Washington State signs Virginia transfer defensive lineman Nusi Malani

Washington State augmented the depth on its defensive line Wednesday, signing Virginia transfer Nusi Malani.

The 6-foot-6, 275-pounder will enroll at the Pullman school in January and participate in spring camp. He has three years of eligibility remaining after appearing in 15 games for the Cavaliers over the past two seasons.

Malani tallied three tackles across eight games this year and made three stops as a true freshman in 2020. He played defensive end at UVA, but WSU listed him as a defensive tackle in its announcement of his signing.

Since last December, he’s had two surgeries – one on each shoulder. He told VirginiaSports.com that his operations “set me back a bit.”

A three-star recruit out of Junipero Serra High (San Mateo, California), Malani raked in defensive player of the year honors from Bay Area Preps HQ as a senior in 2019. The San Jose Mercury News ranked him the No. 15 player in the Bay Area after he registered 61 tackles and four sacks during his final prep season.

He helped Serra to a state runner-up finish in 2019 and a state championship in 2017.

After graduating, Malani chose the Cavaliers over offers from WSU, Arizona, Nebraska, Boise State, BYU and Arizona State.

He’ll presumably contend for a spot in WSU’s deep D-tackle rotation, which already includes Christian Mejia, Antonio Pule, Ahmir Crowder, Amir Mujahid, Dallas Hobbs and Jesus Echevarria.

WSU reportedly plans to hire Virginia running backs coach Mark Atuaia to work in that same role.