Head Coach Thomas Ford Jr. announced the hiring of V.J. Malo as the new defensive line coach.
Malo comes to the Palouse following a season at Portland State, his alma mater, where he was the defensive ends coach.
“Really excited about VJ joining our staff,” Coach Ford stated on Malo’s appointment to his staff. “He is a rising star in the profession, and his work really showed when we prepared for PSU this year. He had those guys playing hard and running to the football up front, even when they weren’t having a ton of team success. His passion, energy, and high-level recruiting ability will be a big addition to our program.”
In his season at PSU, Malo coached Spencer Elliott who ranked in the top five in the Big Sky Conference for most sacks with 6.5 and was fifth in the league for most TFL with 11.0.
He spent the 2024 season at Seattle’s O’Dea High School where the team won the Washington state championship.
As a player for the Vikings, Malo, a native of West Seattle, was an all-conference defensive end. In his junior season, Malo played in all 11 games for Portland State and recorded 45 tackles, 20 TFL, and 10.5 sacks. In addition, he also forced three fumbles and recorded two PBU. His 2021 season was one for the record books, as he set new benchmarks at PSU for most TFL and
sacks by a Viking at the FCS level.
He graduated from Portland State in 2023 with a degree in Sociology.
