Senior Ryan Maloney has been talking to many potential colleges, and not just about his football skills.
If you’re looking for perfect grammar from a Twitter handle, you might want to start following Ryan Maloney.
After all, he’s talking with some really smart people.
Maloney is going into his senior year at William Penn Charter School, and after his strong junior season on the football field, Maloney is being monitored by some very prestigious colleges. Because of that, he isn’t using much text speak in his replies. Instead, he’s being meticulous with his writing.
Every tweet is a potential college interview.
“I had a pretty good year last year and after that I would get a lot of people contacting me,” said Maloney, who lives in Chalfont. “Mostly, they write to me on Twitter and then set up a phone call. It’s stressful because you’re trying to find a school and all, but it’s fun, too. I’ve had some really good schools contact me.”
We’re not just talking good football schools.
“I’ve heard from Penn, Lafayette, Lehigh and Harvard,” Maloney said. “They all write in perfect spelling and grammar. I was really careful when I wrote back. You want to make a good first impression.”
Last year, Maloney made quite an impression on everyone when he had a breakout football season at Penn Charter.
Also a solid basketball player, Maloney really showed people what he could do last year when he played defensive end and outside linebacker and on offense he starred at tight end, as well as slot receiver and H-back.
As much as he loves offense, he’s at his best on the defensive side of the ball.
“I think, last year, I had a really good year, I think I just played better because I was faster and stronger,” Maloney said. “I got more notice for that. I think I’m a better defensive player, even though I like offense, too. I’ll play anywhere.”
As Maloney got better, so did the Quakers.
Last year, Penn Charter finished 9–1. The only blemish was a setback to Malvern Prep, which went on to win the Inter-Ac championship.
That doesn’t sit well with Maloney.
He’s not upset the Friars won. He knows they’re a great football team. But, last year, he wanted it to be the Quakers who walked away with the championship. And this year, he has even higher hopes for Penn Charter.
“You always want to win, but I think now that I’m a senior and the other seniors, we really want to win this year,” said Maloney, who spent two years playing for the Little Quakers. “I know it’s going to be really tough because the whole league is tough, and Malvern Prep is really good again. I think we’re a lot like them. We have good players, they have a few Division I players, but we’re good, too. We’re going to work really hard to make sure, this year, it’s our year.
“This year, we have worked hard to win. And we have a much tougher schedule, I think. We know this is going to be a good year, so we want to be ready for the league. We’ll get better before the league starts.”
Maloney hopes to make his college decision early in the school year so he can focus on playing his sports.
Ideally, he’ll know where he’s going early in the fall so he can turn his attention to helping the Quakers win the Inter-Ac crown. He’s also looking forward to playing basketball because it could be his final year of playing the other sport he loves.
“For most of my life, I was 50–50 basketball and football,” Maloney said. “I love basketball. I know my future is in football, but I want to play it out. And since, in the spring, I can’t play AAU basketball anymore because I’ll be too old as a senior, I think I’m going to run track.”
He won’t have to worry about track for a few months, but this summer he’s doing his best to make sure Penn Charter’s facilities are in tiptop shape.
Maloney is doing maintenance at the school over the summer. He does whatever is needed to make sure the campus is beautiful.
“My dad owns a landscaping company, so I’ve learned a lot from him, but I’m unable to work with him all the time because of my schedule with football, but working at Penn Charter worked out better for me,” Maloney said. “Sometimes on weekends when I’m off, I’ll work with him, but during the week, I’ll mow the lawn or do some weed whacking. It works perfectly with my schedule since I’m there anyway, so it’s a great job.”
It also keeps him in shape as he continues to get ready for the season.
He’s now ready for the final year at the school.
“Every year is big, but senior year is the biggest,” Maloney said. “We all have high expectations this year. We have the talent and we’re working hard. We all expect this to be a very good season.”
