AMES - Malaki Ta’ase brings a lot to Iowa State’s defensive line, and it starts long before the first snap.
He’s a husband. He’s a father. He’s also the kind of teammate Bryson Lamb described as “a voice that everybody will listen to.”
That mix showed up in last Saturday’s 45-42 win over West Virginia, when Ta’ase blew past the tackle, hit quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. for a strip sack and then recovered the ball himself. It was the only sack on the play for Iowa State’s 6-2, 265-pound third-year defensive end from Mesa, Ariz., and it was the kind of momentum-shifting moment his teammates felt immediately.
“Football is a game of momentum and when you have something like that, especially ‘Laki coming around the edge like that, hitting the strip sack and recovering the fumble - like, just seeing that badass of a play really gets your spirits going,” defensive tackle Bryson Lamb said.
Ta’ase said he got a very different view of the play after the fact. A staff member told him the camera cut to his wife, McKinley, and infant daughter, Charleston, during the celebration.
“One of our people on staff was telling me after I made the strip sack, she panned (the camera) over to my (infant) daughter (Charleston) and my wife (McKinley) was reading (her) a book,” Ta’ase said, adding, “So, they can’t get too excited or crazy, because she’s still little. One day she’ll see videos.”
Then Ta’ase laughed joyfully.
That reaction fits the way he’s handled his football journey at Iowa State. He followed head coach Jimmy Rogers and defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit twice in his career, first to Washington State and now to ISU. Through it all, he’s stayed productive on the field and grounded off it.
Ta’ase is one of four Cyclone defensive linemen to record a sack this season, and he’s the only one to force a fumble and recover it on the same play.
His big play against West Virginia came in a game Iowa State needed to close out, but didn’t finish cleanly. The Cyclones led 28-14 at the time and could have put the game away. Instead, quarterback Jaylen Raynor threw an interception on the next drive, West Virginia made its own big plays, and the Mountaineers still had a chance late.
Iowa State finally slammed the door when safety Brody Miller forced a fumble and cornerback Seth Johnson recovered it with less than a minute left.
The result was a win, but Bobbit was clear about the bigger issue. The defense made enough plays to escape with the victory, yet it also put the team in that position in the first place.
“At the end of the day, you have to fight through adversity,” Bobbit said. “The next play is a new play.
And in the moment of that game (we were) able to finish the game off in the right way. Obviously, when you reflect on the game afterwards, that was on the defense to even make it that close.”
That’s the part Iowa State can’t keep repeating. The Cyclones forced two timely turnovers, but they also gave up more than 500 yards per game, and Bobbit said, “We’re correcting those mistakes this week so that doesn’t happen again.”
Friday brings another tough test, with No. 8 BYU coming to LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah, for a 9:15 p.m. game on ESPN. The Cougars will be without star tailback LJ Martin because of an injury.
For Ta’ase, the approach stays the same: work, smile, and keep showing up for the people around him.
Lamb said that combination is exactly why Ta’ase stands out in the room.
“Malaki is probably the most amazing human, I would say, on the D-line - and that’s not to knock anybody else,” Lamb said. “To have all that responsibility and still be a heck of a player on Saturday and come to the facility like a freshman who ain’t got nothing else going on in the world but this, it’s amazing.
He inspires a lot of people in the room. He’s a voice that everybody will listen to.
He’s just a great guy.”
And when it’s time to put the helmet on, Ta’ase switches gears fast.
“I want everyone to love me as a teammate, but I want them to know when we’re out on the field, I’ll die for them,” Ta’ase said.
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