Malachi Corley (born March 21, 2002) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

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for the

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers are the athletic teams that represent Western Kentucky University (WKU), located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, competing in the ...

, earning all-conference honors in 2022 and 2023.

Early life

Corley initially grew up in

Orange City, Florida Orange City is a town in Volusia County, Florida, United States. It is a part of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach metropolitan area. As of the 2020 US census, the city had a population of 12,632. Geography Orange City is located at . ...

. He later moved to Kentucky and attended Campbellsville High School, where he played basketball and football. As a junior, he had 95 tackles and two interceptions on defense as a cornerback while also rushing for 1,025 yards and nine touchdowns and catching 41 passes for 863 yards and 14 touchdowns on offense.

College career

Corley was recruited to play cornerback at Western Kentucky, but was moved to wide receiver during preseason practices. He played in nine games and caught six passes for 65 yards during his freshman season at Western Kentucky, which did not count against his eligibility because of the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He had 73 receptions for 691 yards and seven touchdowns in 2021. Corley was named first-team All-

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

as a redshirt sophomore after catching 101 passes for 1,295 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Professional career

Corley was selected by the

in the third round (65th overall) of the

2024 NFL draft The 2024 NFL draft was the 89th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza in Detroit on April 25–27, 2024. The draft had an attendanc ...

. On July 18, 2024, Corley signed his four-year rookie contract with the Jets. On October 31, in the Jets’ Week 9 matchup against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

, Corley let go of the ball just before the goal line after celebrating prematurely, ruling out his own 19-yard touchdown and turning the ball over as it went out of bounds in the end zone for a touchback.

Personal life

Corley's cousin is former NFL running back

Jeff Demps Jeffery Barnard Demps (born January 8, 1990) is an American former track and field athlete and professional football running back. He attended the University of Florida, where he was a running back for the Florida Gators football team and a spr ...

, who played 2 games for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

in 2013.

References

External links

New York Jets bioWestern Kentucky Hilltoppers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corley, Malachi 2002 births Living people Players of American football from Florida American football wide receivers Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football players New York Jets players