Fatorma Mulbah put up the type of stat line you don’t typically see out of a nose guard.
Mulbah finished with 13 total tackles, 5 of which were solo, along with half a tackle for loss in the Mountaineers 31-24 win over Cincinnati. And the effort is one that stood out for a lot of reasons.
“I don’t ever remember coaching a nose guard that had 13 tackles. It’s really good,” head coach Neal Brown said. “He’s played really well now since we’ve been in Big 12 play. He’s playing really, really well. I thought he dominated the middle.”
The Penn State transfer did that without the defense being built for that type of production by winning one-on-one battles and playing his responsibility at the same time. That allowed him to remain in his gap and take advantage of the fact that the Bearcats ran the football over 40 times.
“Some of it is fortunate that’s where the ball just hit and some of it was Sean (Martin) was just putting the ball back toward him. The message with Fatorma is if you prepare the right way and play fundamental football the ball will find you,” Brown said.
The effort that he displayed is what West Virginia wants to see out of a defensive lineman, especially his willingness to run to the football. That is something that stood out to his teammates as well.
“He’s a game changer. He’s a hard worker, every day he’s in here grinding,” safety Anthony Wilson said.
Because the Bearcats utilize so much outside zone, it allowed Mulbah to chase the football down and while he is accustomed to getting double teams were able to cause disruption. He kept his feet moving and good things happened for Mulbah which is an example for his teammates.
“I would just say effort. I think I played with good effort Saturday. Just effort and chasing the ball,” Mulbah said.
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