‘I’m living my dream’
Team success main motivation for Axemen receiver Mulali
Acadia football Axemen receiver Glodin Mulali wants to succeed at his chosen sport, but even more important to him is the team itself enjoys success.
The evolution of Mulali’s football career has been a bit of a whirlwind to say the least. Born in Nigeria, he emigrated to Moncton, N.B. with his family when he was in Grade 9.
That summer, he met Dylan Tabone, the starting quarterback for the Harrison Trimble Trojans, their high school’s football team. The two became good friends, and noticing Mulali’s speed and athleticism, Tabone suggested he should consider football.
Tabone, Mulali points out, “didn’t explain anything” about the game. Given that where he came from, football meant soccer, the first tryout he attended “wasn’t what I was expecting, but I tried it. The first week, I had no clue, but I was enjoying it and didn’t want to stop.”
When tryouts for the soccer team started, Mulali had a choice to make - and he chose football. “I played all three years I was in high school.” His first year, playing both receiver on offense and halfback on defense, he earned a Rookie of the Year award.
League all-star
After his first year, he tried out for the provincial team, and was fortunate enough to make the team. In his Grade 11 year, he was a league allstar. In Grade 12, even despite missing part of the season due to injury, he again made the all-star team.
He also made the provincial team for a second straight year, stating “and this time, I got to start. At first, I had played mostly defensive back, but the second year, they wanted me to be a receiver.”
Also in his Grade 12 year, he earned Offensive Player of the Year honours for the New Brunswick high school league. His goal was to qualify for the national team program. “After I got hurt halfway through the season, I lost hope. I don’t know how, but I ended up making the U-18 national team in my Grade 12 year.” He attended an international camp in Orlando, FL.
Since then, he made the U-19 national team, got to attend the International Bowl in Arlington , TX, and earlier this summer, participated in the U-19 world championships in Mexico.
Overall, he said getting to compete at the national and international level “has been a great experience for me. I’m learning a lot, getting great coaching,” and through the added exposure, “becoming a better player.”
In the meantime, he graduated from Grade 12. Due to his injury, he wasn’t heavily recruited by universities, but by that time, he knew he wanted to play university football.
“My first choice was Ottawa, and in this conference, St. F.X. I visited X, Mount Allison and Saint Mary’s, but when I visited Acadia, I knew this was where I wanted to be.
“I came here on a visit and met coach Cummins. He’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever played for. He coached U-19 in Florida when I was U-18,” and was also part of the coaching mix at the U-19 worlds this summer in Mexico.
“I really respect who he is and what he stands for.”
Hard work paying off
He made a good first impression, catching nine passes for 150 yards. Despite getting into only five games, he averaged 16.7 yards per catch, and 30 yards per game, and was the football Axemen Corookie of the Year.
“Three or four years ago, my goal was just to make the national team. It was a long shot for me, but I’ve worked really hard, which in turn opens up opportunities for you.”
His last four years, he says, have been “ridiculously awesome. I’ve come a really long way in a short time, and I’ve gotten to make so many great friends, all across the country.”
Mulali stands 5’11” and is listed at 175 pounds. What he has done is make the best of the skills he has.
“My goal coming in here was to work on my speed and athleticism, and the size and strength will come. The coaches just want me to be able to catch the ball, run with it and gain yardage.”
After a reasonably successful freshman year, Mulali is looking forward to the 2018 season.
“One of my coaches told me something once that changed my life. He said, ‘if you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will.’ That’s been my motto ever since,” he said.
Defending conference champs
The Axemen enter the 2018 season as the defending conference champions.
Mulali says, “we have a lot of explosive players on offense,” including a potential game-breaking receiver in Cordell Hastings as well as Dale Wright, who “led the conference in rushing” with 1,030 yards and was named AUFC Player of the Year (as well as Acadia’s Male Athlete of the Year).
The Axemen look solid on defense, led by all-canadian linebacker Bailey Feltmate and all-conference cornerback Jadin White-frayne. Second year defensive lineman Anderson Recker joined Mulali and coach Cummins at the U-19 worlds.
In terms of the team, Mulali says, “I want us to win again … I want to do whatever the team needs, and the coaches want me to do. If I can do that, everything else should fall into place.”
Mulali is entering the second year of an engineering program.
As far as football is concerned, “I’m living my dream right now,” he said.