By Justin Jarrett
LowcoSports.com
For just about as long as anyone who knows him can remember, Irvin Mulligan has dreamed of playing in the National Football League.
Now he’s banging on the door.
After capping his college career with a sensational season and a Celebration Bowl title at Jackson State, Mulligan announced on social media that he will declare for the 2025 NFL Draft.
In the announcement, Mulligan gave thanks to his family, his coaches and teammates at Whale Branch, Wofford, and Jackson State, and his fans, “who gave me a sense of family by being there no matter the conditions of the game and for each and every team member.”
But certainly, they’re all just as grateful for his exploits on their behalf.
Mulligan rushed for nearly 4,000 yards in his Whale Branch career and was on his way to a third consecutive season with 1,400-plus yards before a season-ending injury in his senior season in 2018.
The injury limited the ceiling on his recruitment, but Mulligan landed at Wofford and worked his way up the depth chart over his first two seasons with the Terriers before rushing for 848 yards and eight touchdowns in 2022. With his undergraduate degree in hand, he and former Whale Branch teammate Jaheem Hazel transferred from Wofford to Jackson State as graduate transfers ahead of the 2023 season.
Mulligan was leading the Southwestern Athletic Conference when he injured his ankle against Alabama State in October 2023, and he missed spring practice, fall camp, and the first two games of the season while working his way back to full strength.
Once he got up to speed, Mulligan was tough to stop, rushing for 1,239 yards and 13 touchdowns while averaging 6.1 yards per carry.
He was named one of 10 finalists for the Urban Edge Network’s inaugural HBCU+ National Player of the Year award and one of the 35 finalists for the Walter Payton Award, which goes to the national offensive player of the year in NCAA Division I FCS college football.
“First, I would like to thank God for the gift he has given me and the passion I have for the game of football,” Mulligan said in a post. “I thank all of the people who have stood side by side with me throughout this journey.”
And what a journey it has been.
From tiny Seabrook and Whale Branch Early College High School, where he was a dominant force running the ball, to Wofford and then Jackson State, where he ended his college career with an HBCU national championship.
Next stop: The NFL?
Why not? Nothing has stopped this train yet.
Justin Jarrett is the sports editor of The Island News and the founder of LowcoSports.com. He was the sports editor of the Island Packet and the Beaufort Gazette for 6½ years. He has a passion for sports and community journalism and a questionable sense of humor.
