Louisville football: What new tight end Vic Mullen brings to the table

Louisville football secured its fifth commitment of the 2021 class on Tuesday after tight end Vic Mullen pledged to the Cards. What Mullen means for Louisville in the long term.

One day after a recruit accidentally pledged to Louisville football due to an apparent hacking situation, the Cardinals really did land their fifth commitment of the 2021 class.

This cycle, Louisville has been dead set on beefing up in the trenches and developing depth in regards to the offensive and defensive lines. Louisville also is in desperate need of quality depth at tight end. The Cardinals saw former walk-on Marshon Ford develop into an elite-level H-back in 2020, and former walk-on Isaac Martin and converted running back Tobias Little vie for the starting tight end spot in 2020 along with redshirt freshman Dez Melton.

However, Louisville has not secured a true scholarship tight end outside of Melton since losing Kemari Averrett in 2018.

That changed on Tuesday when tight end Vic Mullen pledged to the Cardinals.

https://twitter.com/mullenvic/status/1257773840446263297?s=21

Mullen is the No. 41 overall tight end in the 247Sports composite ratings, and committed to the Cards over App State, Iowa State, and Syracuse among others.

This isn’t a commitment that will turn a bunch of heads in the grand scheme of things, but it’s an important one for Louisville nonetheless.

Mullen is 6’6,” 230 pounds, which means that he is massive for a tight end coming out of high school, and can still put on probably 20-30 more pounds while at the next level.

He is from Ottowa, Illinois, a small town about an hour and a half southwest of Chicago. The level of football there is not great, and he wasn’t used in a super pass-oriented offense. With that said, on his tape, Mullen is the biggest guy on the field, and he absolutely mows people over.

When I hear that Louisville is recruiting a 6’6” tight end, I think of a lanky, more modern tight end who can go out wide, but Mullen is a brute. As only a junior in high school, he was already a physical specimen, and now the Cards have a tight end exactly in the mold of what they are looking for.

There will be a ton of big names committing in this 2021 class, but it’s guys like Mullen who could be the biggest (literally and figuratively) wins right now.

You can catch Mullen’s junior season highlights right here.