Former Westfield athlete finds new home

ATHENS, Ga. — Byron native and former Westfield Hornet Tyler Malakius has found a new place to call home.

Malakius played football and wrestled for the Westfield School, serving as a captain on the gridiron under Coach Jamey Watson. He was a GISA 2-3A All-Region selection and a GISA 3A All-State honorable mention selection.

Since the fall of 2019, Malakius has been a member of the University of Georgia’s football team, reaching the roster as a walk-on.

Following this, Malakius was redshirted by the coaching staff. The redshirt year gave Malakius time to get bigger, stronger and faster for collegiate competition the following fall. In the fall of 2020, he was a member of the scout team and would practice for another year, before seeing any on-field competition.

The first collegiate game for Tyler Malakius was in 2021 against the Charleston Southern Buccaneers. Malakius saw very limited action and would only play in one game for the Bulldogs. While in Athens, the 6’4”, 270-pound defensive end competed in rigorous position battles with various members of the UGA defensive front.

Malakius won a national championship with the “Dawgs” in 2022, but earlier this year, Malakius informed coaches of his decision to leave and enter the NCAA transfer portal.

Now, many readers may wonder: what is the NCAA transfer portal? The NCAA transfer portal is a compliance system created in October 2018 by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to manage and facilitate the process for student-athletes seeking to transfer between member institutions. While numbers show the transfer portal is a risky move for most athletes, many athletes have benefitted from it.

Malakius believed his time in Athens was near an ending and insisted on playing more. Malakius’s reason for leaving “Between the Hedges” is that he wanted more playing time. After entering the transfer portal,

Tyler Malakius received offers from Samford, Chattanooga, Western Illinois and the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV).

Tyler’s brother Tavis Malakius played for UNLV in 2018 after transferring from Fort Scott Community College. Tavis Malakius was also a junior college All-American. With three years of eligibility left, Tyler Malakius announced his verbal commitment to continue his playing career at Western Illinois.

Western Illinois is a Division-One football championship subdivision in Macomb, Illinois. Western Illinois also competes in the Missouri Valley Conference featuring former national champions, North Dakota State.

Malakius will add some depth to the defensive front of Western Illinois, as they are coming off a 2-9 season last fall.

Malakius mentioned the following: ” I am still writing my script. Watch this become a movie. One hundred percent committed to Western Illinois.” Tyler Malakius and the Western Illinois Leathernecks will kick off their season on September 1 against the University of Tennessee at Martin.

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