9/4/2020 football Edit

2022 ATH Malachi Hood on Wisconsin's radar

Jon McNamara • BadgerBlitz

Editor

Jon McNamara is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has covered UW athletics since 2002 and has worked at Rivals.com since 2006.

With Sept. 1 in the rearview mirror, 2022 athlete Malachi Hood is excited to see what schools become more involved in his recruitment this fall.

One of the programs the 6-foot-2, 185-pound junior is hoping to hear more from is Wisconsin, which reached out to Hood on Tuesday.

Junior athlete Malachi Hood is starting the recruiting process with Wisconsin. (Rivals.com)

"So far Wisconsin told me to fill out a recruiting questionnaire so that they can get to know me, but Coach (Saeed) Khalif wasn’t able to respond to any of my messages due to the dead period," Hood told BadgerBlitz.com. "Then yesterday (Tuesday) he sent me a recruiting introduction paragraph on Twitter and text. He told me they are interested and that we are going to keep in touch.

"I'm most definitely interested in Wisconsin. I’ve been a Big Ten fan my whole life and Melvin Gordon was one of my favorite college players to watch while growing up."

Hood, from Joliet Catholic High School in Illinois, could play a few different positions at the next level.

"I'm mostly hearing safety from schools, but a couple have talked about linebacker as well if I can put on some weight," Hood said. "I’ve been playing safety for a little while longer than linebacker, but as an athlete I'm fine with getting on the field wherever the team needs me."

Hood, who has yet to take his first college visit due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is still in search of his first scholarship offer.

"I've heard from Miami of Ohio, Eastern Michigan and Kentucky so far, and I received a phone call from Northwestern a few months back," Hood said. "I think a lot of schools want to see some of my junior film. My recruitment really started to take off right as things shut down and when the dead period started, so I haven’t been able to build those relationships with many coaches yet.

"Academics is No. 1, for sure. My coaches and parents have made sure I’ve understood that I'm a student athlete from Day 1. After that I’d say tradition and coaches that are invested in my future and getting me to the next level are the most important things for me."

The Badgers currently have a commitment from four-star safety Braelon Allen in the 2022 class.