San Francisco 49ers rookie Malik Mustapha credits young siblings for driving his dominant play
Malik Mustapha and his siblings, Mariam and Muhammed.
SAN FRANCISCO - With four minutes and 44 seconds left in the first half of the San Francisco 49ers' first pre-season game against the Tennessee Titans, Malik Mustapha made a name for himself.
The 22-year-old rookie safety had a monster hit that invigorated the 49ers' defense attempting to make a goal-line stand.
Four days after the electrifying tackle, in a one-on-one interview with KTVU, Mustapha said that was just the beginning.
"I always live by a quote: prove yourself right don't prove other people wrong," Mustapha said. "I don't think I've arrived in any shape or form, but at the same time I feel like I've taken a step in the right direction."
Right now, the fourth round draft pick, is focused on adjusting to life in the NFL both on and off the field.
Fellow safety Talanoa Hufanga took Mustapha under his wing when he arrived in Santa Clara, even inviting him to his daughter's first birthday party.
That gesture made a big impact on Mustapha, who doesn't have any family in the Bay Area.
"It was nice being around a lot of family, me coming here alone, it's an adjustment, but at the same time I know I am here," Mustapha said. "I know what I want to set up for my future."
Being surrounded by Hufanga's family put what's important back into perspective for Mustapha who said his two younger siblings are his driving force on the field.
"They came into my life at a young age and changed my life for the better," Mustapha said. "I had to be a second mom to them, but I depended on them as much as they depended on me."
Malik Mustapha and his siblings, Muhamahed and Mariam.
Mariam, 10, and Muhamahed, 12, live more than 7,800 miles away in Nigeria with Mustapha's father. They have yet to see Mustapha play in person.
Though they do watch videos of Mustapha playing and Muhamahed often looks his older brother up on Google and shows off the search results to his friends.
"I rarely see them, that's why I'm trying to get to a point where I do what I'm supposed to do and get them over here and move them back to the States," Mustapha said.
He wants to bring his siblings to the U.S. to finish school and go to college and hopes his football career will be the catalyst to make that a reality.
And while his goal on the field is to immediately make an impact, off the field he is still adjusting to the Bay Area, which he hadn't stepped foot in prior to being drafted. As a North Carolina native, Mustapha's first impression, like many first-timers, was shock at the lack of summer heat in San Francisco.
"I didn't realize how cold San Francisco got," Mustapha said with a laugh. "Santa Clara might be 80, next thing you know, it feels like 40 or something when I get to San Francisco. I was not prepared."
The first thing he did in San Francisco? Rent a small yellow GoCar and take in all the sights, sounds and food.
As a self-described Hibachi connoisseur, he said he has yet to find any Hibachi in the Bay Area that compares to that of the South, where he is from.
He was disappointed at the lack of "YumYum" sauce, a mayo-based Japanese steak house sauce mainly used on grilled shrimp, chicken and vegetables.
"One of the waitresses looked at me like I was crazy when I asked for it," Mustaha said laughing. "That was an adjustment for me."
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