Rivals250 DE talks rival visits

St. Joseph (Mich.) four-star 2017 defensive end Corey Malone-Hatcher would rather being playing the post-season with his teammates this month, but he is using the time to attend college games.

This past weekend Malone-Hatcher made his way down to Ohio State to see the Buckeyes host Michigan State. This was the first game he attended in Columbus this season, but he was able to attend games there last year as a recruit.

"Obviously the result didn't come out how they were planning this year, but in the pregame I was impressed with how the coaches held themselves," Malone-Hatcher said. "They seemed a lot more positive with each other, a lot more friendly with the players. I was super impressed with the atmosphere this time. Everything seemed a lot more fun, a lot more relaxed."

Ohio State has been involved with Malone-Hatcher's recruitment from the very beginning, and his most recent visit furthered the four-star prospect's interest in the program.

"Ohio State was the first school that offered me, and I've thought about that a lot," Malone-Hatcher said. "It meant a lot to me for them to show that kind of interest in such a young prospect. I like the direction they are heading in and am looking forward to see what else goes down."

Malone-Hatcher will see Ohio State play live again this upcoming Saturday, but this time he will be a guest of Michigan for their annual season-ending rivalry match-up with the Buckeyes.

"I went the last two years. This will be my third time watching the rivalry," Malone-Hatcher said. "I've seen Michigan's program and gotten a good look at them. The results show the direction they are heading in is 180 degrees different from last year. They are now back to being that dominant force in the Big Ten."

Malone-Hatcher has not planned out any bowl practice visits yet, but he has heard from coaches at Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Tennessee and Wisconsin that they will be through his school over the next month.

Malone-Hatcher actually had his junior season cut short due to a lower leg injury, which he initially sustained over the summer and aggravated in the second game of season.

"I had two options: either put it in a boot and let it heal, or just go get it fixed and make sure it is not a reoccurring issue," Malone-Hatcher said. "We opted to just get it taken care of right now and not have to worry about it anymore."

The 6-foot-3, 246-pound Malone-Hatcher is ranked as the No. 223 overall prospect, the No. 9 strongside defensive end and the No. 6 player in the state of Michigan's 2017 class.

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