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Panthers' new 6-foot-4, 309-pound DL was a college baseball slugger
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- Panthers' new 6-foot-4, 309-pound DL was a college baseball slugger
The Carolina Panthers just got themselves a home-run hitter. No, like, an actual home-run hitter.
On Monday, the reigning NFC South champions officially announced the signings of two undrafted rookies. The team added running back Miles Davis (whose name is somehow not the most interesting part of this post) and defensive tackle Tywone Malone Jr., a former college baseball player.
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Malone spent his first two years of college at the University of Mississippi, where he appeared in 14 games on the Rebels' defensive line between 2021 and 2022. The 6-foot-4, 309-pounder also played for the school's baseball program, as a first baseman.
In 13 games on the diamond, Malone picked up five hits over 19 at-bats, good enough for a respectable .263 batting average. Three of those five hits were home runs, and helped account for a .737 slugging percentage and a 1.100 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage).
(For context, Major League Baseball's current leader in both of those statistics is New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice—who entered the day with a .671 slugging percentage and a 1.077 OPS.)
After his time in Oxford, Malone moved on to Ohio State University—where he dropped the bat completely. His focus shifted fully to the gridiron, and he became a national champion with the Buckeyes in 2024.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: New Panthers DL Tywone Malone Jr. slugged over .700 as college 1B
