia.
“When I first got here, I was 260 pounds, and that doesn’t get you very far at a Division 1 level,” Malone recalled. “It was a big transition from moving people around pretty easy in high school.”
Malone, who now weighs in at 298 pounds with a stature of 6-foot-5, came to WVU as a walk-on with no guaranteed role.
In his own journey, Malone recognizes the importance of taking advantage of as many opportunities as are available, no matter what form those may take.
“I didn’t start playing at offensive line that much,” Malone said. “It started at special teams, it went from tight end on field goal to shield on punt to back-up tight end to back-up tackle and now the role of actually playing (on the offensive line).”
Malone’s opportunistic mentality extends to the less glamorous jobs, such as shielding on punt, which he did more and more often as last season progressed. As Malone puts it, though, anywhere he can create value is where he wants to be.
“It’s not a pretty position, but I wanted to play. It didn’t matter if it was offensive line, field goal, it didn’t really matter to me. Being on the field as much as possible and doing what I can do to help was my big thing.”
Now, as Malone has taken a more significant role on the offensive line, he still looks to be the one who can step in at any time and in any place.
“Being able to play, on the offensive line for example, every position, if they need somebody to go in, (I was) right there, ready to step in,” Malone said. “There was no split-second thinking of who they need, I just kind of took that role.”
“I think in the grand scheme of things, knowing what everybody has to do helps my game as well,” Malone added.
In terms of attitude, Malone focuses on consistency, especially in terms of never putting too much emphasis on one moment.
“Especially on the O-Line, we talk about being flatline,” Malone said. “There’s no bad days, there’s no really great days. It’s being consistent.”
“Being an offensive lineman, you have your bad plays, you give up sacks, but when you have those great blocks, it’s a great feeling, so you kind of have to find that mixture of both and not get too high and not get too low on yourself.”
That mindset is one Malone has built for the past five seasons with the Mountaineers. Alongside it, he has also built his game to be more polished every season. Even this year, Malone has found areas to grow.
“Running off the ball was one of the things that I lacked in last year… Especially now, we’re running the ball pretty heavy, and I was able to build upon that and do a little better, especially now in the spring, and it will show in the fall.”
As for where he sees his story ending, Malone echoed the spirit of WVU’s other offensive linemen. Despite the loss of center Zach Frazier and offensive tackle Doug Nester to the NFL Draft, Malone expect the line to improve this year.
“I think we can be better. Especially now, I think we’ve taken the steps and, where we’re at now, we have a lot of experience coming back,” Malone said.
With that experience and a continued, consistent mindset for growing on small mistakes, Malone’s goal certainly appears achievable this upcoming fall.
West Virginia will get its first taste of football this Saturday at the annual Gold-Blue Spring Game to conclude the spring practice season. The game kicks off at noon at Mylan Puskar Stadium.
Photo by Wesley Shoemaker, Blue Gold Sports
