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Malik Fountain, a Chicago, Illinois native, has found a place at the heart of the Chippewa defense where he can embrace a relentless style of play.
The six-foot-two, 230 middle linebacker has been a steady and solid part of the linebacking corps for the Chippewas since his redshirt freshman year, making 39 starts in all 39 of his appearances in the Maroon and Gold.
2017 was a bit of a step back from his monster 2016 campaign, but the numbers Fountain posted were still impressive, as he finished with 89 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two passes defended and two pass breakups on the season. Fountain earned a second-team All-MAC spot in 2017 for his efforts and was named a second-team preseason All-MAC selection for 2018 by Athlon Sports.
Fountain is certainly more than capable to replicate his 2016 efforts (which saw him amass 92 total tackles and 10 tackles for loss) in the upcoming campaign, as the rising senior will lead a senior-laden interior seven in creating the havoc which CMU defensive coordinator Greg Colby likes to employ to create big plays.
It’ll be up to him to lead a defense with plenty of turnover to glory in 2018 and he certainly embraces the fact, telling Central Michigan Life in an interview “I like to be relentless and we’re relentless. [...] They think we going to finish fifth, I think we going to finish first. It’s the greatest feeling ever to prove somebody wrong.”