Maliek Stallings took a position change with the Noxubee County High School football team as a challenge, not a demotion.
Stallings began last season alternating snaps at quarterback with Armoni Clark. The position seemed natural since Stallings already had relatives Omarr Conner and Timorrius Conner play the position for the Tigers.
As the season progressed, coach Tyrone Shorter felt Stallings would best help the eventual Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 4A state champions on the defensive side of the ball.
“Everyone wants to play quarterback, deep down I knew my future on the next level would be on defense,” Stallings said. “I had to grow my body a little bit more into a defensive player. Quarterback was a fit, but this was too.”
Stallings took another step towards finalizing those college plans Friday with a verbal commitment to the University of Memphis.
“Everyone at Memphis has treated me like family,” Stallings said. “Each time, I visit, it feels special, it feels right. It’s a family atmosphere and they have been pushing me hard to come up there and join. Plus, it’s a chance to play cornerback. That’s very exciting to me. On the college level, it looked like it was going to be the eventual destination. So this is the right fit.”
As a sophomore, Stallings threw for 2,442 yards and 22 touchdowns. The Tigers finished 9-5, losing in the third round of the Class 4A playoffs.
Last season, Stallings had 12 pass deflections and 20 total tackles, while helping anchor a defensive unit, which allowed less than 24 points per game.
Noxubee County finished 11-4 with a win over St. Stanislaus in the state championship game.
This season, Stallings and two-way player Kyziah Pruitt, a Mississippi State commitment, will be trying to help lead the squad to back-to-back titles for the second time in five seasons.
“It’s a tradition of excellence around here and we want to keep that going,” said the 6-foot-1, 168-pound Stallings. “This team has a lot of young guys but they have been working hard in practice. When you get to the varsity level (at Noxubee County), there is an expectation. The young guys know how important it is to buy into the work ethic to produce championships.”
Stallings becomes the ninth commitment for the Memphis Class of 2019. The 247 web site lists Stallings as a dual-threat athlete. The online Noxubee County roster still lists him as quarterback.
“Maliek can line up anywhere on the field and help a team win,” Shorter said. “He’s got a good support system. People before him have played college ball, so when he needs encouragement, he has several places to go.”
Stallings said he has frequently walked down the road to break down game film with Timorrius Conner, who played quarterback at East Mississippi Community College and is now at Jackson State University. This year’s film will still be broken down but the conversation will be vastly different.
“Defense is fun, because I enjoy the physical aspect of playing football,” Stallings said. “College coaches kept telling me they wanted to see what I could on defense because of my hands and my speed. Everything is working out quite nicely.”
The 247 web site lists additional offers for Stallings from Southern Mississippi, Louisiana Tech and Louisiana-Monroe.
n In other recuriting news, Starkville High School place-kicker Garin Boniol announced a verbal commitment to Louisiana Tech University Thursday on his Twitter page.
During his junior season, Boniol hit 54-of-58 extra points and 9-of-15 field goals, while punting for a 35.3 yard average. Nineteen of 71 kickoffs went for touchbacks for the MHSAA Class 6A North State champion Yellow Jackets.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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