Tom Malone (American football)

Infobox NFLactive
name=Tom Malone


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currentteam=New England Patriots
currentnumber=1
currentposition=Punter
currentpositionplain=Punter
birthdate=birth date and age|1984|3|29
birthplace=Lake Elsinore, California
country=United States
heightft=6
heightin=0
weight=205
debutyear=
debutteam=
highlights=
* All-American (2004)
college=Southern California
draftyear=
draftround=
draftpick=
pastteams=
* San Francisco 49ers* (2006)
* New England Patriots* (2006-present):*Offseason and/or practice squad member only
status=Practice Squad
statweek=
statseason=
statlabel1=
statvalue1=
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statvalue3=
nfl=MAL755687

Thomas Malone (born March 29, 1984 in Lake Elsinore, California) is an American football punter who is currently on the New England Patriots practice squad. He was the first, and currently only, All-American punter at the University of Southern California.Dan Weber, [http://www.pe.com/sports/football/stories/PE_Sports_Local_D_malone_03.3ed4ad9.html Ex-USC standout Malone making comeback in NFL Europa] , "The Press-Enterprise", June 2, 2007.]

High school career

Malone went to Temescal Canyon High School. After beginning his football career at wide receiver he became a punter after discovering that he could kick the ball far better. [Chris Huston, [http://usctrojans.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/092402aab.html "Introducing Tom Malone, USC's New Punter"] , USC Athletics, Sept. 24, 2002, "Accessed Apr. 21, 2006"] After looking at USC, Stanford and Washington, he chose USC. [ [http://www.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=1577 Tom Malone - Profile] , rivals.com, "Accessed Apr. 21, 2006"] He graduated a semester early and enrolled at USC in the spring of 2002.

College career

Malone entered the 2002 season as USC's first true freshman starting punter in ten years, playing all 13 games and averaging 42.1 yards on his 62 punts. He made the All-Freshman Team in several publications. In the 2003 season, the sophomore again appeared in all 13 games, averaging 49.0 yards (breaking the previous USC record) on his 42 punts. Malone earned first-team All-American honors from ESPN.com, SI.com and Collegefootballnews.com, becoming USC's first-ever All-American punter. Oddly enough, Malone was a lead contender for the national punting title, but because of USC's very efficient offense that year he was five punts shy of having the NCAA-required minimum 3.6 punts per game to be listed --his 49.0 average was 1.0 yards above the national leader.

Going into his junior season, Malone had become a fan favorite due to the novelty of having an All-American punter at a school that dominated offensively. Some fans began a humorous and well-meaning "Malone4Heisman" campaign that received attention from both his teammates (including that year's actual Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart, who mentioned the campaign in his own Heisman campaign blog) and major sports media outlets. It was this campaign that dubed Malone "the Bomb".

During the 2004 season, Malone again appeared in all 13 games, he averaging 43.8 yards on 49 punts. He ranked ninth nationally in punting (43.8, first in Pac-10) and was a semifinalist for the 2004 Ray Guy Award. His performance at the 2005 FedEx Orange Bowl earned him a place on CBS Sportsline.com's All-Bowl Team. After his very successful junior season, there was question as to whether Malone would stay on for his senior season or leave early to enter the NFL. At a press conference with fellow touted juniors Matt Leinart and Lofa Tatupu, Malone announced he would stay on for the 2005 season.

In the summer before his senior season, Malone injured his right hip during workouts which limited his ability to practice during the season.Dan Weber, [http://www.pe.com/sports/football/stories/PE_Sports_Local_D_malone_03.3ed4ad9.html Ex-USC standout Malone making comeback in NFL Europa] , "The Press-Enterprise", June 2, 2007.] During his final season, the USC offense performed better than it had in his previous seasons: averaged 50 points a game and only allowing Malone 30 punts in 12 games, lower than any previous season. USC did not punt during his final home game, a 66-19 offensive explosion against rival-UCLA. Despite the step backwards, Malone took things well saying, "From a team standpoint, this could not have gone better. It's the most fun you could ever imagine. From a personal standpoint, it's been a little frustrating." [Gary Klein, [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/12/25/SPG12GCE861.DTL The punter who rarely punts still eyes NFL] , "Los Angeles Times", C-8, Dec. 25, 2005, "Accessed Apr. 21, 2006"] He graduated from USC in 2006 with a degree in political science

NFL career

Malone went undrafted in the 2006 NFL Draft. He was signed as a free agent by the San Francisco 49ers in the spring of 2006, but was cut before he could attend their training camp. After several teams called to try him out, nothing happened until the New England Patriots signed him onto their practice squad in December 2006. Dan Weber, [http://www.pe.com/sports/football/stories/PE_Sports_Local_D_malone_03.3ed4ad9.html Ex-USC standout Malone making comeback in NFL Europa] , "The Press-Enterprise", June 2, 2007.] When former USC teammate Mario Danelo passed away in January 2007, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick gave him a week off and paid to send him to the funeral.Dan Weber, [http://www.pe.com/sports/football/stories/PE_Sports_Local_D_malone_03.3ed4ad9.html Ex-USC standout Malone making comeback in NFL Europa] , "The Press-Enterprise", June 2, 2007.] He was released on August 22, 2007. On September 10, 2008, the Patriots signed Malone to their practice squad. [http://www.patriots.com/news/index.cfm?ac=latestnewsdetail&pid=33803&pcid=47]

NFL Europa

Malone was allocated to the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europa in March 2007, where he finished the season with a 40.1 yard gross average and a 32.8 yard net average, both of which ranked sixth in the league. [ [http://images.sportsline.com/images/nfleurope/weekone.pdf NFL Europa League Leaders Week 9] ]

External links

* [http://www.tsn.ca/nfl/teams/players/bio/?id=6900&hubname=nfl-patriots TSN Profile]

Notes and references