The lamest joke after any intrasquad scrimmage is, “I hope [insert team] wins.” Before Notre Dame’s Blue-Gold Game on Saturday, the Irish had already won thanks to the commitment of consensus three-star defensive end Cole Mullins (Mill Creek High School; Hoschton, Ga.).
Mullins had also considered Georgia Tech, Duke and Wake Forest, holding at least one scholarship offer from each of the Power Five conferences.
When watching Mullins’s highlight reel, his length quickly stands out. His wingspan is assuredly greater than his 6-foot-4 height. The instinct may be to chalk that up as an overreaction when a player is on the field with presumably overmatched competition, but Mullins plays some of the better high-school competition in the country, underscoring his differentiating length.
He offers a strong initial hit as a defender, leaning into the physicality of the moment.
Mullins’ frame alone suggests he has a high ceiling in front of him. Playing linebacker in high school will leave him with a lot of room to improve along the defensive line, and already at 240 pounds, he will clearly make that move at the next level.
His length should make Mullins more of a Vyper end prospect for the Irish than a “Big” end, someone who can both contain an edge and harass a quarterback.
He visited Notre Dame just last week, and his Saturday commitment made Mullins the 10th pledge in the class for the Irish, as well as the second defensive lineman, joining four-star defensive tackle Owen Wafle.
