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Draft Diamonds Prospect Interview: Malcolm Agnew, RB, Southern Illinois University

agnewEvery year, NFL Draft Diamonds brings our readers the best in depth interviews on the internet. We specialize in giving players an opportunity to showcase their talents on our website. We conducted interviews last year with over 300 plus players. We want you to enjoy our interviews, because when these young men are in the league, we will not be surprised, and neither should you. 

What is your name?

Malcolm Agnew, but I go by a lot of different nicknames…Too many to list here haha. 


 Where do you play college football?

Southern Illinois University Salukis… Go Dawgs! 


 How many teams were recruiting you out of high school?

I would say over 25 schools recruited me hard and 10 gave me scholarships. (Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Virginia, Oregon State, Southern Illinois, UCLA, Colorado, Colorado State, and Wyoming

 How did you choose your school?

 Honestly, It was a wrap the day that Oregon State offered me. I really felt like God was calling me to attend that university. After I did the research about the university and how well the program had been performing in the past and how everyone raved about Mike Riley, I knew where I was going to go. That was the school I ended up choosing. I had a great two years there and met my future wife at the wonderful university as well before I decided to follow God’s plan for me and transfer to SIUC

 Where are you from? 

Born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Raised in Chesterfield, Mo!

Who is your role model, and why?

My father is definitely my biggest role model. That man has showed me the values of hard work, dedication, having a strong faith, and most importantly, the impact that love has on individuals.


Have any scouts met with you yet, and if so what are they saying? 

The scouts are just telling me to keep working hard and control what I can control which are my attitude and effort.

Did you play any other sports growing up? 


Sure did! I played basketball for a couple years (wasn’t great so that dream died quickly) and I also ran track until my senior year of high school.

agnew 2Did you play any other positions in football? 


I played cornerback too, although I loved to tackle more than I liked to cover, so I basically was an extra linebacker haha.

At your position, what separates you from others? 


I think what separates me from others is my burst through the hole and my balance. My ability to speed through a hole and keep my balance and shake off wimpy tacklers helps me gain big chunks of yardage for my teams!

When you are breaking down film, what do you look for? 


I like to first take the big picture look and try to see what the defense is doing as a whole. What that means is I take a look at their defensive schemes and their strengths and weaknesses that come with it. After that, I take a small picture view and look at tendencies of certain players, starting with the linebackers and then to the linemen and safeties. Tendencies and any small details that a player can find on film can be the difference between a 2 yard gain, a 20 yard gain, and an 80 yard touchdown.

Who was the toughest player you ever faced?

The toughest player I played against was Mychal Kendricks. Kendricks was a beast when I played against him at The University of California (Golden Bears). He played so hard all the time! There is actually a picture on Google where he hit me so hard I got spun around in the air. That one hurt!


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

I would compare myself to Mark Ingram! We are similar in size although he has a few pounds on me and he has great feet and great pad level. He also possesses the ability to burst through small holes and use his great balance and power to break tackles

What was the biggest obstacle in your life you had to overcome, and how did you overcome it?

Definitely me transferring from the school that I loved, Oregon State. That was my dream school, so leaving it was the hardest decision that I’ve ever made. I really had to pray to my Lord and savior on clarity if it was the right decision to make. I also had a great support system that helped me with the process of leaving. It ended up being one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Do you have any pre-game rituals? 
 

I do! A few actually. I always make sure I write the same thing on my tape before every game. On my right wrist, I will write the scripture of the day that I have in mind that I feel that can inspire myself and others that see it. I also draw a cross and write the abbreviation A.M.D.G. which stands for Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (Means for the greater glory of God). On the left wrist, I write my Mother and Girlfriend’s initials, and two of my teammates numbers that passed away (7,92) as those are my biggest prayer warriors I’m bringing into battle. I also pray right before my team goes out the locker room and with a few of my teammates.

What is your biggest strength?

My biggest strength is my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Without him, I would not have the abilities to play the best game in the World.


What is your biggest weakness?

Where do I even begin? I can be a little bashful at times, I need to work on being more patient, as a person and as a runner haha. Although I have vastly improved on my pass catching ability and ball security, there is stillroom for improvement to get better.

If I were a GM and gave you a second to sell yourself, what would you say?

Lets Change the World and Win some games! (Saying that really fast.)

Who was your favorite player and NFL team growing up?

Favorite team was the St. Louis Rams! My favorite player growing up was My Father, Ray Agnew, my hero!

If you could have dinner with three people dead or alive, who would you choose?

John Wooden for sure, I would love to pick his brain about how he won 10 championships coaching College basketball. He also was one of the most influential people to ever walk this earth. A true world changer.

Walter Payton: A lot of people don’t realize that as good as Walter Payton was in his Career as a player, he was a better person off the field. Would be a great honor to have dinner with him

Abraham Lincoln: I would love to see what his personality was like in a casual setting. The man outside of the role of being president.

Damond Talbot

NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com

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