Malcolm Koonce (born June 6, 1998) 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 ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...

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 ...

at Buffalo and was selected by the Raiders in the third round of the

2021 NFL Draft The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 2021 ...

Early years

Koonce grew up in

Peekskill, New York Peekskill is a city in northwestern Westchester County, New York, United States, from New York City. Established as a village in 1816, it was incorporated as a city in 1940. It lies on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across fro ...

, and attended

Archbishop Stepinac High School Archbishop Stepinac High School is an American all-boys' Roman Catholic high school in White Plains, New York. It was operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York until the 2009–2010 school year, when it became independent of the ...

. Although his primary sport at first was

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

, he switched his focus to football after realizing that it could earn him a

college scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

. In 2015, he led Stepinac to a New York State

Catholic High School Athletic Association The Catholic High School Athletic Association or CHSAA is a high school athletic association made up of Catholic high schools based in New York City, Long Island, Westchester and Buffalo. It is the largest Catholic high school athletic league in ...

championship. After graduating, he completed a

post-graduate year A postgraduate (PG) year is an extra year of secondary coursework at a boarding school following high school graduation, but before entering college. It is a gap year option intended for students who either have not applied or were not admitted ...

Milford Academy Milford Academy is a post-secondary school founded in 1916 as Yale Preparatory School. It has been located in New Berlin, New York since 2004. Although founded as a preparatory school, its current focus is as a school for athletes who have th ...

New Berlin, New York New Berlin is a town in Chenango County, in central New York, United States. The population was 2,682 at the 2010 census. The town contains the village of New Berlin. The town is at the eastern border of the county and is northeast of Norwich. ...

College career

Koonce was a member of the Buffalo Bulls for four seasons. He served primarily as a backup for his first two seasons. Koonce was named first-team All-

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

(MAC) after recording 34 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and nine sacks in his junior season. He was named the Defensive MVP of the

2019 Bahamas Bowl The 2019 Bahamas Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 20, 2019, with kickoff at 2:00 p.m. EST on ESPN. It was the 6th edition of the Bahamas Bowl, and the first of the 2019–20 bowl games concluding the 2019 FBS footb ...

after a two sack performance against the

Charlotte 49ers The Charlotte 49ers are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 49ers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a ...

. Koonce repeated as a first-team All-MAC selection as a senior after recording 30 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and five sacks after playing in six games due to the MAC's COVID-19-shortened 2020 season. He became only the fourth UB player to be invited to play in the

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

Professional career

2021

Koonce was selected in the third round with the 79th overall pick of the

by the

. The Raiders had received the 79th pick used to select Koonce in a trade that sent

Rodney Hudson William Rodney Hudson (born July 12, 1989) is an American football center for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State, and was a two-time All-American. He was drafted by the Kan ...

to the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

. On July 23, 2021, Koonce signed his four-year rookie contract with Las Vegas. Koonce was activated for Week 3 against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

but did not appear in the game. He was next activated before Week 13 following an injury to linebacker

Carl Nassib Carl Paul Nassib (born April 12, 1993) is an American football outside linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL) . He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions, earning unanimous All-American h ...

. Koonce made his NFL debut on December 5 and, despite taking the field for only seven plays on defense and four on special teams, recorded a sack of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Taylor Heinicke Taylor Heinicke ( ; born March 15, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Old Dominion and signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted f ...

2023

Koonce had a break out year in 2023, opposite

Maxx Crosby Maxx Robert Crosby (born August 22, 1997) is an American football defensive end for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Eastern Michigan and was drafted by the Raiders in the fourth round of ...

on the Raiders defensive line. By week 14 against

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

, Koonce had roughly doubled his playing time under interim head coach

Antonio Pierce Antonio Durran Pierce (born October 26, 1978) is the linebackers coach for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League. He played college football for the University of Arizona. He was signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted ...

. Koonce had more quarterback hits in weeks 14-16 than he had the rest of the season combined. Koonce had his best game statistically, as a pro in a Christmas Day divisional matchup against the rival

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

at Kansas City. The Raiders needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. Koonce harassed Chiefs quarterback

Patrick Mahomes Patrick Lavon Mahomes II (born September 17, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The son of former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Pat Mahomes, he initially played co ...

all game, finishing with career highs in pressures (8) and sacks (3). https://x.com/nextgenstats/status/1739395197388370170?s=46

References

External links

Buffalo Bulls bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koonce, Malcolm Living people Players of American football from Westchester County, New York American football defensive ends Buffalo Bulls football players People from Peekskill, New York Las Vegas Raiders players 1998 births Archbishop Stepinac High School alumni Milford Academy alumni