WKU junior wide receiver Malachi Corley (left) runs the ball down field during a Sept. 28 game against Middle Tennessee at Houchens-Smith Stadium.

Former Western Kentucky star wide receiver Malachi Corley will be taking his act to Broadway as the newest member of the New York Jets.

Corley was selected No. 65 overall as the first pick of the third round in the NFL draft by the Jets, becoming the second-highest ever draft pick out of Western Kentucky (offensive lineman Forrest Lamp went No. 38 overall in the second round to the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2017 draft). The Jets traded up in the draft with the Carolina Panthers to take Corley.

“We’re juiced, man,” Jets general manager Joe Douglas said in a news conference following Friday’s second day of the draft. “Malachi is a guy that if you watch his tape, it’s hard not to get excited. Just an explosive, dynamic player with the ball in his hands and just a guy that we feel can be a real weapon.”

Corley is the first Hilltopper selected by the Jets since Davlin Mullen was taken in the eighth round of the 1983 Draft and the fourth Hilltopper overall to be selected by the Jets.

“It was an unbelievable feeling, almost surreal knowing my journey and where I came from and then knowing I get to play with somebody great who I’ve been watching since I was younger like Aaron Rodgers,” Corley told reporters during a media availability on Friday. “And being around a group of guys who really love ball and with belief in the players and bring energy to that room every single day, so I was over excited to get the call.”

Corley, a 5-foot-11, 210-pounder who played at Campbellsville High School led Conference USA with 11 touchdown receptions in 12 games played this past season for the Hilltoppers. Corley finished the year with 984 yards and 11 touchdowns on 79 receptions.

A first-team All-CUSA selection as a junior in 2023, Corley was one of two Conference USA players to record over 200 receiving yards in a single game this past season – he had 207 at Louisiana Tech – and was the only player in the league to record three touchdown receptions in a single game, also doing so in Ruston, Louisiana. Corley had three 100-yard receiving games last fall.

In WKU’s 41-28 win at FIU in the regular-season finale, Corley broke the WKU program record for career receptions, and now has 259 catches. He also ranks second in WKU history in touchdown receptions with 29 and third in receiving yards with 3,033.

As a sophomore in 2022, Corley started all 14 games and tallied 101 catches for 1,295 yards and 11 touchdowns for the most dynamic receiving season by a sophomore in WKU football history. Corley was also among the nation’s elite receivers for the year, ranking fourth in the nation in receiving yards and seventh in receiving touchdowns.

His 101 catches were also the fourth-most in college football. Corley was also the best receiver in the country with the ball in his hands, ranking first in the nation in yards after catch with 975 and first in the country in missed tackles forced with 40.

In his second freshman season in 2021 (due to COVID-19 added eligibility by the NCAA), Corley appeared in all 14 games during WKU’s run to a C-USA East Division Championship and made five starts along the way. The freshman collected 73 catches on the year, third most for a record-setting Hilltopper offense. His 73 catches resulted in 691 yards and seven touchdowns.

Corley was the second pick in the draft for the Jets, who used their first-round selection (No. 11 overall) on offensive tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu of Penn State.

The Jets are coming off a 7-10 record but are anticipating the return of starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who suffered a season-ending injury in the team’s opener last year.

“He’s elite with the ball in his hands,” Jets head coach Robert Saleh said. “He’s an angry runner. Obviously he calls himself the YAC King and he’s deserving of it. But we’ll get him here … he’s got some things to work on for sure, but we love his mindset, we love his style of play. He’s going to bring an added element that we don’t have to our team.”

The Hilltoppers have now had a player selected within the first three rounds of the last three NFL drafts. Brodric Martin was picked by the Detroit Lions with the 96th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and DeAngelo Malone was selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the 82nd overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Quarterback Bailey Zappe was also picked in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. Corley is the fourth player WKU has had drafted under WKU head coach Tyson Helton.{&end}