Tywone Malone Jr.

Tywone (TIE-whan) Malone Jr., who has one sister (Tyra), grew up south of Newark, N.J., with his parents (Tywone and Debra Malone). He attended Bergen Catholic High School, an all-boys school, and was an all-state baseball and football player. He posted 54 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and seven sacks as a junior before missing most of his senior year because of a right knee injury. A four-star recruit, he was the top-ranked player in New Jersey in the 2021 class and planned to play both baseball and football in college. He committed to Ole Miss over Florida State, Rutgers, Tennessee, Texas A&M and USC and played defensive tackle and first base for two seasons. After he decided to focus on football, he entered the transfer portal and signed with Ohio State for his final three seasons of eligibility. Malone has the rare distinction of having won a college national title in two different sports — baseball with Ole Miss in 2022; football with Ohio State in 2024. He is slightly top-heavy but carries his weight well and uses his upper-body strength to create congestion in the run game. Though his pass-rush moves are underdeveloped, he has functional long arms that can put guards on skates (see the 2025 Indiana tape). Despite playing next to a block-eater in Kayden McDonald, he struggled to win quickly and make stops in the backfield. Overall, Malone didn’t put a ton of impact plays on film, but he was an underrated and important component of the Buckeyes’ stout run defense in 2025. 446 Back to table of contents -- 450 of 629 --