Malik McKinzie

2024 at UNC Pembroke: Played in nine games on the year and continued to be one of the top defenders in the Mountain East Conference ... Had 46 tackles, 9.0 TFLs and 3.0 sacks on the season ... Recovered a pair of fumbles, had three QB hurries and a pass breakup ... Set a career-high in single-game tackles with 11 at Charleston (WV) (9/21) ... Ended the year with big career-bests in 5.0 TFLs and 3.0 sacks at Concord (11/16) in a dominant season-ending victory ... His tackles for loss total tied the school single game record and tied for 5th in single-game history for sacks ... He earned Mountain East Conference Player of the Year accolades following the performance ... Helped the team to another impressive home record of 4-1 while going 6-5 on the year and a dominant 6-3 against Mountain East competition, ending the year on a four-game win streak 2023 at UNC Pembroke: Saw action in all ten games during the fall ... MEC Academic All-Conference ... CSC Academic All-District ... Logged 50 tackles, 11 TFLs, and 5.5 sacks ... Also recovered a fumble to go with five QB hurries and two pass breakups ... Had a season-high eight tackles against West Virginia State (9/7) ... Had seven tackles in three straight games against Wheeling, Frostburg State, and Fairmont State to end September and start October ... Recorded 1.0 TFL in seven of the games during the year, and a 0.5 in eight of them ... Had a career-high 2.5 at West Virginia Wesleyan ... Set a career-high with 2.0 sacks against Fairmont State (10/14) ... Led the team to a 7-3 mark on the year to pair with a 6-3 record against Mountain East competition while going 5-1 in home contests and ending the year on a four-game win streak 2022 at UNC Pembroke: Saw action in seven games as a true freshman ... MEC Academic All-Conference ... Logged 31 tackles with 1.5 for a loss ... Logged a season-high seven stops at Fairmont State (9/24) including five solo tackles ... Had four games with five or more tackles ... Had his first TFL come at Glenville State (9/17) ... Helped the team to a .500 record within Moutain East action and a strong 4-1 home record. High School: Originally from Sumter, South Carolina where he went to Sumter High School ... Was under Head Coach Barnes and position coach Arthur while at Sumter HS ... As a senior, he had 113 tackles to go with five tackles for loss and three sacks while as a junior he had 84 tackles to go with three sacks ... Was a two-time All-Region selection ... Helped lead Sumter to the third round of playoffs each of his years on the team ... Also was a member of the track & field team at the school, placing fifth at Nike Outdoor Nationals in the shotput his senior year ... Dad played football at Winston-Salem State and Appalachian State.