The Bamba Mentality
Cornerback Mory Bamba had four tackles and broke up four passes, all in the first half, for the Jets on Friday night. It left some people asking: Where did that come from? It had even more probably asking: Where did he come from?
The undrafted rookie out of BYU didn’t even play football out of high school. He first attended college as a track athlete then went to junior college to reintroduce himself to the sport – described his path to an NFL roster as “unpredictable.”
Friday night certainly qualified as such, too.
“The potential was always there for sure,” he said of his talent after the surprising pro debut that came with very little warning based on practices throughout training camp.“It was just a matter of getting out there today and putting it together against a pretty good team.”
Bamba wasn’t at the Combine but he ran a 4.2 at his Pro Day which sent ripples through the scouting community. He went undrafted and signed with the Jets.
“I just kept having that next play mentality,” he said of his performance in this game. “Play loose. When you are out there overthinking you are going to mess up.”
Call it the Bamba Mentality.
This game may not change his expectations, but it will likely change those of the Jets and Jets fans.
“It was just another opportunity to get better with my abilities," he said. "I know what I am capable of."
And now we all do.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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