8/24/2021 football Edit

Fatorma Mulbah excited for shot to parlay big offseason into on-field gains

Greg Pickel • Happy Valley Insider

Staff

Fatorma Mulbah did not play during his first season at Penn State, and year two may not feature many snaps, either.

If that does end up being the case, it won't be because of a lack of work, especially in the weight room, during the offseason.

Mulbah was all over social media throughout the summer as the program shared videos of his impressive lifting abilities during conditioning at the Lasch Building and Holuba Hall.

It was always expected that the Susquehanna Township grad would need some time before making a serious dent in the defensive tackle rotation, and while that still may be the case, bulking up to handle playing inside in the Big Ten certainly doesn't appear to be a problem.

"I had strength, but since coming here, I've focused on the little things because I have to get stronger," Mulbah said.

Penn State defensive tackle Fatorma Mulbah poses for a photo at the team's media day on Aug. 7, 2021 at Beaver Stadium. BWI photo/Greg Pickel

Penn State's Class of 2020 signing day central website listed Mulbah at 6-foot-3, 275 pounds, but the program's latest roster now has him tipping the scales at 296.

There have been on-field gains too, of course, after a year of working with position coach John Scott Jr., and veteran teammates like PJ Mustipher.

"I just feel like reading did my keys as a nose guard, and just the little stuff," Mulbah said when asked to recite the areas he's grown in the most.

"I'm still trying to improve on other stuff and being consistent, and that's just me reading my keys and being more football smart."

Besides Mustipher, Penn State brought in Duke transfer Derrick Tangelo to join the defensive tackle room this offseason, and players like Fred Hansard, Hakeem Beamon, Amin Vanover, D'Von Ellies, and Cole Brevard are all fighting for snaps, too, in addition to some members of the defensive line who could play inside or out, such as Hakeem Beamon and Amin Vanover.

Will their growth keep Mulbah from seeing playing time, or at least a lot of it, this fall? Perhaps. But it just takes a quick look at the pair of weight room videos that are embedded below to see that he's working diligently to get onto the field as soon as he possibly can.