Tyler Mullan knows how to make the most of a good opportunity.
The North Bay product committed to the Queen's Gaels varsity football team this February as a kicker.
Little did the 18-year-old know that he would be forced into the spotlight in his freshman year.
Thanks to a training camp injury to the starting kicker, the St. Joseph-Scollard Hall Bears alum was named to the Gaels starting lineup for the start of the OUA football season.
See related: Local kicker iced by dad gets commitment to Queen's
The 5'10", 160-pound kicker had an incredible debut, kicking four field goals and five point-after attempts on route to a 47-25 victory over U of T on August 27 in Kingston.
"I don't want to say it came out of nowhere, but I was not fully expecting all this to come at me the way it did but I was ready for it," Mullan told BayToday.
"I have been putting in the work, day in and day out at practice. I have a great coaching staff and great guys around me and they help me get better every day."
Mullan has been training in both the indoor BMO Centre in London and in Oakville where he was part of a training group organized by Western University kicking coach Darryl Wheeler. That led Mullan to train with the likes of Carolina Panthers kicker Lirim Hajrullahu.
He's drawing upon that training and his confidence to be ready if the Gaels need another 17 points from Mullan in their next game.
"I don't feel pressure, I just go in day in and day out and just do my job as to what I am supposed to do and if I keep doing that then it will all work out and things will fall into place," he said.
"I don't think there is much of a secret, I have been training hard for this for a few years now and all my training is kind of coming together and practice really makes perfect, especially with kicking."
His family, including his dad, a longtime local high school football coach, are having to make a transition too. Instead of possibly visiting and actually sitting in the stands with Tyler during Gaels home games, they now have decided to become season ticket holders for the Queen's USport football team.
