2024 NFL Draft Prospect Interview: Isaiah Malcome, RB, Saginaw Valley State University

• Name: Isaiah Malcome
• Position: RB / KR / PR
• College: University of Pennsylvania / SVSU
• Height: 5’5
• Weight: 185
• Twitter: @zaymalcome
• Instagram: @isaiahmalcome

What makes you a top prospect at your position in the 2024 NFL Draft? 

Versatility. I am a playmaker who just needs the ball in my hands. I can affect the game in multiple ways because I’m the energizer bunny.

At what age were you first interested in the sport of football?

3. Been playing since then, so I basically grew up around the sport all my life and knew I would have a chance to take it all the way.

What is one thing that NFL teams should know about you?

Lionhearted. Film and Combine Stats don’t do me justice. You need to bring me in to see how much I affect the game. I am a game changer for real.

If you could donate to one cause in the world, what would it be? 

I would donate to the American Diabetes Association because I have a family history of relatives having diabetes. My parents have it also, so I would love to support them and find ways to treat it and cure it for good because my folks mean a lot to me.

What is the best advice you have ever received? 

No means next opportunity. You are gonna hear a thousand people say no before you get one yes. So keep working because when that yes comes, your body of work gonna show.

Who was your childhood hero? 

My father because of his work ethic. He was a hustler and he showed me how to hustle. Always told me there is always something I could be doing to better myself and I took that to heart. 

Who is the most underrated teammate in your locker room at your school? 

At SVSU, I would say it was our QB named Jairus Grissom. He started as a WR but through developing our personal relationship, I found out he was a natural QB from HS. Watching highlights, I knew he was an amazing athlete who just needed his opportunity and when he got it, he made the most of it this season.

What is your biggest pet peeve? 

Not having eye contact when speaking to me or to others. I was always taught that you give people the utmost respect by looking them in the eye when speaking. 

Overcoming adversity is what defines character, what was the hardest moment in your life to overcome? 

When I got injured my junior year of college. This was the first time I was sidelined for longer than 2-3 weeks and the injury I had takes a lot of mental fortitude to come back from because you have to build yourself from the ground up; however, I’m thankful because nothing can shake me now because I built my foundation the right way.

Tell me something about your school and why it is so special to you?

University of Penn is an Ivy League school, so my mind has to be exceptional to graduate Cum Laude and be a student-athlete. It’s special to me because my entire family is from Philadelphia, but I’m from Atlanta, so I think it was awesome that I could go back to my family roots.

What is your favorite snack food? 

Fruit or Ruffles Hot Sour Cream and Cheddar. Ruffles the best chip hands down.

What is the best part of football? 

Relationships and the lessons you learn. The connections I have built through the sport are lifelong. Then, growing up around football, you learn a lot of life lessons that are applicable to anything. I am thankful for this sport.

If you could sell yourself in one sentence what would you say? 

I am always the X factor, I can change games instantly because I’m the best player when I’m in between the white lines.

If you could compare your play to one player in the NFL who would it be? 

Darren Sproles. I would say I am his carbon copy, but 2.0. Faster, Quicker, More explosive.

If you could have dinner with three people dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Ernie Davis, Kanye West, and Malcolm X. All of these people went through gruesome conditions to get to where they wanted to be or to fight for the change they wanted. It takes an extreme amount of character to stand for what you believe in and I admire it.