Kansas St. Wildcats cornerback Nigel Malone is very familiar with the Oregon Ducks program. As Malone's Wildcats prepare to take on the Ducks in the highly-anticipated Fiesta Bowl, Malone is taken back to a time when he thought he'd be on the opposite sidelines coming out of City College of San Francisco two years ago.

Malone was recruited by the Ducks but they ended up going a different way, which led to him landing with the Wildcats. But Malone has never stopped following the Ducks program, especially when former Ducks quarterback Jeremiah Masoli was at the helm.

Masoli went to the same junior college as Malone and also went to the same high school as current Ducks quarterback, Marcus Mariota. Malone admitted he's a big Masoli fan and sees similarities between the two quarterbacks.

"I'm really impressed," Malone said. "I'm definitely impressed. I know he comes from the same high school as Masoli. I'm a big Masoli guy myself. [Mariota's] real similar as far as running the ball. He throws a pretty nice ball, a pretty accurate ball. I'm definitely impressed."

Malone showed Oregon's skill players plenty of respect, but he still wants to beat them. He will have his chance soon enough.