MULLINDER LIKES THE BACKGROUND

By Ian Hamilton, Leader-PostSeptember 9, 2009


REGINA — The spotlight found Luc Mullinder on Sunday.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders' defensive tackle stepped into its glare during the Labour Day Classic, knifing into the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' backfield and — along with defensive end John Chick — stuffing Fred Reid on a momentum-shifting play in Saskatchewan's 29-14 CFL victory at Mosaic Stadium.

But Mullinder said Wednesday he's more comfortable in the background, where he can just do his job.
"I'm not one of the guys who cares about the spotlight," said the 28-year-old product of Mississauga, Ont.

"Bro, trust me: I'm very humble. I know where I came from and none of my friends are athletes at home, so it's not like this is some huge deal for any of them.

"The spotlight's not what I'm looking for. I'm just looking to have fun. Man, I'm living a life. I'm a pro football player. You can't really complain."

Mullinder is one of the Roughriders' most gregarious personalities, which could create something of an internal personality clash.

"When you're in between these lines right here, you've got to be all business," said the 6-foot-4, 275-pounder, who's in his sixth season with the Roughriders. "But you can't take it too seriously.
"When I'm not in between the lines, yeah, I'll fool around sometimes. I'm not going to take life too seriously, man. It's too short. There's too much bad stuff going on in the world to be out here being mad at the world, man."

"He'd be the first to tell you he likes to work hard and play hard at the same time," added Roughriders defensive line coach Mike Scheper. "The beauty with him is he takes football very seriously. But at the same time he realizes it is a game and he loves to play football rather than work football and make it drudgery and a job."

This season, Mullinder quietly has accumulated 14 tackles — tying him with Marcus Adams for second among the team's defensive linemen; only Stevie Baggs has more with 28. Mullinder also has two sacks, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble.

Scheper likes the versatility Mullinder provides, in that he can play end and tackle. More importantly, the first-year coach likes Mullinder's approach to the game.

"He does his job on every play," Scheper said. "He really is a professional about it. He realizes that maybe statistically he doesn't have the same numbers as his counterparts — both Stevie and John have been phenomenal — but it hasn't changed his approach.

"He really takes the game seriously, he loves the game, he takes it as a professional and he prepares himself as if he was a starter."

Mullinder begins every game on the bench, but he estimated he plays about 50 per cent of the game as part of the Roughriders' rotation along the D-line.

He believes that watching the first series gives him an advantage, in that he can see what the opposition is doing before he takes the field. That helps him on the field and, in turn, makes Mullinder's role palatable.
"There are backup situations and then there are rotations," he said. "My first year or two, I was a backup and that meant playing only when those guys needed a break. That was like four or five plays a game — and that sucked, man.

"We're in there a lot and it's just a testament to me working hard and the other guys working hard. If one of us went out there and started fooling around, there wouldn't be a rotation."

When Mullinder is in the game, he's simply looking to take advantage of every chance he gets to make an impact — not to grab the spotlight.

"I learned in my first couple of years that it's not how many opportunities you get, it's about what you do when you get them," he said. "In my mind, whether I play 80 per cent of the snaps or two per cent, I'm going to make a play."

ihamilton@leaderpost.canwest.com