Countdown to football: Malachi Smith speeds things up for Batavia, No. 2 in the Aurora-Elgin preseason rankings

Malachi Smith anchors Batavia’s defensive line, but he’s anything but stationary.

Far from it.

Smith, a 6-foot, 285-pound senior nose guard, is always on the move — on and off the field — with a 40-yard dash time of 4.93 seconds and college offers from Upper Iowa and Yale.

“As big as he is, he can really move,” Batavia defensive coordinator Matt Holm said. “He’s getting in people’s faces. We do so much with our offense and defense you take for granted how smart these guys are sometimes with everything they have to do.

“You see a Yale opportunity and think, ‘Man, you better take that.’”

Time will tell for Smith, who has a 3.6 GPA.

“It was very surprising because they’re ranked so high when it comes to education,” Smith said of the Ivy League school. “I’m doing well in school, but they’re way up there.”

A strong second season could lead to even more offers for Smith but he’s concentrating on the task at hand for the Bulldogs, who sit at No. 2 in The Beacon-News/Courier-News preseason rankings.

If only he were a couple inches taller.

“I just carry that chip on my shoulder,” Smith said. “It didn’t stop a guy like Aaron Donald. But it’s hard when Power Five schools come in and tell you, ‘You have the talent, but you’re 6-foot.’

“I’m not gonna let a couple inches ruin my dream.”

Before last season, Smith moved to Batavia from the Dallas area with his mom, Monique Williams. The football transition was smooth as he put up 28 tackles, 12 for loss, two sacks and 21 hurries.

He said his dad, Byron, who still lives in Texas, struggled academically and played in junior college before finishing up at Arizona.

“When I was a kid, he’d wake me up and say, ‘Hey, let’s go push some tires,’ and I’m like, ‘Dad, I’m a kid, I don’t want to do that,’” Malachi said. “But I’m thanking him now. I’m a step ahead of everybody.”

Smith’s numbers were a sight to behold for Holm.

“It’s tough for Malachi to rack up sacks,” Holm said. “He’ll get tackles for loss on runs. Basically, he’s holding the line in our concept until he can spy the running back’s hips. On pass plays, he’s double-teamed a lot.”

And offenses in the DuKane Conference have moved to a stealthier passing game.

“It’s catch and throw,” Holm said of opposing quarterbacks taking the center snap and releasing quickly. “They’re not really giving him the opportunity to get to them either.”

The coaching staff is trying to be creative, freeing up Smith to take advantage of his athleticism.

Smith will be flanked by starting defensive ends Xavier Blanquel, a 6-3, 250-pound senior, and Gavin Pecor, a 6-3, 250-pound junior. Blanquel was in the rotation last season, while Pecor is focusing on defense after previously splitting time on the offensive side of the ball.

“We’ll see what happens on the game field,” Holm said. “But in terms of athleticism, they’re probably the most athletic group we’ve had.”

Holm said he would catch some grief from the D-lines from the 2013 and 2017 Batavia state championship teams for saying that.

“Those groups were a little more big and brutish,” Holm said. “These guys are more athletic.”

Pecor, meanwhile, likes the move to defense. It’s a close-knit group, led by Smith.

“It’s like he’s always been here,” Pecor said of Smith. “He’s one of us.”

Blanquel said the group doesn’t just occupy blockers — they make plays.

“Our team’s average GPA is like 3.6, so being on top of things is important here,” Blanquel said. “Malachi fit in right away. He picked up the culture really fast, which not everybody can do.”

Team: Batavia.

2023 record: 11-2.

Offensive leaders: Isaiah Brown, senior, wide receiver; Nathan Whitwell, senior, running back; Ryan Myers, junior, offensive lineman; Brett Berggren, junior, wide receiver.

Defensive leaders: RJ Bohr, senior, linebacker; Chase Osborne, senior, defensive back; Jacob Jansey, senior, defensive back; Malachi Smith, senior, nose guard.

X-factor: Bodi Anderson, junior, quarterback/punter.