MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Fatorma Mulbah recalls what it was like 10 years ago as he and his family were on a flight set to land in New York City, allowing them to start a new journey in the United States.
“I remember looking out of the plane and seeing all the lights,” Mulbah said. “We landed at JFK airport.”
That was Mulbah’s first impression of America and it came soon after his family won a visa lottery, allowing them to immigrate from Liberia to the United States and leave behind the West African country battling an ebola outbreak.
“Getting my family here was a big step forward and not having to deal with that,” Mulbah said. “That was huge. The opportunity you have in the U.S. is like no other, so very appreciative for that.”
A then 12-year-old Mulbah, his parents and two younger brothers joined one of his uncle’s in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
The family eventually settled in nearby Harrisburg, and not long after Mulbah enrolled at Susquehanna Township High School, he learned his stature was such that playing football made sense.
“I didn’t know anything about football in Liberia,” Mulbah recalled. “I didn’t even know what football was. I had to learn everything and my high school coaches did a good job teaching me football. I wasn’t good when I first started. I had to learn from scratch, get better and work towards it.”
Mulbah became a force before long, earning all-conference honors twice, being a tea, captain twice and named Team MVP as a senior. That was the same season Mulbah finished with 51 tackles, 12 sacks, nine tackles for loss and four forced fumbles.
He also lettered in basketball and wrestling in high school, the latter of which Mulbah credits for helping keep him in football shape and improving his skill set on the gridiron.
Labeled a three-star prospect by multiple national recruiting outlets, Mulbah chose the most prominent college football program in the Keystone State and wound up at Penn State.
He did not play during the COVID-shortened 2020 season and saw limited action over the next two seasons.
Seeking a new school after the 2022 campaign, Mulbah reconnected with West Virginia defensive line coach Andrew Jackson. The two had an earlier connection from Jackson recruiting Mulbah when he worked at James Madison in the 2019 season.
Jackson felt Mulbah, currently 6-foot-4 and 306 pounds, was a better fit on an odd defensive front such as the one the Mountaineers utilize, in favor of the Nittany Lions’ even front.
Mulbah eventually wound up in Morgantown and saw the most extensive action of his career last season, when he recorded 25 tackles and three tackles for loss over 13 games and 237 defensive snaps.
Morgantown’s proximity to Harrisburg was also a key factor in Mulbah choosing the Mountaineers.
“I picked West Virginia because of the culture we have here and the coaching staff,” Mulbah said. “Having that relationship already [with Jackson] was huge. Not so far away from home, a three-hour drive from Harrisburg, so that was a huge part, having my family be able to come to games and watch me play. I’m a family guy.”
Now the starting nose tackle, Mulbah began his senior season with four tackles in last week’s 34-12 loss to the school he earned a bachelor’s degree in supply chain management from.
“It was a big adjustment. I had a lot to learn,” Mulbah said. “Coming here, the guys accepted me with open arms and we have a good relationship.”
After the defensive line struggled for much of the Week 1 matchup with the Nittany Lions — with the unit combining for one tackle for loss and being held without a sack — Mulbah says the group is in need of a turnaround starting with Saturday’s 6 p.m. contest against Albany.
“We saw what everybody saw,” Mulbah said, “and we try to get better for this week and moving forward.”
Mulbah has overcome far more challenging obstacles in the past. He believes the first step toward the position group improving off last week’s effort is recognizing the performance didn’t come close to meeting expectations.
“We have to do better up front. It starts with us owning it,” Mulbah said. “We didn’t play good as a d-line overall, and we take ownership for that. We have to affect the quarterback more. We didn’t do that. Some alignment issues we have to fix this week. Overall, we just have to do better.”