MARQUETTE – Former NMU Football Players John McMullen and Tavion McCarthy

Declare for NFL Draft.

McMullen was a Consensus First-Team All-American at West Florida in 2023. McCarthy

helped lead Mercer University to its first ever FCS playoff appearance.

Both will train at same Marquette gym which helped produce 2023 NMU Draft Pick Jake

Witt

Former Northern Michigan University Football players John McMullen and Tavion McCarthy

today declared their entry into the 2024 National Football League (NFL) Draft.

McMullen, a defensive lineman, transferred to West Florida in 2023. McMullen prepared for the

transition from frigid Upper Michigan to the sweltering Gulf Coast by taking a landscaping job

near West Florida’s campus in Pensacola during the summer before the 2023 season. “I didn’t

want to come here and be faced with cramps or heat exhaustion, so figured I might as well get

my body adapted to it.”

The unorthodox training strategy paid off for McMullen as he was consensus First-Team All-

American and the Gulf South Conference Defensive Player of the Year for the Argos in 2023.

McMullen’s dominant season featured 12.5 sacks for a total loss of 80 yards and 22 tackles for

loss overall for minus 112 yards. He had 51 tackles (34 solo, 17 assisted) and three forced

fumbles. McMullen earned all-conference honors at NMU in 2021 and 2022. “McMullen was

virtually unblockable in 2023,” said McMullen’s agent David Gregory of Bullrush Sports.

McCarthy, a defensive back, transferred to Mercer in 2023. He started 13 games at Cornerback

and helped lead Mercer to its first ever Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoff

appearance including a win over Gardner-Webb in the first round.

McCarthy quickly adjusted to FCS level competition with 54 tackles, including three tackles for

loss and one sack, 9 pass break ups, and 2 interceptions in the 2023 campaign. McCarthy

earned all-conference honors in 2022 his last season at NMU.

“Tavion McCarthy’s athleticism jumps off the film,” according to Gregory, who also serves as McCarthy’s agent.

“He’s a prototypical nickel back in the NFL and will be a special teams

demon for any team that gives him a chance.”

Both McMullen and McCarthy will do their Pro Day training at AdvantEDGE Sports in Marquette

which last year produced Indianapolis Colts draft pick Jake Witt, a former NMU teammate of

both players. Dustin Brancheau of AdvantEDGE will oversee their training.

“Branch and I made a good trainer-agent team last year,” said Gregory referring to their

successful efforts on behalf of Jake Witt who had a record-breaking Pro Day performance at

Central Michigan in March. Both Brancheau and Gregory are former NMU Football players.

According to Gregory, “[w]e’re just two old Wildcats helping our younger Wildcat brothers make

their NFL dreams come true.”

Brancheau and Gregory are also teaming up to train and represent other NFL hopefuls in

Marquette this winter including Offensive Guard Marcellus Anderson from the University of

Massachusetts. “We hope to announce a few others after the college bowl and playoff season is

completed,” said Gregory.

The NFL Draft takes place April 27 through April 29 in Detroit.