INDIANAPOLIS — Chad Muma was a junior on the Legend High football team in Parker and was being recruited by several Mountain West Conference schools, led by Colorado State and Wyoming. But then a partially torn patella tendon derailed his season.
“CSU actually pulled the offer away from me,” he said.
Didn’t work out for them, did it?
“It did not work out for them,” Muma said with a laugh of the laboring Rams program while meeting with reporters Friday at the NFL scouting combine.
It did work out for Muma, though. He totaled 254 tackles and three interceptions in 43 games for the Cowboys and his tour-de-force 2021 (142 tackles and third-team All-America honors) plus a solid Senior Bowl Week has him gaining pre-draft attention.
“A complete player,” Wyoming coach Craig Bohl told reporters last season.
Muma said he had an informal meeting with the Broncos, which doesn’t include upper management or the coordinators, on Thursday, but did have a formal meeting with Washington. After the combine, he will continue to train in Irvine, Calif., until Wyoming’s Pro Day, after which he will be in Colorado until the draft.
Muma’s playing experience (seasons of 51, 72 and 142 tackles from 2019-21) and football intelligence (widely complimented) could make him an attractive option in rounds 2-3 to a middle linebacker-needy team who trusts him to relay the defensive signals.
“I think (a good communicator) is someone that is confident in the defense you’re running and every aspect of (it) and having someone you can trust on the field, where you know what everyone on the field is doing so you can communicate and you’re rolling off that,” Muma said.
Before Muma was rolling at Legend and Wyoming, he had to learn how to roll with Type 1 diabetes, which was diagnosed at age 13.
“My first thought was, ‘Man, I’m not going to be able to play sports anymore or go play college football,’” he said. “But I learned quickly thatap not the case at all and I never really had a doctor say I couldn’t do it. Itap more so being really disciplined with what you put into your body.”
The most notable diabetic playing in the NFL is Baltimore tight end Mark Andrews.
“When I was first diagnosed, my first search was, ‘NFL players with diabetes,’ and it was Jay Cutler at the time who was the big one because I was from Denver and a huge Broncos fan,” Muma said. “Itap definitely cool to see people with diabetes doing what they’re able to.”
Muma has a Tandem T Slim insulin pump paired with a Dexcom G6 glucose monitor. He checks his blood sugar levels halfway through a practice and during every quarter of a game. If he needs insulin, he self-applies an injection.
His diabetes properly managed, Muma moved from safety to linebacker as a high school senior, earning a three-star recruiting grade. He started only two games in his first two years for Wyoming, playing behind Logan Wilson and Cassh Maluia. Two years ago, Wilson (third round to Cincinnati) and Maluia (sixth round to New England) were selected.
Muma is drawing comparisons to Wilson, who had 100 tackles for the Bengals in 13 games last year.
“As a younger athlete, it was a lot of learning for me and a lot of teaching for him,” Muma said. “(Wilson) was always great about, if I had any questions, he could really tell me what to do and he really helped me develop my game in all aspects, whether itap in the film room or on the field or a certain technique. I took a lot from him and was able to learn from him and take some of the things that worked for me and put them in my own game.”
