Fuamatu is a major force
There’s a fearless quality to junior linebacker Jacobah Fuamatu of Santa Ana Mater Dei High.
When he blitzes, with his eyes on the quarterback, he’s playing the role of hunter, and like an animal going after his prey, he’s not going to let anybody or anything get in the way.
“He’s full speed from snap to finish,” his former coach at La Habra, Frank Mazzotta, said last spring.
Fuamatu prides himself on being disruptive. As a sophomore at La Habra, he was in on 99 tackles, including eight for losses. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound outside linebacker transferred to Mater Dei this summer.
“I’m really aggressive out there,” he said. “I feel like I’m the best player on the field. That’s my mentality. Tight ends, I’ll throw them to the floor. I’ll bring them down. I’m there to show the offensive line and the quarterback I’m here to play.”
Fuamatu can thank his two older brothers for the way he plays football. One is 6-3, the other 6-5. They were older by eight and 11 years and the roughhousing challenged Fuamatu, whether it was making him wait to eat or being forced to do his brothers’ chores.
“They looked scary to me,” he said. “I was like the one being picked on, but they knew I was going to be something one day.”
There was crying, pleading and lots of running to escape. But in the end, big brothers did their job in preparing the youngest to go off on his own.
He finally got to start playing football in the eighth grade.
“My mom was always cautious about me getting hit,” he said.
When the family started seeing Fuamatu doing the hitting, that was forgotten.
Now he’s on a path he hopes leads to more improvement and progression up the ladder of football.
As effective as he was as a sophomore, there’s much to work on this season, especially the challenge of going up to Division 1 and playing with a team that was 15-0 last season.
He relies on quickness to make big plays but he must be able to handle the linemen and running backs trying to run him over. He has been hitting the weights so he can battle with the big boys in the trenches and take on physical tight ends.
His arrival at Mater Dei couldn’t have come at a better time. The Monarchs lost standout linebacker Mase Funa to an offseason knee injury.
“I want to play at the next level,” Fuamatu said. “I want to see how good I can be.” He’s 16 and still growing. “My doctor said I’m going to be 6-2, 6-3,” he said.
He’ll never be bigger than his lineman brothers, but he’s still faster and if there’s a race to the refrigerator in the Fuamatu house these days, don’t bet against the kid who knows how to identify his target and complete his assignment no matter the obstacles in his way.