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| Maloney scoring a touchdown against Hutchinson. KC Star. |
SM West
Position(s): Cornerback/Wide Receiver
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 185 lbs.
Year: Senior
Stat to Note
As a junior Maloney took home First Team All-Sunflower League honors as a defensive back after recording 42 tackles and four interceptions. He also combined for over 1,000 all-purpose yards and scored 13 touchdowns.
Scouting Report
Maloney will be one of the most dynamic athletes to set foot on a Sunflower League gridiron this fall. Last season he proved to be worth his weight in gold for SM West, acting as a catalyst for a mid-season spark that saw the Vikings reel off 11 straight wins including claiming the 6A state title. The momentum of the title game shifted in SM West's favor once they began employing Maloney out of the Wildcat formation -- a strategy that had worked exceptionally well throughout the playoff run.
College coaches took notice of Maloney's tremendous potential, and he claimed offers from Kansas, Kansas State, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma State and Tulsa. Harvard was even in on his recruitment, given his strengths in the academic setting. On Wednesday evening, Maloney made a verbal commitment to Kansas. Kansas' defensive coordinator, Dave Campo, who held the same position with the Dallas Cowboys throughout the 1990s, has said Maloney's overall game reminds of him of NFL legend Deion Sanders. That's an enormous compliment and there's no doubt Maloney is one of the most versatile athletes the league has had in the last decade.
At 6-foot-3, he has a height advantage on nearly every receiver he covers on defense, and when he's on offense, he's taller than just about every defensive back. This, coupled with 4.5-forty speed, tremendous agility and a subtle physicality, give Maloney an almost unfair advantage most of the time. SM West will work to use those advantages as much as possible in 2013, as Maloney and Co. work to bring the Vikings a second state title in as many years.
