Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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PREP PROFILES Despite not being among the first to offer, Notre Dame has emerged as one of Pompano Beach (Fla.) Coconut Creek cornerback Trayvon Mullen's top choices. Mullen, one of the best defensive prospects in the class of 2016, was up to 22 Division I offers after Notre D a m e r u n n i n g backs coach Tony Alford officially of- fered him in July. "I was excited because I wanted that offer," the 6-2, 175-pound prospect said. "First of all, Notre Dame has a top education and great football. It's especially a good program for my position. "And Coach Alford sounds like a great coach that I can see myself play- ing for. He talked real to me about the school and program. I really liked that." Mullen said a sense of family and be- ing surrounded by positive people are two of the biggest influences in his ul- timate decision. That is why among his 13 unofficial visits this summer, Clem- son, Ohio State and Alabama stuck out the most to him. "In general, for those three it's the community," Mullen said. "The vibe. The school overall. "But I can also say that LSU, Tennes- see and UCLA are up there." Mullen has not visited South Bend yet, but plans to attend the Notre Dame-Florida State game Oct. 18 in Tal- lahassee, Fla. "I really want to see [the Irish] win," he said. "I want to see the en- vironment on the sidelines and how the players and coaches react to- gether. "I want to see if I can fit in to that family, so that if I do leave home, it'll feel the same." The U.S. Army All-American said that transcript issues got in the way of him playing football this past sea- son, but he was able to run track (the 400-meter, 200-meter and 4x100 relay races). "Track carries onto the football field," he said. "It makes me faster and gives me a lot of wind, which I need in my position." Along with the Notre Dame-Florida State game, Mullen hopes to attend games at Ohio State and Tennessee this fall. From there, he will start narrowing his choices down to 10, five and three before the end of his junior season. — Staci Gasser Florida Cornerback Is Excited By Notre Dame Offer TRAYVON MULLEN ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Coconut Creek High School Pompano Beach, Fla. Status: Offered Class: 2016 Position: Cornerback Ht.: 6-2 • Wt.: 175 40-Yard Dash: 4.27 247Sports Rankings: No. 75 overall prospect in the class of 2016, No. 6 cornerback in the nation and No. 11 player in Florida