AT COLORADO?2006 (Sr.)?He started all 12 games at left offensive guard as a senior, ending his career with 47 games played and 45 starts, including two bowls. One of three team captains, he earned the Eddie Crowder Award for his team leadership as selected by his teammates. He earned second-team All-Big 12 Conference honors from the Associated Press (honorable mention by the league coaches), and also earned first-team All-Colorado team honors from the state’s chapter of the National Football Foundation. He played 714 snaps on the year, missing just one when he lost a shoe in the Iowa State game, with his 2,754 career scrimmage plays likely one of the top figures by an offensive lineman in school history (if not for a player at any position). He also had another 184 snaps in his career on the field goal and PAT unit on special teams, running his overall count to 2,938. He was flagged for only three penalties and allowed just one sack (only three-and-a-half in his career, two of which came his freshman season). He played in the East-West Shrine Game after the season, and was one of 54 candidates on the official preseason watch list for the Outland Trophy. In the preseason, collegefootballnews.com selected him as a second-team All-American, while Phil Steele’s College Football tabbed him third-team (ranking him the No. 4 offensive guard in the nation), with The Sporting News had him as the No. 17 guard nationally. He was one of 54 players on the official watch list for the Outland Trophy.
2005 (Jr.)?CU’s starting tight (strong) side guard, he started all 11 games he appeared in, including the Champs Sports Bowl; he missed the New Mexico State and Miami games after suffering a fractured rib and a bruised kidney in the opener versus Colorado State. He bounced back from those injuries to grade out as the team’s top lineman, earning a season mark of 2.68 on a 0-4 point per play scale. He earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors from both the Associated Press and the league coaches, though the San Antonio Express-News named him to its first-team and the Dallas Morning News to its second-team. He also earned honorable mention All-Colorado team honors from the state’s chapter of the National Football Foundation. ESPN analyst Mark May named him to his “All-Mayday Team,” honoring the toughest players in the game, for his quick return after the nasty injuries he suffered in the opener. In 640 snaps from scrimmage, he led the team with 29 knockdown blocks along with the third-most “Perfect 4” plays (14). He did not allow a sack, was flagged for just four penalties and had two touchdown blocks with a single-game best grade of 2.89 versus Missouri. In the preseason, Street & Smith’s tabbed him as an honorable mention All-American, while The Sporting News ranked him as the No. 12 offensive guard nationally. He had a great spring and received the Joe Romig Award as the outstanding offensive lineman as selected by the coaches. The anchor of the Colorado offensive line, a 23-game starting streak dating back to his freshman year ended with the injury in the CSU game.
2004 (Soph.)?He started all 13 games including the Houston Bowl at tight side guard, earning honorable mention All-Big 12 honors from both the Associated Press and the league coaches (the Austin American-Statesman tabbed him a second-team choice). He enters the bowl game having made 21 consecutive starts, the third most on the team, as are his 21 total for his career. He graded out the highest of all the offensive linemen, as he posted an 82.3 percent grade for the season (minus the Big 12 title game, which was not graded; he played 769 snaps overall). He led the team with 29 knockdown blocks, was called for the fewest penalties (2), allowed the fewest pressures (5), tied for the low in quarterback sacks allowed (?), and had the second most touchdown blocks (6). He posted the high single-game grade of the season by any O-lineman when he recorded an 88.2 percent mark against Oklahoma State. He also played every snap (53) on the field goal and PAT unit on special teams. He was one of the 10 players on the season to earn his way into CU’s prestigious Victory Club, posting a winning productivity grade in at least eight games for the year. In the preseason, Phil Steele’s College Football ranked him as the No. 25 guard in the nation, but the second sophomore on the list.
