No longer splitting his focus between football and baseball, Larry Johnson thinks Tywone Malone can be "a different athlete" at Ohio State than he was at Ole Miss.
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NO LONGER SPLITTING FOCUS BETWEEN FOOTBALL AND BASEBALL, LARRY JOHNSON SAYS TYWONE MALONE WILL BE “A DIFFERENT ATHLETE” AT OHIO STATE
Larry Johnson got his first crack at Tywone Malone well over two years ago.
But due in part to the four-star defensive tackle prospect’s desire to play two sports at the college level, Ohio State lost out on Malone. The 63rd overall recruit in the 2021 class signed with Ole Miss, where he was given the opportunity to play both football and baseball.
Things didn’t necessarily go according to plan, though. At least, not if Malone expected to be a star in either sport in his first two seasons. Malone logged just 97 snaps on the gridiron in 2022, finishing the season with 10 total tackles, one tackle for loss and a sack. On the diamond, the second-year designated hitter only took 10 at-bats in six appearances for the Rebel baseball team.
"THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT HE'S JUST GOING TO PLAY FOOTBALL AND CONCENTRATE ON FOOTBALL. AND SO I THINK WE'LL SEE A DIFFERENT ATHLETE."– LARRY JOHNSON ON TYWONE MALONE
After that, Malone was ready for a fresh coat of paint. He entered the transfer portal on April 19, and seeking another depth piece to bolster his defensive tackle group, Johnson took another swing. This time, it worked out. Malone committed to Ohio State on May 9, and he won’t be splitting his focus between sports at his next stop.
“First of all, he wanted to make a change. That's the biggest thing. Do you really want to make a change, and why are you making the change,” said Johnson when publicly discussing the addition of Malone for the first time at an interview session last week. “And we had some really good conversations with him, his mom and his dad was very involved in the whole process. And then we got him on campus and I had two, three, four hours to spend with him, just kind of fun. Just what he was as a person, not about football. You can look at him and figure out where he is in football. What he can do, what he brings, does it fit our culture, and all those things are important to us.
“And at the end of the day, when we finished, I kind of liked what he said and the way he wants to do it and the new start for him. He said it himself, it was a fresh start. And now I'm getting away from baseball and really concentrating on football.”