We'll miss Malone for his versatility moreso than pure talent. We can replace him at any one position he plays
Malone was by far State's best lineman this year - and that is saying something. So, don't sell him short.
But doesn't Malone have the option to apply for another year? He was injured in the OKST game in 2013.
You can only get a 6th year if you missed TWO seasons due to injury. You apply for it AFTER you have used 5 years to play 3. You have to document that BOTH of the seasons you missed were due to injury (you may have already documented the first one if you played in part of the season and took a medical redshirt, but you may not have if you missed the whole season due to injury). The NCAA is usually pretty tough on requiring all of the documentation to be in order before granting the 6th year, but being the NCAA, they can be wildly inconsistent from case to case. I've seen guys that clearly should have gotten a 6th year get rejected and I've seen guys get approved that I never would have thought had a chance (including one for us back in the Jackie Sherrill era).
I can't think of a single player for us that ever didn't get the 6th year if they really wanted it. When you think about it, it's no different than Damien Robinson's case last year. He redshirted a year, then tore his ACL his senior year. Malone redshirted a year then broke his foot in the first quarter of the first game in 2013. Then you have Tobias Smith who was technically eligible in 2012, but was more of an emergency backup only who had the player / coach role. If there was any obscure practice injury from his redshirt year even as small as a sprained pinky or rolled ankle, he should be good.