After a disappointing game for the defense, Mullen said he is ready for the new challenge Missouri will bring the Hoosiers at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Q Last weekend was a bit of a rough stretch for the defensive backs. Is there anything you’ve seen on film that you might be able to learn from?
A Last week wasn’t our best week.
They played vertical balls. We didn’t play balls very well. We had too many (pass interference penalties).
But we’ve got to flush that out and move onto Missouri, watch those guys on film and study their tendencies and see if we can’t get better.
Q I saw you and Shane Wynn went to the women’s soccer game on Sunday. What did you think of their candy-striped jerseys?
A Those jerseys are sick. Me and Shane actually liked them a lot and wished we could have had them for football.
But that’s not what we can do right now, I guess. But it looks good on them.
Q That would be quite the look. Would you wear a candy-striped football jersey?
A Oh, definitely. It might match our chrome helmets. It would be nice to do that.
Q I know you’re a student of the game and a big NFL guy. Is there any team you watch on film or look at more than others?
A Well, first off, I definitely watch as many Packers games as I can. I’m a big Packers fan.
But just learning from any team, really. At that level, everybody’s a great player and has something you can learn from.
Being a college player and really wanting to get to that level, you’ve got to focus on any game that comes on. Every game that you watch, you’ve got to learn.
Q I hear a lot of guys sharing football stories. Is there anything you like to tell?
A I don’t really go around bragging about plays, but a lot of what happens around here, we’re trying to take special teams to a whole new level.
Special teams sort of cost us a bit last week, so we really try to emphasize special teams and try to have fun on special teams.
So sometimes we’ll race down the field and say, “Oh, I beat you down the field.” Or “I beat you to that guy there.” Or “I downed this punt inside the five.” Just things to make special teams fun and those competitive plays, they make us work harder.
Q Last one I have for you, but does the defense turn it around this week?
A There’s no other option at this point. We have to turn it around.
We feel like we played a good conservative game in the first half last week not giving up a touchdown.
But the second half came out, and we looked like last year’s defense. That’s not us at all.
We need to focus in practice this week and correct those errors so we can come out against Missouri flying.
