BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer

MADISON, Wis. — The prominent University of Wisconsin alum immediately commanded the room, the defensive line meeting room. Without uttering a word, he already had the undivided attention of every player. It happens when you're larger than life. When you're Justin James Watt.

Everyone was awestruck by the future Pro Football Hall of Famer, including Isaiah Mullens, who recalled of Watt's campus visit last spring, "He came to our D-line room and talked to us for about an hour. It was cool. We were all surprised and excited with J.J. just finding time to come and talk."

Mullens was raised in Columbus, Ohio, about 20 minutes away from the Horseshoe, Ohio Stadium, where Watt started for the Badgers as a redshirt sophomore in a 2009 loss to the Buckeyes. Mullens was 12 and more into basketball than football and Watt was not yet a household name.

But after leaving UW following his junior year, it didn't take long for Watt to develop into a difference-maker for the Houston Texans, who took him with the 11th overall pick in the 2011 draft. His pro career skyrocketed after his rookie season. In 2012, he was the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year.

"I grew up watching J.J. Watt — he was kind of an inspiration of mine just by who he is as a football player and as a person," said Mullens, who wears jersey No. 99 and has begun to step out of the shadows of his linemates — Matt Henningsen and Keeanu Benton — to impact the defensive front.

When asked what he took away from Watt's messaging, he said, "He was telling us about how he wanted to be the greatest there is. When you hear people say that, you go, 'OK, talk is cheap.' But J.J. meant what he said. You could tell with his demeanor and the way he said it. He was dead serious."

At one point, the 22-year-old Mullens got a chance to pose a question to Watt.

"I asked him, 'What is your why?'"

It has been a popular query on Paul Chryst-coached teams.

"I'm going to paraphrase what J.J. said — he said (my) family and being the best I can be," noted Mullens, who was then prodded into answering the same thing. What is your why? "My why is my family, my why is being successful in what I do, my why is my girlfriend.

"In being comfortable, and happy, that's my why. Coming here, I had a lot of stuff going on. And I just wanted to basically be on my own and just grow up. The first couple of years were kind of hard. But it has gotten better. It doesn't get easier. But it gets better. That's what I've always been told."

Mullens is definitely getting better. That's what the UW coaches were telling everyone Monday.

"He's a big, strong kid and through experience, I think he's really gaining a lot of confidence," said Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard. "He's being that physical guy. We've seen it the last couple of weeks with some sacks and a little bit more production.

"It's a credit to him. He put in a great offseason. With the experience, you can see him continue to grow week-in and week-out. He's confident in who he is. He knows the type of player he is. And he's putting it out there every single week."

The 6-foot-4, 297-pound Mullens had a partial sack against Notre Dame, a full sack against Purdue, and another half sack against Iowa. It prompted Chryst to say, "He got off to a good start and he has continued to build on that. There's no doubt. Shame on me for not talking more about it."

Defensive line coach Ross Kolodziej addressed Mullens' ongoing development.

"He has done a great job of competing every day — he's always been a big, strong, talented individual," said Kolodziej, who then highlighted the growth in such areas as "His confidence on the field. Working on his craft. Getting better with his technique. And trusting it.

"He's really continuing to grow that confidence more than anything."

Mullens has appreciated Kolodziej's coaching.

"He has been upfront with us — he's telling us how it is — telling us individually what we need to do to get a chance to play," Mullens said. "And he has been a real positive influence by giving guys that chance to play and gain confidence. And it's not just me. It's us as a group."
 

Kolodziej was a D-line starter on back-to-back Wisconsin Rose Bowl teams and that was not lost on Mullens, who pointed out, "The stuff that he has learned and has been through, he has passed that knowledge to us and it's really helpful when we're put in those predicaments, he has told us about."

He has watched video on Kolodziej. Tape don't lie. "He was really (bleeping) good," he said.

Kolodziej, who competed professionally for seven seasons, ultimately made a smooth transition from the playing field to the weight room and strength and conditioning coordinator. And after years in that role, the last six with the Badgers, he's now completing his first season as an assistant coach.

Pondering for a second what has pleased him the most about his defensive line since the opener, he said, "Probably the best thing has been them getting better at practice — in how to practice, how to come to work and really seeing how that translates to the game. It's not just lip service.

"It has been great to see them put it out there on the practice field and now make that connection. It's not just magic. There's no secret. It really is just working hard, having vision and coming to work every single day to get better."

At an early age, Mullens just wasn't sure it was for him.

"I really didn't want to play football," he said. "I wanted to be a hooper."

Basketball was his first love and he claimed, "I was OK, I was pretty decent."

But it was during his freshman year at Harvest Prep — a small, private K-12 school (enrollment 547) in Canal Winchester, Ohio — that everything changed for Mullens after crossing paths with Milan Smith, who was taking over the football program and not taking "no" for an answer.

"Before I even decided I wanted to play (for him), he told me, 'If you give me your all, if you do what you have to do, you can write a ticket to wherever you want to go,"' Mullens said. "Obviously, I was young, I was a freshman. And I was a little hesitant by a bold statement like that."

Initially, he was not buying into what Smith was selling. But he came around.

"Coach is like my dad now," Mullens said. "After my freshman year, I decided not to play basketball anymore. I was fully committed to football. After my sophomore year, I got my first offer from Toledo. And that made a really big difference.

"My mom didn't really know what a football scholarship was. My coach had to explain it to her — that it's a full ride scholarship to college. I was getting offers from mainly MAC schools. My first really big offer was from Wisconsin and then all the other schools started to offer."

Mullens opted for the Badgers over Iowa, Purdue and Rutgers. But when he got to Madison, he conceded, "I was overweight to be honest. I didn't do enough to keep myself in shape before coming here. Coach (Shaun) Snee helped me out a lot with my meals and checking my calories."

The biggest adjustment was to the level of competition. Harvest Prep was a D-7 program. He was out of his element — not unlike Isaiahh Loudermilk, who also attended a very small high school and actually played eight-man football in Kansas. Mullens and Loudermilk physically dominated opponents.

"We talked about that a little bit," Mullens said. "Us both coming from small schools. Us being the biggest guys in our league. It was a big transition. As time goes on, you get used to it and adapt. But it was a really big change for me."

Mullens went to school on teammates like Loudermilk who were willing to share pointers.

"Obviously, the guys that were in front of me were good and they gave me a lot of advice on what I should do and how I should handle myself," said Mullens, a redshirt junior. "They told me that I should not let my emotions take control of me or anything like that.

"I made sure if I had the chance, or if I got the chance to play, I wouldn't mess it up. Trusting the process and being patient is what I could do. It's true. If you're patient, if you work hard, if you do what you're supposed to do, if you do the right thing, you're going to get an opportunity to play."

And now, he's making the most of that opportunity.