Back in 2018, former Jefferson coach Gene Cathcart called it.
On the surface, it was the kind of statement that a lot of coaches have said over the years about a rising ninth-grader that no one had ever seen play. Most of those are ingested with the usual “that’s great,” but with the typical “we’ll wait and see” attitude.
But admittedly, this one sounded different.
“There’s a kid named Malaki Starks that’s going to join us this year,” he told AccessWDUN Sports and Friday Game Night in the spring of 2018 as we began preparations for the annual Kickoff magazine that year. “He’s only going to be a freshman, but he’s probably the best talent that this town has ever seen. He’ll be a big-time player and I think he has a real shot to be heavily-recruited, play on Saturdays, and make the NFL someday.”
Well, just as he predicted, that day has arrived. The Baltimore Ravens took Starks with the 27th pick in the NFL Draft on Thursday. That came after a stellar three-year career at Georgia, where he was a two-time All-American.
From 2022-24 at Georgia, Starks piled up 197 total tackles (120 solo), including 6 TFL. But as a safety in the Bulldogs' vaunted secondary, Starks picked off six passes, most of those of the highlight-reel variety, and had 17 passes defended.
In high school, Starks helped lead the Dragons to 31 wins and the Class 4A state title game in 2020, though they lost 28-14 to a powerful Marist squad at Georgia State Stadium.
But back to Cathcart’s premonition. The interesting part is that no one got to see Starks that season. An injury in summer practice wiped out his freshman season before it began.
Cathcart, who left Jefferson after the 2021 season and recently retired during the 2024 campaign at Loganville due to health reasons, had one word to describe Starks.
“Authentic. He is the most authentic person I think I’ve ever been around, and I’m old, as you know,” he said. “You knew early on he was a special person, on and off the field. He comes from a great family. There are just no skeletons in his closet. He is as good as advertised.
“It’s such a great moment when great things happen to great people. He loves the game of football, and the game will now love him back.”
Cathcart got a front-row seat during Starks’s high school career, but he’s not the first player he coached that went on to play in the NFL. Cathcart coached Tavarus King back in the late 2000s at Habersham Central. King also played at Georgia and would go on to play for Tampa Bay and the New York Giants.
Cathcart offered up another description for his former star player: “generational.”
“There are two kinds of talent. There’s the prospect talent, which is the guy that won’t jump off the film, but man, he makes a difference in the game. Then there’s the player talent,” Cathcart said. “That’s the guy that jumps off the film, but he may not be tall enough or big enough. Malaki is the consummate mix of both. He does whatever the team needs and affects so many different aspects of a game, and is a student of the game.”
But despite all the on-the-field highlights that Starks has provided for Cathcart as a coach and fan, he’ll remember most of the incident during Starks’s sophomore year at Jefferson.
“I had a sick relative and had to go to South Carolina, and he asked the coaches where I was and if I was okay because, you know, I never missed a practice,” Cathcart recalled. “The coaches were trying to protect me a little bit, so when they told Malaki, my phone started flashing that I had a message. When I listened to it, 10th-grader Malaki Starks had called to tell me that I was family to him and his family and that they started a prayer group for my relative. But he also said he led the team in the film session, and ‘we’ll have a great practice,' and that they had my back.
“I kinda teared up and had to gather myself, because 57-year-old Gene Cathcart wasn’t that mature. But 10th-grader Malaki Starks was that mature. That is who Malaki Starks is.”
About the immediate future, Cathcart said he wouldn’t be surprised by anything Starks does, no matter who he is playing for.
“I don’t know (Baltimore Ravens) coach (Jim) Harbaugh, but I do know he’s a football family guy. He appreciates the intangibles that Malaki can bring as the son of a coach,” he said.
“I don’t profess to know all the NFL scheme stuff, but as a physical player, he’s able to cover the physical tight ends and the bigger receivers, and of course, he can run like the wind, so he can also match up with a speedy receiver. He knows how to make plays. I think the Ravens are built the right way, and I think it’s a great fit for him."
So, obviously, given Cathcart’s prescient ability, we asked if he was ready to make any more long-range future predictions about Starks regarding NFL hardware.
“Look, there are so many variables that go into that stuff. I think the greatest compliment I can give him is that he will never get in his own way,” Cathcart said. “So many of us in the world get in our own way. But if he’s able to stay healthy, get some breaks, and then win a bunch of games, then the sky is probably the limit and all of that stuff.
“But I’ve come to know this: nothing that Malaki Starks does now shocks me. He and his family have earned it. I can’t wait to watch him on Sundays now.”
http://accesswdun.com/article/2025/4/1290708/malaki-feature