Tom Malone attended Temescal Canyon High School in Lake Elsinore, California. He was a three-sport athlete who played football, basketball, and ran track. His 22.37 in the 200 meter was a school record. In football he played kicker, punter, and receiver. He was forced to miss half of his junior season due to a broken left foot. He returned to average 41.5 yards per punt and received first team all-division honors for his performance. As a senior, Malone averaged 43.5 yards per punt and made 46 of 47 field goal attempts on the season. He was named first team all-county and all-American for his play that year. Tom was also an excellent student in high school. He completed his requirements a semester early so he could get an early start at USC and he was his class valedictorian. Malone started every game at USC as a true freshman, averaging over 42 yards per punt with 28 of them inside the opponent’s 20 yard line. He had a long punt of 72 yards and served as the holder for field goals and extra points. In 2003 Malone averaged 49 yards per punt, earning first team all pac ten honors. He had a long punt of 70 yards as a sophomore. As a junior, Malone averaged 43.8 yards per punt, with 30 of his 49 kicks inside the 20 yard line. He had a long punt of 62 yards on the season and received first team all pac ten honors for the second consecutive season. He set himself up to graduate early and considered entering the 2005 NFL draft, but opted to return to USC for his senior season. Malone had arthroscopic knee surgery in the offseason to remove torn cartilage in his right knee which caused him to miss most of spring practices. Due to the success of USC in 2005, Malone didn’t have many opportunities to showcase his talent as a senior. He punted just 30 times for an average of 41.7 yards per attempt with 7 of them inside the opponent’s 20 yard line.

Tom Malone has a lot of experience as a punter, having started each of the past four seasons for the Trojans. He also served as the team’s holder on field goals and extra points. He is a right footed punter with an extremely strong leg. He has a career average of 44 yards per punt on 183 attempts and a career long punt of 72 yards. He is very good at pinning his opponent’s deep in their own territory with over 50% of his career kicks going inside the 20 yard line. He gets his kicks off quickly and does a good job of adjusting to bad snaps. He is an intelligent player and a hard worker. He understands the importance of his drops and practices them as much if not more than any punter in the nation. He only practices kicking two days a week, spending the other days practicing his drops. It isn’t uncommon to see Malone walking around campus practicing his drops in his free time as well. He did have surgery to remove torn cartilage in his right knee after the 2004 season but he has made a full recovery and had a good season as a senior. Tom Malone has been one of the most consistent punters in college football over the past four years. He has a chance to be taken on the second day of the 2006 NFL draft.