Buffs' Mulumba Ready To Tackle Duties On Defensive Line

BOULDER — You would be hard pressed to find a player with a more roundabout path to the Colorado football team than the road traveled by Chris Mulumba.

In the long run, however, Mulumba and his CU coaches believe that path could lead to a very simple destination — the opponents' backfield, particularly the space occupied by the opposing quarterback.

Understand that 10 years ago, Mulumba really had no idea what a "quarterback" was. A native of Finland, the 6-foot-4, 280-pound judo expert's knowledge of football was limited to knowing the NFL existed and that Americans get very fired up every year for something they call the Super Bowl.

But then a friend of his father suggested that he give the game a try.

"I didn't know anything about football," Mulumba said earlier this week after a morning strength and conditioning session. "I didn't even know we had football in Finland. It was so small. But it sounded interesting and I wanted to give it a try."

When he did, he was hooked.

"The physical aspect of it was interesting to me," Mulumba said. "You have to play very hard all the time, especially on the line. With the use of hands and balance, I could translate some of the things I learned in judo to football."

Mulumba first played for the Helsinki Roosters, a Finnish club program, and soon discovered he couldn't get enough of the game. So he set aside his judo, wrestling and track and field (he is a three-time Finnish judo champion and a black belt) and moved to the United States to play American football. He played one year at Chabot College in California, then moved on to Diablo Valley College for the 2015 season.

"It was a big change," Mulumba said. "I knew the speed was going to be much faster and I knew I would need more technique. But I did my best to learn as much as possible."

Mulumba learned quickly. While he is a soft-spoken, reserved young man off the field, those traits don't seem to be part of his game. As a sophomore in 2015 he led Diablo Valley with 63 tackles, including nine for loss and four sacks in 10 games. He was a first-team All-Bay 6 League selection that season when he was a teammate of Kyle Trego, who signed with CU and was a sophomore defensive back for the Buffs last fall.

Along with learning the game, he also had to learn English, making it the third language in which he is now fluent.

Mulumba's first language is French, the language spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. His parents are natives of the country, but left there a year before he was born to escape that country's civil war.

Thus, he grew up speaking French in his home and Finnish everywhere else.

"English was much tougher to learn," Mulumba said. "I barely spoke English when I came here, so I had a hard time."

But Mulumba now handles English with ease — picking it up with the same zeal with which he approached the game of football.

After two years of junior college ball, Mulumba signed with Central Florida in 2016, but did not attend school, instead taking the year off to shore up his academics. When Colorado showed an interest, he returned the attention and signed in December.

"The combination of everything — Coach (Mike) MacIntyre, Coach (Jim) Jeffcoat, the facilities, how they played last season — all those things were interesting," Mulumba said. "It will be great to learn from Coach Jeffcoat because of his experience. He has a lot of things to teach."

With all three of CU's starting defensive linemen from 2016 gone to graduation, competition for the spots beginning in the spring will be wide open. While junior college transfer Javier Edwards is expected to have the inside track at nose tackle, it means there are still two defensive end spots up for grabs. Returnees include Leo Jackson III — a starter two years ago — and Timothy Coleman; but Mulumba is also expected to figure into the equation right away.

The 24-year-old Mulumba is admittedly still learning the nuances of the game, but he is also a quick learner, and could give the Buffs a boost right away — particularly rushing the quarterback.

"I like rushing the quarterback and playing the run," he said. "I think I can do both very well. Coach Jeffcoat told me that he wants me to be ready for passing situations to rush the quarterback, so I'm excited about that."

Mulumba is now a solid 280 pounds, up from the 260 he weighed when he arrived in the United States. When he gets an offseason of strength and conditioning under his belt, he could no doubt add a few more pounds to his frame.

"I'm excited for spring practice and glad to be here," he said. "I hope I can help us continue to be successful."

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu