It’s Sunday morning as the rain slowly drips off the trees at the Omni Hotel off Lamar St. in Dallas, Texas. In a media room filled with reporters and members of the press, a table with several men are greeted with questions. Questions about the holiday, their families, what to expect in the oncoming days, nothing particularly new for the people on the table.
Over the past three seasons, the Alabama Crimson Tide has made trips like these before. Trips across America in a high-profile game that college football fans can’t wait to sit down and watch. After a trip to Miami and back-to-back trips to the Bayou, Kenyan Drake, Jake Coker, Ryan Kelly and Derrick Henry should be used to being on the stage by now.
One member on the panel however, isn’t as used to being in the center of attention as the rest.
Richard Mullaney this time last year wasn’t with Alabama in New Orleans. He wasn’t a member of the senior class who took home a National Championship in 2012. Mualleny wasn’t on the sidelines to see the infamous “Kick-Six” or watch as Ohio State stormed the field after being defeated in the Sugar Bowl. He was in Corvallis, Oregon, watching bowl games on his couch.
Yet somehow, less than a year later, he now sits on a panel with a contagious smile, waiting for his chance to shine on Thursday night.
It has been a crazy year for Thousand Oaks, California product after making a life-changing decision. A recent graduate of Oregon St., Mullaney was the only return starting receiver for the receivers back in 2014. In a double overtime loss for the Beavers, Mullaney was sidelined the rest of the season with a season-ending elbow injury.
While expected to return for a fifth season, Mullaney was greeted with upsetting news on Dec.4, 2014. Mike Riley, a former Alabama assistant and two time Oregon St. head coach (1998-1999, 2003-2014) would once again pack his bag and head to the cornfields of Nebraska to become the next head coach for Cornhuskers. With that in mind, Mullaney now had to think of his future.
Who would the new coach be? Would he still be a member of the starting offense? Would this become a rebuilding year of the Beavers?
When Gary Andersen ditched Wisconsin to move to the PAC12, Mullaney decided to stay fro the spring. Things remained the same as always for number 8; same drills, same routes, same number. However, in the end, things just didn’t feel right for the senior.
There would be a new quarterback throwing him the ball as Sean Mannion was picked up by the Rams. The offense had change under Andersen and after a 5-7 year, things weren’t turning around for Beavers in the division. While Mullaney danced with the decision, his heart was with the Beavers, his head was in brighter pastures.
“With Oregon State, I was comfortable, and it’s not like I wanted to leave, but it’s just hard,” Mullaney said in an interview with Bleacher Report’s Christopher Walsh. “At the end of the day, I had to do what’s best for me and what I wanted long-term.”
Within a span of 72 hours, Mullaney was granted his release, graduated from Oregon State with a degree in Human Development on June 13 and was on a plane down to Tuscaloosa. Things began to move fast for the receiver, faster than he could have expected. After a visit at the faculty and a Skype call with Nick Saban, Mullaney announced via Twitter and Instagram he would become a member of the 2015 Alabama Crimson Tide staff.
For Alabama, Mullaney was a wild card at the starting position at wide reciever. The Crimson Tide had lost all three of the starting receivers from 2014 and Amari Cooper forwent his senior season while DeAndrew White and Christion Jones graduated. Receivers ArDaruis Stewart and Robert Foster both saw the field in glimpses in 2014, but neither had the experience the three-year starter from Oregon St. had. During his time, Mullaney had 83 receptions and 1,160 yards.
“Obviously, it was Alabama. Top-tier five-star guys, Under Armour All-America guys, and I wasn’t that,” he said. “I knew I needed to work really hard.”
Still wanting to prove himself, Mullaney quickly packed his bags and headed to Tuscaloosa, unknowing of the future. Just because he was a new face in the crowd didn't mean Alabama was going to slow down just for him. He quickly began to learn the plays and make a name for himself among his new teammates. Still, even for a kid tough enough to travel 2000 miles away from home, he still wasn’t positive of the choices he made.
"It was like the first week, I called my parents and was like 'What did I just get myself into?' It was a lot.” Mualleny said to AL.com's Michael Casagrande.
In his first game in a Crimson Tide uniform, things slowly looked up for the transfer. Mullaney was named a starter in the slot position and finished his day with a pair of receptions for 38 yards. Splitting time between the trio of himself, Robert Foster and Calvin Ridley, he became comfortable wight he offense and with the man who just a season before was in his shoes, his new roommate Jake Coker.
"When Richard first came in, I think he wanted to earn the players' respect," Center Ryan Kelly said. "It's not something where you can just come in and get respect. You have to earn it. He did every day.”
After an season-ending injury in the Ole Miss game to Robert Foster, Mullaney became the full-time starter at the Slot position. While Alabama would lose to the Rebels that night, Mullaney would have himself a career night, finishing with seven receptions for 61 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
That night would become the end of Richard Mullaney, instead he was greeted with a new name. A name so fitting for the player who helped make all those around him shine. A play on words to one of the all-time greats in NBA history.
Exit Richard Mullaney. Enter “Slotty Pippen”
“Someone tweeted after the game the name and then Shink (Alphonse Taylor) pretty much took it from there,” Muallney said laughing after the SEC Championship.
As Coker and Mullaney bonded as roommates, they also bonded on the field. At the end of the season, Mullaney was credited at least making one catch in every game and finished tied with Calvin Ridley for most touchdowns on the team with five. Just like Micheal Jordan with his go-to man, Mullaney and Coker just seemed to be in sync.
“The bond really started back when we roomed together during fall camp,” Mullaney said. “I think he just got comfortable with me, and I got comfortable with him, and it's just been good.
While he still keeps in contact with several of his teammates, who finished the year off 2-10, Mullaney is now two games away of finally getting the ring he's always wanted. Smiling in a room full of camera’s the anxiety he carried when he started the year is no longer there, or at least hidden under his red scruffy beard.
When he arrived in Tuscaloosa, Mullaney needed to choose a new jersey number since number 8 was taken. He chose 16 instead.
Double the number, double the success.
