Ikaika Malloe, who starred for the University of Washington’s mid-1990s defenses, was hired Tuesday by Huskies head coach Chris Petersen as defensive line coach, replacing Jeff Choate, who will become head coach at Montana State.
Malloe (pronounced “Malloy”), who lettered at UW from 1993 to 1996, had the same job the past two seasons at Utah State. The Aggies finished their season Tuesday against Akron in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
A graduate of Kamehameha School in Hawaii, Malloe came to the UW from his home in Waimanalo and earned four varsity letters as a safety and outside linebacker. He started 11 games in 1995, when the 7-3-1 Huskies won a share of the Pac-10 championship. Malloe’s five interceptions led UW.
In 1993, he won the Bob Jarvis Most Inspirational Walk-On Award after having won the Brian Stapp Defensive Scout of the Year Award in 1992.
Malloe returns to Seattle with 15 years of coaching experience, including three as a defensive coordinator and six as a special teams coordinator.
In 2014, he helped the Aggies to a 10-4 record (second-most wins in school history) and a win over UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl. Three defensive linemen earned All-Mountain West honors (a first-teamer, a second-team and an honorable mention) in 2014.
The 2014 Aggie team featured a rugged defense that finished in the top 30 in the nation in 10 categories. USU led the conference in rushing defense, sacks and tackles for loss.
Malloe went to Utah State after two seasons at Portland State, where we worked under former Huskies teammate Nigel Burton as the Vikings’ special teams coordinator and defensive tackles coach.
Malloe began his career as a student assistant, program coordinator and, eventually, a graduate assistant, at Washington. He earned his degree in sociology from UW in 1997.