Malik Fountain

Senior linebacker for Central Michigan. 2018: 151 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks.

LB · Central Michigan · Sr. · #8

6′2″ · 230 lb · Chicago, IL

Central Michigan 2018 alumnus

Recruiting

2★

ILB recruit

No. 2584 nationally · Signed with Central Michigan

Statement game18 tackles · 1 TFL · 1 sackat Northern Illinois (FBS) · L 16-24

Top 0.1% tackles game since 2021.

His career numbers, season by season

The story

4 linebacker for Central Michigan. 2018: 151 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks.

Signed as a 2-star recruit to Central Michigan in 2014.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Three seasons at Central Michigan, 330 tackles — his college career is complete.

His career

He was on the field for 3 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.

2014

Signed with Central Michigan2-star out of Rich Township

Career arc

Recruit

★★

#2584 national

CFB

College

Central Michigan

2016–2018

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Coaching lineage · 2016–2018

1 coach

2016–2018

John Bonamego

Central Michigan

Played his entire career under John Bonamego.

2018 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

3 seasons under John Bonamego — 15-23 over that span.

2016Central Michigan6-7HC: John Bonamego · Balanced

2017Central Michigan8-5HC: John Bonamego · Balanced

2018Central Michigan1-11HC: John Bonamego · Run-leaning

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

8 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: tackles (100th percentile). Strength: solo tackles (100th percentile).

Box-score production (8)

Tackles#3 / 2662 · 100th pct

151

Solo tackles#3 / 2662 · 100th pct

Tackles for loss#309 / 2662 · 88th pct

7.5

Sacks#416 / 2662 · 83rd pct

2.5

QB hurries#450 / 2662 · 78th pct

Interceptions#130 / 805 · 72nd pct

Passes defended#744 / 2662 · 66th pct

Forced fumbles#63 / 722 · 46th pct

Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2018 season · 12 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home6g	12.2	0.2	0.0	0.2
Road6g	13.0	1.1	0.4	0.2

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-77g	11.6	0.5	0.1	0.1
Weeks 8+5g	14.0	0.8	0.3	0.2

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Matt Drinkall

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2018

Impact starter

Producing measurably more than a replacement-level starter.

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career stats

Season	Team
2018	Central Michigan	151	87	7.5	2.5	2	2	--
2017	Central Michigan	89	55	2.5	0.0	2	--	--
2016	Central Michigan	90	50	9.0	1.0	1	--	--
Career		330	192	19.0	3.5	5	2	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 4 · 2018

W 17–5

vs Maine

10 TOT · 7 SOLO · 1 TFL

With J. Sheldon — 42 AVG · 3 IN 20 · 49 LONG · T. Lazzaro — 82 yds · 1 TD · 1 INT · 44 rush yds (14 car) · 1 TD

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week