2019 Football Roster
Roster
Malik Dear
- Position:
- WR
- Height:
- 5-9
- Weight:
- 220
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Jackson, MS
- High School/Previous School:
- Murrah HS
2018 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll
CAREER:ย Versatile wide receiver who spent five seasons with the program โฆ Returned to the field in 2018 after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee in March of 2017 โฆ Played โZโ receiver most of his career and contributed some at running back โฆ Quick feet and was key in the return game โฆ Played in 47 games with nine starts and accounted for six touchdowns โฆ Two-time graduate of MSU โฆ Earned his bachelorโs degree in kinesiology in December of 2018 and then earned his masterโs degree in workforce education leadership in December 2019.
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2019 SENIOR SEASON: Played in all 13 games as a reserved wideout and primary punt returner โฆ Caught three passes for 36 yards and rushed three times for four yards โฆ Longest catch of the year was 20 yards โฆ Returned seven punts for 52 yards with a long of 40 โฆ Caught two passes for 28 yards, including a season-long 20-yarder, in the win vs. Kentucky (9/21) โฆ Had one reception for eight yards in the victory at Arkansas (11/2) โฆ Also rushed twice for four yards against the Razorbacks.
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2018 REDSHIRT JUNIOR SEASON:ย Appeared in 11 games โฆ Bulk of his action came in the return game, taking over as a kick and punt returner following an injury to Brian Cole โฆ Made one reception for 12 yards over his junior campaign โฆ Recorded three punt returns for a total of nine yards โฆ Returned two kickoffs for a total of 54 yards โฆ Averaged 27.0 yards per kick return โฆ Made a 12-yard receptionย vs. Louisiana (9/15)ย โฆ It marked his return to the field for the first time since suffering an ACL injury in March of 2017 โฆ Fielded his first kick return of the season for a 27-yard gainย vs. Louisiana Tech (11/3) โฆ Matched his season-long kick return of 27 yardsย at Ole Miss (11/22)ย โฆ Returned three punts on the season, including a career-high two punt returns in the Outback Bowlย vs. Iowa (1/1)ย โฆ Member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
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2017 JUNIOR SEASON:ย Redshirted and did not see any action after recovering from a torn ACL in spring practice.
2016 SOPHOMORE SEASON:ย Appeared in 12 games while starting in nine of them โฆ Ranked third on the squad in receiving with 23 catches for 264 yards and two scores โฆ Totaled four catches for 41 yardsย at UMass (9/24),ย including a 23-yard catch in the second quarter โฆ Caught three passes for 32 yards the following weekย vs. Auburn (10/8)ย โฆ Recorded his first rushing yards of the seasonย at BYU (10/14)ย and finished the game with 17 yards on three rushes as well as 36 receiving yards on three catches โฆ On a career-high five carries, ran for a career-high 77 yards, including a 45-yard TD dash in the second quarterย at Kentucky (10/22)ย โฆ Againstย Samford (10/29),ย caught four passes for a season-high 61 receiving yards and one touchdown โฆ Scored crucial second-quarter touchdown on a play-action pass from Nick Fitzgerald againstย Ole Miss (11/26).
2015 TRUE FRESHMAN SEASON:ย Played in 11 games with no starts in debut campaign โฆ Rushed for 110 yards on 11 carries with one touchdown and added 22 catches for 217 yards and two scores โฆ ย Tallied three receptions for 46 yards and ran once for a gain of 19ย vs. Northwestern State (9/19)ย โฆ Scored his first career touchdown on a 52-yard runย at No. 14 ย Texas A&M (10/3),ย while also finishing with two receptions for 23 yards โฆ Became the first true freshman since 2009 to have at least six receptions in a game in theย Louisiana Tech (10/17)ย home win, making six grabs for 70 yards โฆ Did not play in the Missouri or Alabama games due to ankle injury โฆ Caught two TDs and ran three times for 30 yards in the Egg Bowl againstย No. 18 Ole Miss (11/28).
HIGH SCHOOL:ย A consensus four-star athlete by every major recruiting website โฆ Ranked in the ESPN300 of 2015 (No. 206) โฆ Played wide receiver, quarterback and running back โฆ Ranked the No. 5 player in the state by 247Sports and the No. 4 player by ESPN.com and Rivals.com โฆ Timed in the 40-yard dash with a 4.4 โฆ The top all-purpose athlete in the state by Scout.com and the No. 6 overall player โฆ Finished his high school career with 3,298 rushing yards and 2,410 receiving yards โฆ Racked up 84 total touchdowns in four seasons (56 rushing, 26 receiving, two special teams) โฆ As a senior, tallied 322 yards rushing on 37 carries with 12 rushing touchdowns โฆ Added 165 yards receiving and seven scores through the air โฆ Displayed his explosive and big-play capability by averaging 11.1 yards per carry and 19.0 yards per reception for his career โฆ Member of the Clarion-Ledgerโs Dandy Dozen โฆ Selected to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl following his senior season โฆ As a junior, totaled 1,893 yards and 26 total touchdowns in 2013 โฆ Coached by Zackare Grady โฆ Committed to Mississippi State in June 2014.
PERSONAL:ย Born Malik Dionte Dear on Sept. 20, 1996 โฆ Nickname is โWeebleโ โฆ Son of Lakeshia and Marcus Dear โฆ Has three younger siblings โ Damian, Marcus and Sanaa โฆ Father of three sons โ Malik Jr., Cailon and Wren.
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DEARโS CAREER HIGHS:
Receptions: 6, vs. LA Tech (10-17-15)
Receiving Yards: 70, vs. LA Tech (10-17-15)
Receiving TDs: 2, vs. Ole Miss (11-28-15)
Long Reception: 27, vs. LA Tech (10-17-15)
Rushes: 5, at Kentucky (10-22-16)
Rushing Yards: 77, at Kentucky (10-22-16)
Long Rush: 52, at Texas A&M (10-3-15)
Punt Returns: 2, (3x), last vs LSU (10-19-19)
Punt Return Yards: 40, at Louisiana (8-31-19)
Long Punt Return: 40, at Louisiana (8-31-19)
Kick Returns: 4, vs. Arkansas (11-19-16)
Kick Return Yards: 56, vs. LA Tech (10-17-15)
Long Kick Return: 34, vs. LA Tech (10-17-15)
