Training Camp Notebook: Rookie DB Tiawan Mullen having strong camp
Alouettes rookie defensive back Taiwan Mullen comes from a football family. His oldest brother, Nathanial, plays semi-pro in Florida, his second brother, Trayvon, was a second-round pick of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders and is currently with the Baltimore Ravens, and his youngest brother, Trevell, currently plays at Illinois State. Oh, by the way, his first cousin is two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson. Jackson and Mullen are related through their mothers who are sisters.
“We grew up a lot together,” Mullen said of he and his cousin. “We stay in contact and played street football. Whenever I need advice, we just chop it up. We talk about life things, not just about football. We talk each and every day.
“What you see now is what he’s been doing his whole life. He’s Houdini out there on the field by throwing the ball and running the ball and being versatile. He’s a great guy and very humble.”
Tiawan Mullen #32 – PHOTO: Pascal Ratthe
Mullen admitted that those conversations with Lamar haven’t happened lately because he’s had his hands full picking up the Canadian game in training camp.
The Alouettes defensive back has early memories of he and his younger brother playing two-on-two football against Jackson and older brother Trayvon.
“That’s not fair though, right? (laughs),” said Mullen of those family games. “We never used to win, but that’s what made us better. We were competing at a high level all the time.”
Speaking of competing at a high level, that’s exactly what Mullen has been doing in training camp. The 24-year-old has put together an impressive camp, and he made some flashy plays during last Saturday’s preseason game against Ottawa, including a quarterback sack.
“I felt great because of the preparation,” he said.
“I sit beside Wes (Sutton) and Najee (Murray), and I ask them questions. I perfected it in walkthroughs and go full live go…the coaches gave me the ability to go out there and be myself within the defence.”
Mullen is clearly talented, but it’s the work he puts in off the field that makes him different. According to defensive coordinator Noel Thorpe, he and Mullen have spent about two extra hours together going over concepts and the intricacies of the CFL game.
“He’s been in there spending extra time,” Thorpe said of Mullen. “He’s been doing the things you need to do as a new player in this league. We’ve spent extra time together. He comes in and gets one-on-one time with me. When we open up the playbook and play him at multiple positions, he has to learn those. He’s been playing from the field to the boundary, so the adjustment time is different there…He’s adapted very well.”
The Alouettes have a veteran secondary with returning players like Sutton, Murray, Kabion Ento, Dionte Ruffin, Lorenzo Burns, and others, but another strong performance on Friday in Ottawa could vault him onto the roster.
The Fort Lauderdale, Florida native has spent time playing linebacker on the strong side of the field and at halfback on the short side of the field. It’s that versatility that could lead to him nabbing a spot on the team at the end of camp.
