Freshmen Faces: Kalel Mullings
Coming out of Boston Milton Academy, Kalel Mullings was considered a four-star prospect, the No. 152 overall player nationally and the No. 10 outside linebacker in the country according to the 247 Sports Composite. Despite being one of the best linebackers in the country, Mullings was actually more decorated as a running back in high school. As a senior, he gained 371 rushing yards and scored 22 touchdowns and added 18 receptions for 289 yards and four more scores. He also had two interceptions and two sacks during his senior campaign.
Recruitment
Moten committed to Michigan on June 27, 2019 after a massive visit weekend that resulted in double-digit pledges for the Wolverines. Mullings was identified and offered by Michigan very early in the process. Don Brown spearheaded Mullings' recruitment and was actually the first coach to extend an offer to the talented linebacker. The very versatile athlete racked up around 30 offers over his high school career and had some very solid options to choose from. He had opportunities from schools like Clemson, Michigan State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, UCLA, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin among others.
Player Breakdown/Player Comparison
Mullings is yet another very interesting prospect because of his versatile background. At 6-1, 220 pounds, he's almost certainly a linebacker at the next level, but some schools did like him at running back.
Build wise he just has a solid, athletic look. He's not super long or super jacked, but he's built and rangy enough to play several linebacker positions. Because he's already at least 220 pounds, he's likely to play inside linebacker when it's all said and done.
He's got a really good burst and does a great job of getting through the wash on run plays. He's instinctive enough and strong enough to avoid or get off of blocks and really does a nice job securing tackles once he arrives at the ball carrier. Against the pass he's sufficient. He has good not great speed and does a nice job changing direction in order to stay with receivers. As an inside linebacker he won't have to cover in space much but he has the ability to do so.
As a solidly built, pretty fast, pretty athletic linebacker, I see Mullings developing like former Iowa standout and current Green Bay Packers linebacker Christian Kirksey.
At the 2014 NFL Combine, Kirksey checked in at 6-2, 233 pounds, which is probably about how big Mullings will be when he steps onto the field at Michigan. Kirksey ran a 4.58 and had a 32-inch vertical jump, indicating that he's a really good athlete, but not necessarily elite for the position — that's Mullings.
The scouting report for Kirksey sounds a lot like the scouting report for Mullings. Scouts have said things like, "plays faster than he times" and "decisive linebacker who doesn't take false steps" when describing Kirksey and that's exactly how I'd describe Mullings. He plays fast and is very efficient because he is a really good athlete and he combines that with being decisive and instinctive.
Some of the knocks against Kirksey are also in line with what limits Mullings. Things like "not a prospect with endless athletic potential" and "average closing speed in the open field" could be used to describe both players. Still, Kirksey started for three years at Iowa and was an early third-round pick by the Cleveland Browns. If Mullings can develop in a similar fashion, you'd have to be happy with that.
2020 Outlook
I don't think we'll see much of Mullings at all in 2020 as he continues to shape his body and get stronger. If he does indeed play an inside linebacker position he'll need some time to get ready for what that spot entails. Josh Ross and Cameron McGrone should have U-M's traditional linebacker spots sewn up, while Michael Barrett and Anthony Solomon get it figured out at viper. There isn't much depth behind Ross and McGrone, so Mullings could find himself on the two deep depending on how fall camp goes, but I envision a redshirt season for him. Eventually I think Mullings will be ready for the field and will be a very productive player for the Wolverines.
