DL Fatorma Mulbah making the most of new role, opportunity at West Virginia
West Virginia defensive line coach AJ Jackson felt that Fatorma Mulbah had the potential for more.
So, when the 6-foot-4, 306-pounder, entered the transfer portal after spending three seasons at Penn State, it was an easy sell for Jackson on how the Mountaineers could utilize his skill set up front. That’s because when Jackson was previously at James Madison he recruited Mulbah out of high school.
He didn’t land him the first time, but that connection paid off in his second recruitment.
“It’s a kid I’ve known for a long time,” he said.
During his three years with the Nittany Lions, Mulbah appeared in 19 games and recorded a total of four tackles during that time.
Jackson felt that Mulbah was being miscast in a four-down movement scheme and believed that his skill set would mesh well with what West Virginia was doing up front.
“I thought he was more of a straight-line guy and I showed him what I thought he could be. Obviously we have a relationship but I was just saying this is what I think is your strengths and taking his strengths and putting them on a piece of paper,” Jackson said.
Then the assistant coach was able to show Mulbah the defense and how his strengths fit into what the Mountaineers want to do perfectly.
“Not that you can’t do other stuff, I just think you fit in more here and it’s worked to our advantage,” he recalled.
In his first season with West Virginia, Mulbah surpassed his entire career snap total with 241 as a rotational piece for most of the year. He had played only 102 snaps on defense the three years before. At the center of that was a strong work ethic and drive which pushed Mulbah to improve.
But his role even grew further in the bowl game as he was elevated to a starter and performed well. Mulbah has carried that momentum forward and is looking to build on a season where he recorded 25 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and a sack.
“Now to see him push to potentially be a starter after what he did in the bowl game, I’m just really excited with what he’s going to bring to the table in a more consistent role,” Jackson said.
Sometimes a change of scenery is all that is needed and Mulbah is a prime example of that.
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