Tiawan Mullen Not Satisfied with 2019 Performance

Tiawan Mullen is prepping for a big sophomore campaign Image: Amanda Pavelka, Hoosier Huddle

Written By: Nate Comp (@NathanComp1)

Tiawan Mullen, by all accounts, had a stellar 2019 season.

His 13 pass breakups led the Big Ten and shared 11th nationally. He shared the team lead in fumbles forced and fumbles recovered. The Athletic, 247Sports, Pro Football Focus, and the Big Ten Conference all included Mullen in their All-American and All-Conference teams. And all these accomplishments came in his true freshman campaign.

What does Mullen think of all of this?

“I’m never satisfied with how I played. Freshman year I feel I could have been better. I feel like I can do more for the team,” said Mullen, via teleconference Tuesday.

“I would like to improve on everything.”

So, just as if there was no global pandemic, Mullen has gotten right to work. This time, however, with different “teammates”.

With IU’s classes having been moved online and all team activities suspended, Mullen finds himself back at home in Florida. Fortunately for him, this means he is reunited with his brothers who are in similar positions. One of his older brothers, Trayvon Mullen, is training for his upcoming season with the Oakland Raiders. The youngest, Trevell Mullen, is one of the nation’s top cornerback prospects in the class of 2022 (and a recruit for the Hoosiers, his page can be seen here.)

“It's great being around my brothers. It's been a great feeling for us to be grinding for the same thing, it's a great bond, trying different techniques from what we see and what we don't see.”

Despite not being on campus with access to new strength coach Aaron Wellman and all of Indiana’s facilities, Mullen has continued working as if he was.

“I've been doing field work, weight lifting. My brothers and I will work out together. For field work, I have a trainer who I work with, so I do it all. I feel like if we had a game this Saturday, I'd be ready to play.”

But Mullen has always been great at putting in the work. As a stereotypically undersized corner, there’s no question that “the size of the fight in the dog” outweighs “the size of the dog in the fight” for Tiawan. A new challenge for him, however, is his growth as a leader. Separation from his teammates hasn’t stopped him from being great at this, either.

“Coach Allen's always teaches us 'don't blink'. The guys who see me as a leader, I don't blink. I talk with them outside of football, ask how everything is going.  I've been calling, FaceTiming, asking how things are going.”

Separated by distance, close by goal: avenge a 2019 season-ending postseason one-point defeat.

“The motivation comes from losing by one point. When we lose by one point it's like, what could we do differently, how can we approach the 2020 season? There's a chip on my shoulder.”

“It's going to be a great year for us. Even though we are going through adversity right now, it's going to be great,” Mullen said, speaking of 2020.

And I bet, when the year ends, Tiawan Mullen will have had, by all accounts, a stellar 2020 season.

But he won’t be satisfied.