2003 (Fr.)? He earned first-team Freshman All-America honors from collegefootballnews.com (second-team from The Sporting News, which did name him first-team freshman All-Big 12), with the CU coaches naming him the recipient of the Lee Willard Award as the team’s most outstanding freshman. He played in 11 games at guard, starting the last nine games of the year on the split side as he made his first start of the season at Florida State in game four and was a fixture in the lineup the remainder of the season. His nine starts set a school record for the most by a true freshman offensive lineman, as he broke the old record of eight set by Clint Moore in 1991 (he was only the seventh frosh O-lineman to start at least one game since 1973). He graded out at 74.6 percent for the year, ranking third among all offensive linemen, as he played 631 snaps, the second most by a freshman on the team (and high by a true frosh). He was third on the team in knockdown blocks (15), tied for the lead in touchdown blocks (5), allowed team lows in both pressures (4) and quarterback sacks (2) and was flagged for just two penalties; his high game grade was 85.7 percent versus Washington State. At the annual CUSPY’s (CU Sports Performers of the Year banquet), he was selected as the Male Freshman Athlete of the Year for all sports.
HIGH SCHOOL?As a senior, he earned All-America honors from Parade, PrepStar (Dream Team), Student Sports and SuperPrep, also earning first-team All-Colorado, all-state, all-district and All-Centennial League honors. He was one of 17 offensive and/or defensive linemen to make the prestigious 55-man Parade All-America team. Rivals.com ranked him as the No. 1 player in Colorado, the No. 4 offensive tackle in the nation, and the No. 44 overall player in country. SuperPrep ranked him as the No. 20 player in its Midlands region (the sixth OL), while Prep Football Report rated him No. 24 in the region and the eighth O-lineman. As a junior, he garnered all-Colorado, all-state and all-league honors, with Student Sports naming him to its postseason junior All-America team. He was a second-team all-league selection as a sophomore. He was a three-year starter at offensive tackle, playing both the left and right sides. He averaged six pancake blocks per game as a senior, when he did not allow a single quarterback sack. He averaged four pancakes as a junior, also not allowing a sack. He started two games at tight end as a freshman, when he also played some fullback (he caught four passes and carried just a couple of times). He saw action on defense occasionally at tackle, in two games as a senior in short yardage situations. Mullen was 10-2 his senior year, 10-3 his junior year, 11-2 his sophomore season and 10-3 his freshman year under coach Jay Madden. MHS reached the state quarterfinals all four years and advanced to the semifinals his junior campaign. A three-time letterwinner in wrestling, he was ranked No. 1 as a senior and finished third in the state as a junior (heavyweight, 28-4 record). Also the No. 1 ranked power lifter in the state in the high school ranks as a senior, he placed second in the state as a junior and lettered three years. He also lettered in track as a freshman (shot put).
ACADEMICS?He is majoring in business (finance) at Colorado. He was a finalist for the 2006 Vincent dePaul Draddy Award, considered the Academic Heisman, as he was one of 17 football student-athletes to earn an $18,000 National Football Foundation postgraduate scholarship. A member of the inaugural NFF National Honor Society team as a senior. Prior to his senior year, he decided to engage the process of applying for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, but did not advance in the process. He earned first-team Academic All-Big 12 honors his sophomore through senior years, boasting a 3.6 grade point average, and as a junior and senior, he earned Academic All-District accolades. He was an seven-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll. At CU, he was a member of the Dean’s List (ranking in the top 10 percent of CU’s prestigious Leeds School of Business) and the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society. An honor roll student throughout high school, he is also a member of the National Honor Society as he owned a 3.8 GPA.
PERSONAL?He was born Oct. 31, 1984 in Denver. His hobbies include skiing, fishing and off-roading. A cousin (Brad Boyer) played third base at the University of Arizona (he batted .351 as a frosh and .259 as a sophomore). He was the first player in Colorado’s 2003 class to commit?he did so on signing day in 2002. During his CU career, he was a regular visitor to Boulder Community Hospital’s Heart Center and Children Hospital’s Cancer Center (in Denver). He was a regular participant in CU’s “Read With The Buffs” program at area elementary schools, and also played in charity flag football games.
