DeAngelo Malone (born July 12, 1999) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

Early life and high school

Malone grew up in

Ellenwood, Georgia Ellenwood is an unincorporated community in Clayton, Henry, Rockdale and DeKalb counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. The community is a southeast suburb of Atlanta and is located along Interstate 675 and Georgia State Route 42. With a populati ...

and originally attended Martin Luther King Jr. High School before transferring to Cedar Grove High School. He recorded 49 tackles with eight tackles for loss and was named first-team All-State and All-Metro by ''

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'' as Cedar Grove won the AAA state championship. Rated a three-star recruit, Malone committed to play college football at

over an offer from Buffalo.

College career

Malone became a starter for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers during his freshman year and recorded 25 tackles, 1.5 sacks and five quarterback hurries. As a sophomore, he was named honorable mention All-

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

after finishing the season with 60 tackles, nine tackles for loss, six sacks, and eight quarterback hurries with two forced fumbles. In his junior season, Malone made 99 total tackles and was fourth in the nation with tackles 21 for loss and 12th in the nation with 11.5 sacks and also had 16 quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown. He was named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-Conference USA. Malone considered entering the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The d ...

, but ultimately decided to return for his senior year. Malone entered senior season on the

Chuck Bednarik Award The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to the defensive player in college football as judged by the Maxwell Football Club to be the best in the United States. The award is named for Chuck Bednarik, a former college and professional Ame ...

and

Bronko Nagurski Trophy The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football defensive player adjudged by the membership of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to be the best in the National Collegiate Athle ...

watchlists and was named the preseason Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year and as one of the top five outside linebacker prospects for the 2021 NFL draft according to ESPN.

Professional career

left, 200px, Malone in his rookie season. Malone was drafted in the third round with the 82nd pick by the

in the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

. The Falcons previously obtained the pick in the trade that sent Matt Ryan to the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

. Malone recorded his first professional sack in Week 7 against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

Personal life

Malone is first cousins with Justin Shaffer who also was drafted by the Falcons in the 2022 NFL Draft.

References

External links

Atlanta Falcons bioWestern Kentucky Hilltoppers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malone, DeAngelo Living people Players of American football from Atlanta American football linebackers Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football players Atlanta Falcons players 1999 births