MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University offensive lineman
Nick Malone, a redshirt junior from Morgantown, West Virginia, is the winner of the 2022 Tommy Nickolich Memorial Award, presented by the Blue & Gold News.
Each Spring, the Blue & Gold News awards the Tommy Nickolich Memorial Award to a walk-on team member who has distinguished himself through his attitude and work ethic. The award is presented in memory of Tommy Nickolich, a former WVU player (1979-82) who died of cancer in 1983.
Malone is in his fourth year as a member of the football team and has made his mark as a valuable member of the offensive line. He played in all 13 games in 2021 and earned a start against Oklahoma State. He added depth at tackle and also has been inserted as an additional lineman for power situations.
Through his hard work, he has shown growth and has seen his playing time increase each season. He was used on a season-high 37 snaps against Long Island last year and had two knockdowns against the Sharks.
Malone is majoring in entrepreneurship and innovation and has earned spots on WVU's Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll and the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll.
Past Nickolich Award winners:
1991 Keith Taparausky, RB
1992 Brett Parise, WR
1993 Matt McCulty, WR
1994 Randy Fulmore, DB
1995 Rob Keys, DB
1996 Matt Ceresa, OL
1997 David Lightcap, DB
1998 Mark Corman, TE
1999 Bryan Lorenz, LB
2000 Ben Collins, LB
2001 Jeremy Knapp, TE
2002 Moe Fofana, RB
2003 John Pennington, WR
2004 Jeff Noechel, LB
2005 George Shehl, H/DB
2006 Tim Lindsey, LS
2007 Andy Emery, LB
2008 Adam Hughes, LS
2009 Josh Taylor, DL
2010 Matt Lindamood, FB
2011
Ryan Nehlen, WR
2012 Tyler Anderson, DE
2013 Connor Arlia, WR
2014 Michael Calicchio, OL
2015 Justin Arndt, LB
2016 Jon Lewis, DL
2017
Nick Meadows, LS
2018
Evan Staley, K
2019 Jake Abbott, LB
2020
Osman Kamara, S
2021
Graeson Malashevich, WR/H
2022 Nick Malone, OL
