Malachi Corley, a Junior at WKU and quite possibly one of the best wide receivers to ever play football for WKU, and heading into the NFL after college. Corley participated in a mock draft for the NFL and was picked in the first round. Corley went to Campbellsville High School, in Campbellsville, Kentucky. Only around 200 people went to that school in total. “When I got to Western Kentucky I was playing running back. Throughout my entire career, I was just good with the ball in my hands any way possible.” “I started as a running back for Western but when one of our best players got kicked off the team they put me on wide receiver.” Corley has been playing wide receiver ever since. He’s been playing football since he was nine years old. “When I was younger I would pick up any ball, especially a football, and just start running around with it. I would just go to my friends’ houses and knock on their doors and ask them to come out and play. We would go outside and play football all day long.” Corley started playing organized football at the age of nine. “I didn’t like it that much at first, but as I kept playing as I got used to it, I started to like it a lot more.”
Corley has also had a lot of mock drafts which he has gone in the first round. “I’ve seen me going to the Eagles at pick thirty, I’ve seen me going to the Chiefs at pick thirty, the 49rs at pick thirty-two, and the Tennessee Titans at pick thirty-nine. There’s a lot of unpredictability in it so you always have to have a backup plan. I’m getting my sports management degree right now, to go into marketing. So I can market people and market myself. In the future, I want to coach kids just like me. So I can help them on their journey to hopefully get to where I am.” Corley wanted to play football because when he was young, he wanted to find something he was good at. “I was terrible at video games, I was terrible at basketball, so football was gonna be what I do.”
The best part of playing football for WKU is “being part of such a good offense,” Corley stated. “If I could play for any team I would play for the Cincinnati Bengals I promise you.” Corley’s jersey number is eleven. When he goes to the NFL his number will remain the same.
“This year I believe we’ve had a pretty disappointing season compared to others. I originally went into the season thinking we would go ten to one and would only lose to Ohio State. Leading up to the season was really good and I thought we would have an amazing set of games.” As of November 15, 2023, their record is 5-5. If they win one more game they will get a Bowl Game. “These last few games I want to spend it with my friends that I made along the way. I wanna finish it out strong with them.”
Corley’s personal stats are currently fifty-nine catches for 735 yards and nine touchdowns. “Last year I led the country by the most yards in most catches than any other wide receiver.” Corley also had some advice for future WKU athletes. “Enjoy your experience, it comes and goes very quickly. It feels like it goes in a blink of an eye. Realize where you’re at and enjoy your moments. Don’t take anything for granted and be grateful for everything. Outside of just sports, make sure you build connections and bonds with the people you want to spend the rest of your life with. Find people who like you for who you are and want to be around you. Don’t force yourself into relationships or connections you don’t want to be in.
Owen Adams, a Sophomore at Greenwood High School, has been to three to four WKU games. “I enjoy going to WKU games, I think they’re pretty fun. We normally get to sit in the tents at the bottom and that’s always cool.”Adams has a lot of WKU spirit. “I really like the color red personally.” He claims. His favorite part of going to games is being in the tents because, “They have some really good food, especially the brownies. I usually go with some friends to the games. I believe I have a good bit of WKU Spirit,” Adams stated confidently.
As the WKU team continues to grow and train more they are getting better and stronger by each day, so they are able to continue to follow their future goals. Or touchdowns.
