Malashevich Receives Nickolich Award
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (April 24, 2021) – West Virginia University wide receiver Graeson Malashevich, a redshirt sophomore from Ceredo, West Virginia, is the winner of the 2021 Tommy Nickolich Memorial Award, presented by the Blue & Gold News.
Malashevich is in his third year as a member of the football team and has made his mark as a valuable member of the special teams, serving as the team’s holder on field goals and extra points, as well as adding depth at wide receiver. Through his hard work, he saw his playing time increase over the past season, seeing action on more than 100 plays during that time. He was used on a season-high 48 snaps against Eastern Kentucky in 2020.
Malashevich is majoring in exercise physiology and has earned spots on WVU’s Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll and the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll. He was named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team in 2020 and was a member of the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team in 2019.
At the conclusion of spring drills each year, the Blue & Gold News awards the Tommy Nickolich Memorial Award to a walk-on team member who has distinguished himself through his attitude and work ethic. The award is presented in memory of Tommy Nickolich, a former WVU player (1979-82) who died of cancer in 1983.
Past Nickolich Award winners:
1991 Keith Taparausky, RB
1992 Brett Parise, WR
1993 Matt McCulty, WR
1994 Randy Fulmore, DB
1995 Rob Keys, DB
1996 Matt Ceresa, OL
1997 David Lightcap, DB
1998 Mark Corman, TE
1999 Bryan Lorenz, LB
2000 Ben Collins, LB
2001 Jeremy Knapp, TE
2002 Moe Fofana, RB
2003 John Pennington, WR
2004 Jeff Noechel, LB
2005 George Shehl, H/DB
2006 Tim Lindsey, LS
2007 Andy Emery, LB
2008 Adam Hughes, LS
2009 Josh Taylor, DL
2010 Matt Lindamood, FB
2011 Ryan Nehlen, WR
2012 Tyler Anderson, DE
2013 Connor Arlia, WR
2014 Michael Calicchio, OL
2015 Justin Arndt, LB
2016 Jon Lewis, DL
2017 Nick Meadows, LS
2018 Evan Staley, K
2019 Jake Abbott, LB
2020 Osman Kamara, S
2021 Graeson Malashevich, WR/H
