When the Kosciusko Whippets take the field this season, opposing coaches will be certain to locate senior defensive end Nicholas Mallett.
Mallett is an imposing figure for the Whippets, standing 6-foot-3 and weighing 250 pounds. He’s also the latest selection of The Star-Herald’s Top 10 Players to Watch.
While Mallett started the entire year at defensive end for the Whippets, it wasn’t until the Noxubee County game that he “figured it out.”
“Last year against Noxubee, I got player of the game,” Mallett said. “There was a big Division I looking tackle in front of me and I got around him all night. I had two sacks that game and hit the quarterback four or five times. I was on the quarterback all night. I realized then that I could play against the best.”
Mallett has taken that momentum and hit the weight room hard this summer.
“His work ethic and how far he has come along in the last year,” Kosciusko coach Kelly Causey said. “He has really bulked up and committed himself to the weight room. He is a guy on defense that we feel like people are going to have to run away from just because he is so big and athletic. He’s a big kid. He plays with a high motor, he plays wide open.”
And Mallett seems like a natural on defense.
“I just like defense,” Mallett said. “You don’t have to think that much, you just have to go to the ball. And you get to hit people, that’s the best part. On offense, you have to wait on them and they have to come to you. On defense, you get to attack and you get to hit them.
“His footwork is really good. Last year, he couldn’t handle the double teams because he was a little light. he is probably more of an edge pass rusher than anything. He has good speed on the edge. He’s a guy that’s going to get after the quarterback.”
In the weight room, Mallett benches 315 and squats 420. Causey said he can see how Mallett has matured in the last few months.
“He has really bulked up and gotten a lot stronger,” Causey said. “He has gotten in the weight room and busted his butt to get where he is at right now. This off-season has been really good to him. He has gotten a lot stronger and a lot bigger. He has filled out and matured physically. He has shed his baby fat and just gotten a lot more muscular. He has gotten some arms and developed a chest and shoulders. He definitely looks the part now.”
Mallett already has one college offer from Coahoma Community College and Causey feels like more offers will come.
“I’m hoping somebody like a Delta State will take a look at him,” Causey said. “His height might be an issue. I think Coahoma has already offered him and I think he will get some more junior college offers. He’s going to several camps to get some looks. It might be a conference-USA school but he has got to shine. he has some work to do but and I wished he would grow an inch or two. You never know what he will look like at the end of the season. All we can do is get him some looks and see what happens.”
Mallett is also a standout in the classroom. He carries a 3.5 GPA and made a 22 on the ACT. He is also a member of the BETA club at Kosciusko High School.
“He is a real good kid, a very coachable kid,” Causey said. “He doesn’t get in trouble in school. He doesn’t cause trouble and does what he is supposed to be doing.”
