Tiawan Mullen Comes Away with First-Career Interceptions in Victory Over MSU

Indiana cornerback Tiawan Mullen had two interceptions in Indiana's 24-0 victory over Michigan State. He accounted for half of the team's takeaways.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — It was a season ago at Michigan State where Indiana cornerback Tiawan Mullen made his name famous among Hoosier fans.

Indiana had just finished up nonconfernce play and was entering the bulk of the Big Ten schedule with a 3-1 record (only losing to Ohio State). Against the Spartans, Mullen came away with career-high four pass breakups.

The only thing that didn't accompany his impressive performance was a victory as Indiana suffered a 40-31 loss.

It was during that game where Mullen showed what he's capable of on the field, and it was after the game where Mullen showed what he is all about.

"I want to show everyone that we came in here to compete," Mullen said after the loss. "We aren't going to back down to nobody."

That mentality has spread throughout the Indiana locker room, and now, over a year later, the nation is starting to realize what Mullen and the Hoosiers are all about.

When Indiana entered East Lansing on Saturday, there was no blemish on the Hoosiers' record. They came in 3-0 and ranked as the No. 10 team in the country.

Mullen and the Hoosiers' defense have been a force at creating takeaways this season, and that continued Saturday afternoon.

Would you believe that Mullen, who finished his freshman campaign leading the Big Ten with 13 pass breakups (11th nationally), had never secured a collegiate interception?

That all changed when he returned to Spartan Stadium on Saturday.

On Michigan State's second possession of the game, Mullen picked off Spartan quarterback Rocky Lombardi, officially earning his first-career interception.

"Yeah, he learned how to catch," Allen joked. "Last year, he had all those pass breakups and never any picks. How about that? Nah, I'm just teasing. He's a great player. He was due. He's always got his hands around the ball."

Michigan State's Indiana's Tiawan Mullen, right, intercepts a pass intended for Michigan State's Jayden Reed during the first quarter on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing :: Nick King/USA TODAY Sports

But Mullen wasn't done after that.

Early in the second quarter, Mullen picked off Lombardi for a second time.

"I just seen the ball and attacked it, really," Mullen said with a big smile on his face.

He accounted for two of Indiana's four takeaways on the day.

Mullen also finished the game with three tackles (two solo), and Indiana's secondary as a whole only allowed 131 passing yards.

"I got one of the best cornerbacks coaches in the game with coach Brandon Shelby," Mullen said. "Once you listen to a coach, he's gonna put you in the right position and then you have to go out and execute, and that's what I did today."

Mullen now has two impressive games in the books against Michigan State.

According to Pro Football Focus, Mullen's stat line across 21 coverage snaps against Michigan State reads three targets, zero catches allowed and two picks.

Indiana CB Tiawan Mullen across 21 coverage snaps vs MSU
🔺 3 targets
🔺 0 catches allowed
🔺 2 INTs pic.twitter.com/87gTWoD5uI

— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 14, 2020

Allen called him a savvy player and said it has helped that Mullen hasn't had to play man coverage every time he's on the field.

With the versatility Indiana has on defense this season, the Hoosiers are able to use Mullen in multiple ways, which is a big reason he came away with two interceptions on Saturday.

"When they let you play with vision, you just gotta go out there and improvise and make plays," Mullen said. "That's what I did."

But what Mullen is most happy about is that this time, he's walking away from East Lansing with a victory and a perfect 4-0 record.

"He's one of those ones that chose to come here from far away because he believed in the vision of what we were going to do even though we hadn't done it yet," Allen said. "Tiawan is a special guy. Not the biggest guy on the field, but his heart is huge."

"I'm not surprised with what's happening at Indiana University," Mullen said. "It's not a surprise. I expected this."

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