Malik Mustapha Explains How the 49ers Can Use Him

"People were so worried about me near the line of scrimmage that there were some games when I would drop deep and play the middle third."

Oct 29, 2022; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Malik Cunningham (3) runs / Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

49ers rookie safety Malik Mustapha spoke to the media on Thursday. Here's what he said.

Q: What was the name of the role you played on third downs at Wake Forest?

MUSTAPHA: "It was called the Panther."

Q: How many different responsibilities did that entail and how many years did it take you to learn all the different positions to be able to play them effectively?

MUSTAPHA: "The new defensive staff at Wake Forest came that 2022 season, and I had my ACL surgery in January of 2022, so that Panther package didn't get installed until I came back for fall camp in August. That's when they started installing it. With that Panther package, there were a lot of hats I had to wear. In the beginning, it was fire zone (blitzes) that allow me to pressure the quarterback and use my athleticism to disrupt them. You saw me spying the quarterback as well. There were times you saw me in the defensive line front or in the line with the linebackers. People were so worried about me near the line of scrimmage that there were some games when I would drop deep and play the middle third."

Q: Not every DB likes to get as close to the line of scrimmage as you do. Have you always been that way?

MUSTAPHA: "I didn't convert to defense until high school, and I was a corner before I was a safety. Now I'm able to utilize my strength, my speed, my ability and be able to enforce that onto the offense. It was definitely something I had to learn how to do, but once I made that into my game, it helped me become that player."