How Mustapha’s path to 49ers was influenced by Cowboys fan mom

Playing professional football was anything but a given for Malik Mustapha. As a freshman at Weddington High School in Matthews, N.C., Mustapha, at 5-foot-2 and weighing only 115 pounds, might have been the least likely to have an NFL future, but the future 49ers starting safety always played bigger than his size. "My first football memory, they put me on the O-line at first in my Pop Warner days and I tackled somebody instead of blocking them," Mustapha told NBC Sports Bay Area. "I guess that was the first football moment that I had. "Then next moment was finally getting the ball for the first time and scoring a long touchdown in my first game. That will always be a special moment in my football journey." Between high school and college recruitment, Mustapha added 70 pounds and eight inches of height to his frame during a growth spurt, but that still wasn't enough for most FBS football teams to offer a scholarship. Dreams of playing at nearby Wake Forest University seemed like an impossibility, which made Mustapha adjust his path with an assist from his mother, Dee Myles. This wouldn't be the last time Mustapha's mother influenced his path to the NFL. The former Dallas Cowboys fan...