Penn football's touchdown machine: The rise of Malachi Hosley

Run — don’t walk — this fall to see Penn football's sophomore running back Malachi Hosley run it back at Franklin Field.

Hosley is coming off the heels of a freshman season where he broke records and collected accolades: Ivy League Rookie of the Year, first team All-Ivy, FCS Football Central Freshman All-America. In his breakout game against Cornell, he had a program record 96 yards run to score a touchdown.

It was the freshman season most people dream about having.

“He [was] a talented player in high school, so when you take that high school film and put it to [the] college level and can see [his impact] that quickly in his first year with all the accolades he got with it,” coach Ray Priore said. “Those plays are made by some God-given talents.”

The lead up to his electric debut season comes years in the making. Hosley hails from Columbus, Ga. — a town less than an hour away from Auburn University and three hours away each from the University of Alabama and University of Georgia. There, the SEC and high school football culture dominates, making it the perfect stomping grounds for a young man who got his start as at three-year-old on a flag football team.  

But ironically, in the south, Hosley’s favorite NFL team is located on the opposite side of the country: Seattle.

In the early 2010s, the Seattle Seahawks started rising within the league. Marshawn Lynch, nicknamed “Beast Mode,” was a huge factor in their success. He helped lead the Seahawks to a 2014 Super Bowl victory — and in doing so, became one of Hosley’s inspirations as a running back. Today, Hosley also looks to Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles and Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers as models for his play.

“[How] they can do it all, catch it out the backfield, go outside and catch so they’re on the field at all times, and they’re great runners,” Hosley said.

The running back position is all about versatility. Hosley has been adding to his skillset throughout the years, not just through training on the gridiron, but also through other sports. In high school, he competed for both the basketball and track and field teams. Both have been instrumental to his success on the field, adding moves like the spin move from basketball and developing his explosive speed.

But the technicalities that go into performing as a running back are not what Hosley values most about the position. Out of all the reasons to love the role, Hosley loves that he can utilize his creativity so much in plays, finding ways to carve out first downs and touchdowns in the open space and backfield.

“My old coach used to say, ‘just go out and be yourself,’” Hosley said. “Just basically a way of just saying, ‘go play free, do you.’”

(And his least favorite part of being a running back? “There’s really nothing to hate about it, probably about how they’re underpaid in the league.”)

Whether he’s out on the field or in the locker room, Hosley strives every day to be a leader for the team. He gets the message across through his actions and levelheadedness on the field. It is the type of attitude that he will need to carry with him going into his sophomore season. This time, Hosley will be on everyone’s radar as a threat on the field.  

“The key part to this is ‘you’re a good player, and everybody knows you’re a good player,’” Priore said. “Now it’s how you can keep yourself grounded and stay focused on what you need to get accomplished in terms of the scheme and everything else.”

As for the sophomore slump, Hosley is not focused on the pressure of living up to his previous season, which earned him Penn’s first Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors since Miles Macik in 1993.

“I’m not worried about it,” Hosley said. “I just keep my head down and keep working and grinding every day just to be the best I can.”

Hosley has big goals, not just for himself, but for the whole team. After going 3-4 in Ivy League play last year, there are whispers questioning how Penn will perform this season. But Hosley is ready to show everyone that Penn will be the team to beat. And the teams he has circled on his calendar?

“Harvard and Princeton,” Hosley said immediately. He had strong performances at both — he scored two touchdowns against Harvard and had 138 total yards against Princeton, but they were overshadowed by one-possession losses.

It is not about what happened last season, but about what is about to unfold across the next two months.

Penn’s "Touchdown Machine" is back. And you do not want to miss out.