Undrafted Jets corner stole show with Bamba Island in preseason opener to put him in roster conversation
It wasn’t Revis Island that Jets head coach Aaron Glenn referenced.Text with Brian Costello all season as he brings Sports+ subscribers the latest Jets intel from on the field and off.
It was a different, much less-known island in the Jets archipelago.“Bamba Island,” Glenn said after the Jets’ 24-16 preseason loss to the Buccaneers on Friday.Mory Bamba, an undrafted free agent cornerback battling to make the roster, stole the show with four pass breakups and five total tackles, seeing action both on defense and special teams.Amid a training camp in which he’s mostly gone unnoticed by outsiders, the performance turned heads and brought him into the conversation.“I think some of the young [defensive backs] actually showed up, and he’s the one that really stands out,” Glenn said.“It’s not just what he did on defense; he did some good plays on special teams too.
There were a couple of mistakes he had, too, and I gotta make sure I say that.But for the most part, I thought he showed out tonight.”In total, Bamba was targeted nine times and allowed just three receptions.
On one of his pass breakups, he prevented what looked destined to be a touchdown, recovering to knock the ball away from Ted Hurst III in the end zone at the last second.“Every day he comes in, he’s ready to learn,” Brandon Stephens said Saturday.“It’s funny, before the game I told him, ‘You’re gonna have a hell of a game.’ And he went out there and did it.
… He definitely played his heart out, and it was encouraging to see.We were all happy for him, hyping him up when he came to the sideline.”Bamba’s path to the fringe of the Jets roster has been unconventional.He joined Division III Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s track and field team coming out of high school in 2019.
After one season, he transferred to ASA (Miami) College to start his collegiate football career, playing at the JUCO level.There was no season in 2020 due to the pandemic, but Bamba subsequently pl...