NORTH ANDOVER – Division 1 football is easy compared to the rest of Malek Sabri’s life as a college student.
He wakes up every day at 4:30 a.m. The alarm clock goes off and his extremely strenuous day begins.
He then heads to his full-time job in Marlborough, from North Andover, a 50-minute commute.
Then, eight hours later, he hops back in his car.
That’s the easy part.
Then it’s back to the Merrimack campus where he is a graduate student working toward his degree in Data Science.
Graduating in three years, he and his 4.0 GPA also take part in the Conference Chair for the Student Advisory Committee, part of the Team Impact Student Fellowship Program and the Vice President of DECA.
Surprisingly, there is time for football, where he is noted as “tenacious” — a 6-foot-1, 240-pound defensive end on one of the best D-1 defenses in New England.
“Malek does everything the right way, he does everything we ask of him and more and he’s just the standard for this program. He just does everything the right way,” said coach Mike Gennetti.
“He’s a little bit undersized playing defensive end, but he makes up for it just with his understanding of where he’s supposed to be and understanding the (offensive team’s play) call. He’s just really an intelligent player. You can’t have enough of those guys.”
His story gets better.
As a practicing Muslim he takes part in Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar and one of the most sacred times for Muslims.
It is the month in which it is believed that the Holy Qur’an was sent down from heaven “as a guidance for men and women, a declaration of direction, and a means of salvation.”
One of the five aspects of Ramadan is fasting, which means not eating or drinking anything from sunrise to sunset during each of the 30 days.
Two days prior to Thursday night’s Merrimack spring football game where he recorded a sack, Sabri, was in the midst of fasting. He also fasted during the entire spring practice schedule.
“It’s not easy but God has helped me and I wouldn’t be able to do it without him,” said Sabri, who grew up in Maryland.
Each day before leaving to start his day, Sabri would have yogurt and oatmeal, and chug down a gallon of water. That was enough to last him through an extremely hectic rest of the day, which at times included weight training or two or three-hour football practices.
“I was able to make it to every workout, every weight lifting session and every practice without any food or water. This is by God blessing me in the sport that I love, and also by my teammates and coaches who have supported me as well,” he said.
At times during football activities, Sabri admitted that he cramped up. He also said at times all of it was a mental struggle, but he has been able to get through now for the third straight spring.
“There’s people out there who don’t have the ability to drink and eat food and so when you have the mindset of if someone doesn’t have the chance to do it, and I do, then maybe I can put myself into their shoes for a day, a week or even a month,” he said. “If you put yourself into someone else’s shoes, it gives you a different perspective because there’s a bigger reason why (you do it).”
Sabri has been part of a defensive unit that has been big factors in the Warriors reaching the conference championship game each of the past two years. Most of those guys return for the 2024 season which gets underway on Aug. 31 with a trip to Colorado Springs to face the Air Force Academy.
“I love this,” said Sabri of the football part of his life. “Football is an outlet for me. I get to bond with my team. My coaches are great role models in my life, giving me anything I need,” said Sabri. “It’s a great outlet to have when I sometimes get stressed out.
“On the field, I just relax,” he said. “I get in touch with being an athlete and playing football. I don’t have to worry about everything else; just football. I truly love it.”
Twitter: @JamiePote