I've honestly never understood the mindset evidenced by this post. He was the backup here, and was hurt for long stretches, both of which combine to make it obvious that he's still going to be very raw. But he wasn't our starter, so he wasn't forced down our throats. And when he did get thrust into the fire, he played his tail off and we won, with obvious things that would be a problem were he a long-term starter, which were discussed here ad nauseum. But guess what? once Quinn was healthy, then Maalik didn't play anymore. So in some regards, the coaches agreed with you. And then, he got passed up by Arch on the depth chart. So again, the coaches agreed with you. Now he's getting his shot at Duke. And if he sucks, you know what will happen? He won't play.
Kid hasn't been handed a single thing as a D1 football player, and by all accounts is an exceptional teammate and an exceptional human. I don't understand what makes you post something like "I thought he was awful." To be clear, I'm asking why you would POST that; I don't begrudge you THINKING it. Maybe he is awful, but what does your post add to this conversation, at this point? If he were our starter, and we were discussing his deficiencies and how they're holding us back, then your post is spot-on. Lord knows this place can do QB controversy with the best in the world. But that's not this thread. This thread is wishing a solid kid good luck, who has arguably been placed perfectly on the depth chart his entire time here. So why throw rocks? It's just not additive in any way, and it feels like you just want something to be mad about. Maybe start with our interior DL, instead of the kid that kept our name in the national championship conversation last year?