Malaki Starks: ‘I Love Winning’ | Baltimore Ravens

Malachi, how exciting is it to be on the field? And John Harbaugh told us you even broke down the huddle. Just kind of what is that? What was that like for you today? Yeah. Um it’s just a great opportunity to be here um organization like this and uh we got a really good group of guys here. Uh so just be able to go out there today, get in the field, move around, uh communicate, just kind of get a little taste of what it’s going to be like. Um I think it was good for everybody. Did you expect to break down the team? No, he he threw me off with it. Um, but it was an honor, you know, and I don’t I don’t take it lightly. Um, I’m I’m happy I got to do it and hopefully I can do it again. They always talk about your football IQ and how impressed they were in the interviews and whatnot. Take us through like what would be some advice you’d give another player that might come on next year in terms of picking up a playbook or how you how you go about that? Yeah, I say just really dive into it. Um, you move so much faster in the game of football when you know what people around you are doing. Uh, so just being able to kind of pick up on what your other safety is doing and then your corner and then your your nickel. Um, and then the linebackers and then when you get to the front, you know you’re fit. Um, and then at that point, you know, defense. So now you’re just playing with the offense. Okay, what the offense giving me? They’re going to give me this. How can I how can I beat that? You know, so um, at a certain point, you just get to where you’re playing defense, but you’re playing with the offense while you’re playing defense. Can can you share a little bit about what your message was breaking down the Yeah. Um, like I said earlier, it was a really good day. Uh, guys had really good energy. Um, everybody was on time in the meetings. I told them just to be on time again and come out tomorrow with the same energy and just keep having fun. You know, we’re all here chasing our dreams. So, um, we’re all supporting each other and just, you know, keep it keep it going. John, what you’ve been through with coming practices, have you seen the difference between the John Harball maybe that you were meeting during draft season and maybe now in practice moving down? Um, he’s the same. I he’s the same guy day in and day out. Um he really is. Uh and just like his energy when he’s out there and just like what he brings to to practice and to the team. Um I mean like it’s it’s crazy like he walks out there and he starts talking and it’s like everybody is just boom, let’s go to work. Uh so um it’s a huge blessing to have him as a coach. having you break down the team as he mentioned up here too with kind of like with the first round pick there’s a lot expected of you and that’s when you to be that kind of leader to see this kind of was that a reminder to you of kind of what they’re going to expect from you going forward despite the fact you just got here yeah um yeah but I already knew it um just kind of coming in we had talked about it uh just you know being that being that leader uh keep being myself who I was when I came from the University of Georgia so um just being able to continue to be myself and um really dive into being a pro and bring guys along with me as well. Um I think it’s huge for me. When did your when did your leadership kind of qualities first take root? Like is that always been there or how did you develop yourself? Um I think it’s it’s always been there but I think uh when I got to University of Georgia um I just followed the right people. Uh the leaders that were there before me like I watched them and I saw what they did and then I figured out how I wanted to lead myself. Um and I feel like you should always lead by example so that’s what I do. But like I’ve learned different styles and techniques that people use and I kind of picked it up and put it into my own leadership. So just being able to watch people um the right way and the right guys has helped me a lot. Um Nolan Smith, Chris Smith, uh Dan Jackson who’s in this process with me. Um a lot of guys like that just really helped me out. Coming from a successful program in Georgia, now being drafted to another successful franchise, what does it what does it mean to you to be able to play for a perennial playoff team? Yeah. Um, I love winning. So, uh, I I’m excited. I really am. Um, and I really I’m excited to learn. I’m excited for the the vets to get back and and you know, even the guys I’m here with now, just learning from everybody. Um, and just really diving into the whole process. Uh, no, you go ahead. I was going to ask, you know, Kyle and Darius, what do you hope that you can learn from them as this offseason goes? Yeah. Um, I just want to be a sponge. like they they know so much football and like watching tape. Um you see it they just move so fluently like I had talked about earlier like they’re on a different level of like knowing knowledge of football. Um and I I want to get there. So just being able to you know be a sponge and listen and you know really just dive into it uh with those with those guys and everybody in the room too as well. Um I’m excited. You got a chance to talk to Hamilton or Marlon Humphrey any of those guys yet? I know hasn’t been that long since you were drafted. Um I had I had uh reached out to Kyle and text me. he had text me back and then I texted Rocoin as well. Um, so I’ve got the chance to talk to a few guys.

Safety Malaki Starks on breaking down the practice huddle, what he wants to learn from Baltimore’s safeties, and more.

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