2015: Started all 13 games at ‘X’ receiver ... ranked second on the team with 25 receptions and 463 receiving yards ... three touchdown catches were tied for third on the team ... lofty 18.5 yards per reception would have ranked 28th nationally had he not fallen one catch shy of qualifying for the national statistical rankings ... caught at least one pass in 12-of-13 games ... hauled in three passes for a season-best 102 yards in a win over eventual Cure Bowl participant Georgia State in his hometown of Atlanta ... caught a 43-yard touchdown pass the following week at UL Monroe ... had four receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown against eventual Sun Belt champion and New Orleans Bowl participant Arkansas State ... caught another touchdown pass the following week at Idaho ... recorded three receptions for 58 yards against UL Lafayette ... notched two receptions for 30 yards, including a 24-yarder, in Raycom Media Camellia Bowl victory over Ohio.
2014: Led Appalachian State with 585 receiving yards ... ranked second on team with 36 receptions ... 16.2 yards per reception were tops on the team among players with at least 16 catches ... ranked second on the squad with three touchdown receptions ... led Mountaineers with 25 “money” receptions (catches that resulted in a first down or touchdown) ... 69.4 percent of his catches were “money” receptions, good for the second-highest percentage among Mountaineers with at least three total catches on the season ... caught at least one pass in every game ... had a relatively slow start with just two receptions for 23 yards through two games ... broke out of early slump with seven catches for 61 yards and a touchdown in 21-20 loss at Southern Miss ... had four receptions for 59 yards at Georgia Southern and four receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown versus South Alabama ... recorded first-career 100-yard game with five catches for 105 yards in wild overtime loss to Liberty ... caught a 59-yard touchdown pass on Appalachian State’s first offensive play to kickstart the Mountaineers’ 53-14 victory at Troy ... matched season high with seven receptions for 82 yards (second-highest total of the season) in come-from-behind win over UL Monroe ... averaged 23.8 yards per catch over the final three games of the season (2 receptions for 31 yards at Arkansas State, 1 for 33 at UL Lafayette, 2 for 55 vs. Idaho).
2013: Caught 31 passes for 293 yards, good for fourth on the team in both categories ... made catches in 10-of-12 games and had multiple receptions in each of the final seven contests of the season ... got off to a relatively slow start with just three receptions over the first five games ... exploded for 28 receptions and 252 yards over the final seven games of the campaign ... broke out of the mini-slump with two catches for 18 yards against Samford and three for 39 yards at Furman ... truly had his coming-out party over the next two games with six receptions for 57 yards in win over Georgia Southern and nine catches for 74 yards (both career highs) in close loss to Chattanooga ... hauled in four catches for 41 yards in win at No. 24-ranked Wofford.
2012: Appeared in all 12 games as a member of the regular rotation of Appalachian State’s top four wide receivers … made three starts (vs. The Citadel, at Georgia Southern and vs. Illinois State), the latter two coming in four-receiver sets … earned freshman all-America recognition from College Sports Journal … named to Southern Conference’s all-freshman team … ranked fifth on the team with 32 receptions and 370 receiving yards and ranked sixth on the squad with two touchdown catches … caught at least one pass in 11-of-12 games and had multiple receptions in 9-of-12 … notched 15 receptions for 144 yards over the first three games of his collegiate career (at East Carolina, vs. Montana, vs. The Citadel), including a season-high 69 receiving yards (on five catches) at ECU and season-best six receptions (for 41 yards) vs. The Citadel … the five receptions at ECU were the most by a Mountaineer in his first collegiate game since Daryl Skinner had six catches (for 40 yards) in the 1997 season opener at Clemson … tallied 21 catches for 248 yards over the first six games of the campaign, capped by a 30-yard reception in win at Chattanooga, two catches for 36 yards in rout over Coastal Carolina and three receptions for 38 yards in homecoming win over Elon … slowed down a bit after the fast start and managed just three catches for 26 yards over the next three games (at Samford, vs. Wofford, at Western Carolina) … rebounded to haul in eight receptions for 96 yards over the final three contests of the season … opened the stretch run with four crucial receptions for 22 yards, including a nine-yard touchdown catch in the final minute of the third quarter that helped lift Appalachian to a 31-28 triumph over top-ranked Georgia Southern … caught two passes for 61 yards, including a 48-yard touchdown catch (his longest gain of the season), in 38-37 overtime loss to Illinois State in second round of NCAA Division I Football Championship.
High School: Rated a two-star prospect by Rivals.com … led Gwinnett County with 82 receptions, 1,059 receiving yards,14 touchdowns and 12.9 yards per catch as a senior … received second-team all-state and first-team all-county recognition in 2011 … participated in 2011 Rivalries of Gwinnett all-star game and 2010 RisingSeniors.com Georgia Junior Bowl … named Gwinnett County Player of the Month in October 2011 … voted team’s MVP and Receiver of the Year as a senior … broke school and county records for receptions (15) and receiving yards (276) in a game and receptions in a season (82) … coached by Todd Wofford.
Personal: Full name is Malachi Fitzgerald Jones ... born March 20, 1994 (21 years old) ... son of Michele and the late Andre Jones ... late father, Andre, won 1988 national championship as a linebacker at Notre Dame and played professionally for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions and Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL) … brother, T.J., played wide receiver at Notre Dame and was selected in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions … brother, Jahmai, was selected in the second round of the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (70th pick overall) ... uncle, Phillip Daniels, played 14 seasons in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins … godfather, Raghib “Rocket” Ismail, finished second in voting for the 1990 Heisman Trophy at Notre Dame and recorded over 5,000 receiving yards in nine NFL seasons ... Malachi enjoys golfing, photography and drawing … is one of Appalachian State’s most active student-athletes in the community ... following the 2012 season, he cut his signature long hair that had grown for two years to donate to Locks of Love, a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvataged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss ... majors in exercise science … member of Appalachian State athletics’ academic honor roll and was a member of Southern Conference academic honor roll.
