WVU Football
Malachi Hood Passing the Torch | WVU Football All 105
All 105 is a West Virginia Sports Now series profiling each member of the 2026 WVU Football Roster.
Malachi Hood spent the first four seasons of his college career at Illinois, breaking into the starting lineup for eight games as a redshirt junior. He’ll finish his college journey with the Mountaineers, where he has the strongest Power Four resume of any of the 11 linebackers rostered.
Hood stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 229 pounds. He displayed the mix of coverage, tackling and pass rush expected out of a middle linebacker last season, amassing 44 tackles (28 solo), along with a sack, 2.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup. While he’ll only take the field with WVU Football for one season, Hood can provide a lasting impact to the team in a linebacker room with four freshmen, serving as a mentor for the young group.
45 • Malachi Hood, redshirt senior linebacker
Last Year: Hood played 13 games at Illinois, starting eight.
Stats: 44 tackles (28 solo), 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one forced fumble and one pass breakup.
Post-Camp Outlook: Most of the Mountaineers’ experience at middle linebacker comes from older transfers like Hood. Having started at a Big Ten school should give him an advantage in terms of playing time.
Projected Role: As a redshirt senior, expect Hood to start during his final college season. He could also play a valuable role as a mentor to West Virginia’s freshman linebackers.
Accolades, Highlights: Hood won an Illinois state championship in high school and is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
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