DeAngelo Malone says he weighed 198 pounds when he arrived at Western Kentucky last summer.

That’s a common weight for a wide receiver or a defensive back – not a defensive end.

The sophomore Malone bulked up this offseason through weightlifting and nutrition. He says he’s up to 223 pounds on his 6-foot-4 frame.

“I can hold my ground,” Malone told the Daily News on Thursday after WKU’s eighth spring practice. “They can’t push me around like they used to, which is great.”

A stronger Malone is one of the keys to a better Hilltopper pass rush during the 2018 season. Coordinator Clayton White’s defense ranked No. 125 of 130 FBS teams in sacks per game, with 0.92. WKU’s defense finished with 12 sacks for 70 yards, while its own offense gave up 48 sacks for 348 yards.

Coach Mike Sanford tried to clean up that issue on the offensive side by hiring TJ Woods to coach the O-line. Defensively, White said his athletes are focusing this season on finishing plays better than they did last year.

“We literally missed 10 tackles and ran by seven or eight sacks,” White said of his team’s 2017 pass rush. “You want to at least get half of those.”

Defensive line coach Jimmy Lindsey has his position group working drills every day focused on finishing.

“(Lindsey) has been telling us it’s all in our hands to boost our sacks up this year,” defensive end Carson Jordan said. “We’ve been working on a lot of pass rush drills, finishing through the quarterback, reaching with our off hand, trying to cause some fumbles.”

Malone is a defensive lineman capable of getting to the quarterback. Playing mostly as a reserve his freshman season, he came up with 1½ sacks and 25 tackles.

Malone figures to play more snaps this season and get more chances to take down opposing QBs. The Ellenwood, Ga., native has gotten stronger and added moves to his repertoire in anticipation of a more prominent role.

“He’s a young guy, but he’s definitely one of the most talented pass rushers I’ve ever seen,” Jordan said of Malone. “He’s got some really good speed and he’s really mature for a young player.”

White credited tight ends coach Ryan Mahaffey’s position group for giving Malone tough opposition each day at practice.

“To me going against the tight end in the run game, that’s going to be his thing,” White said. “Then getting him a couple of moves.

“He has speed off the edge, we all know that. We want to continue to develop him.”

The Toppers’ defensive line has also been helped by the return of Jordan. He suffered a season-ending injury during the second play of WKU’s 2017 opener against Eastern Kentucky.

Jordan came to WKU last season after two seasons at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. The 6-2, 255-pound redshirt junior is back to full health and has been a defensive standout during spring practice.

“I’m back better than ever, really,” Jordan said. “I’m hungry to get out there.”

The defensive line is missing tackles Julien Lewis, Jalen Madden and Evan Sayner this spring, all of whom were injured in the 2017 season.

Jeremy Darvin, Juwuan Jones and Jaylon George are getting work at D-tackle, with Nicholas Coffey and C.J. Marria among the players complementing Jordan and Malone at D-end.

Malone said he likes what he’s seen from his teammates up front this spring and hopes it translates to the fall.

“I like how everybody runs to the ball,” Malone said. “We have a high energy getting to the ball.”{&end}