The thing that makes Kal-El, better known to most as Superman, isn’t his otherworldly powers but the decisions he makes. I haven’t waded too deep into the waters of online discourse surrounding the DC Extended Universe but my understanding is that most people’s objections to the Man of Steel stem from a decision Kal-El makes at the end of the film that feels out of character because over the decades we’ve come to expect a certain type of decision-making from everyone’s favorite sun-powered humanoid. Decision-making appears to be Massachusetts linebacker Kalel Mulling’s strong suit as well, as his advanced understanding of the game was the primary attribute that stood out to Seth when he viewed Mulling’s highlight reel for his Hello post. Also athleticism by way of hip flipping, but whereas Batman has the Batusi I can’t think of any instances of Superman dancing so that doesn’t really help this intro. Does Mullings’ ability to read and react stand out over the course of an entire game? Let’s dive into the film.

[After THE JUMP: every-snap film and scouting]

Kalel Mullings Every-Snap Film

#20, wearing Michigan gloves. Occasionally lined up at MLB, but more often playing something akin to Viper.

Scouting

[00:00] Changes directions fluidly (almost violently).

[00:27] Sees that there’s no one to carry in the passing game and takes off just in time for the back to cut backside directly into Mullings. Nice stick.

[00:56] Easy to see Mullings’ speed here via how much ground he covers. Freelances a bit with the full spin once he thinks the receiver is breaking inside, but Mullings is so much quicker than the competition that he slows to stay in front of the receiver after he cuts inside and then is able to lock down the sideline and force the QB out.

[1:06] I doubt there’s a receiver in the state who can catch the ball and come to a full stop in front of Mullings and escape.

[1:20] Mullings has no problem flipping his hips in coverage.

[1:33] Mullings reads the mesh point and gets the direction of the run wrong, as he’s stepping toward the line and the back sees this and hits the backside cavern.

[1:51] Strafes to fill a gap over from the one occupied by the defensive lineman who has broken through, which also allows him to sidestep an oncoming block.

[1:57] It looks like Milton’s linebackers have been coached to chip receivers that pass through their zone when a teammate is present and trailing. Mullings does so and then nearly has a one-handed pick on a throw the quarterback thought he could thread deep over the middle.

[2:06] Mullings blitzes and does a couple of things well en route to a sack. First, he lets the DE crash inside and then slides through the gap with relative quickness considering he has to turn to avoid being blocked as well as step over his newly fallen teammate. Second, and most impressively, Mullings reads his teammate’s position and takes an angle that allows him to pursue where the quarterback will be once flushed instead of where he is at the moment Mullings spots him. This leads to Mullings closing in and pulling down the QB.

[2:16] Mullings takes a step forward thinking run, then sees the QB snap to his side quickly and drops back a step thinking pass, then the ball gets shoved into the RB’s belly and two linemen are on Mullings. He braces for the blocks but gets twisted by the inside blocker while sort of shedding/being thrown by the outside blocker. This push puts him in the right area to dive at the RB as he goes by, and I’m guessing he doesn’t because there likely haven’t been many players Mullings has had a hard time chasing down from behind.

[2:38] The drop and hip flip is nice; the pursuit is interesting. Looks like he long-legs it to avoid overrunning the receiver?

[3:07] Great closing speed, bad timing on the breakdown and Mullings gets run past.

[3:19] Mullings has the quickness to blow this play up in the backfield but needs to pull around the corner tighter.

[3:37] Anticipates the likely block from the slot well and gets inside it to evade and provide pursuit.

[3:52] Can’t neg him for getting caught inside here because that “block” is a big ol’ hold.

[4:30] Mullings recovers nicely from being chipped and attacks the block from the slot. He comes very close to pushing the slot into the RB, and though Mullings doesn’t shed the block in time to tackle the back he does force him down a tight alley along the sideline where help awaits.

[4:37] Runs the receiver’s route with him and makes the tackle as soon as the ball arrives. Nice play.

[4:43] Mullings drops into coverage and looks to read the QB, sees he’s escaping the pocket, and sets up his angle to the ballcarrier well.

[4:55] Tough to see thanks to UnderwaterVision 2D but Mullings gets held again by the same guy who committed the big ol’ hold earlier, but once he’s released he gets over the top of the run and is in position to make a stop if the back hadn’t fallen over

[5:13] Shows good recovery speed here as his man, the slot receiver, breaks outside quickly and Mullings lets the outside receiver break in to avoid getting picked, then accelerates to close the gap with the slot.

Summary

Usually a full game of tape provides what I need to form an opinion, but I don’t have a good feel for how Mullings might fare as an inside linebacker because he was dropping into coverage so often. If the staff moves him to Viper, I see a lot of raw athleticism that will serve him well. He has a habit of flipping his hips one way and then flipping back the other when dropping into coverage, but it provided us an opportunity to see how smooth he is when changing directions; I see a guy who can be trusted to carry a tight end downfield or pick up a back out of the backfield with the bad habits easily coached out (plus he won’t be tasked with Lion King coverage—”everything the light touches is our kingdom”—in college).

Mullings is very quick, particularly for a guy who’s almost 230 pounds. He diagnosed run plays well and generally reacted appropriately to what he was seeing, often ducking blocks as he saw them coming. The biggest question I have is about timing; one time Mullings had a free run off the edge and overran the play, allowing the running back past by a split second. Another time he peeled out of his zone to take a run at a ballcarrier in the open field and closed the amount of space between the two in a hurry but broke down to hit a split second too early and ended up missing the tackle. Then again, there were times he watched the quarterback break the pocket and was able to correctly anticipate where the QB would be, and this resulted in a sack and a nice open-field stop. In other words, he exploded in a lot of directions, and while the direction was almost always correct the timer needs some tweaking. Mullings strikes me as a guy who will do well to redshirt, but as a guy with size, speed, and instincts should be able to make an impact down the road .