The first offer came not from a Power 4, but a higher power.
A few years ago, Mullen star edge rusher Troy Mailo was nominated for the priesthood when the Archdiocese asked parishioners for candidates. It has happened twice, actually.
“Well,” Mailo said warmly, “faith is No. 1 for me.”
This is a story about a remarkable young man who was pursued by 26 schools before he chose Stanford last week. That perfect ending would have never happened without the backstory of who Mailo has become over the last 17 years, shaped by family and the Catholic church.
“I asked him if the priesthood was something he felt compelled to do,” said his mother Esther. “Maybe down the road things change, but right now it is not his calling.”
That is, in part, because her son’s phone would not stop ringing over the past several months.Seems that college coaches wanted a 6-foot-3, 255-pound sack machine with 9 % body fat,, legs, and size 17 feet.
“I have been doing this for 32 years, and you can look across the field and go, ‘Oh yeah, he’s one of those guys.’ That’s Troy,” Mullen coach Jeremy Bennett said. “He truly belongs in the 1 percent tile. He is strong as an ox, and hasn’t stopped growing.”
Mailo established himself as one of the state’s best players over the past two seasons, delivering 96 tackles, 30.5 for a loss, and 15 sacks, helping Mullen regain its footing as it prepares to return to the brutish Centennial League.
“I think I am just nasty. I get after guys really well. I get into their chest and make them uncomfortable. But what I pride myself on is effort,” Mailo said after a recent workout. “People have power and speed, but great effort, that will make you stand out.”
As Mullen offensive coordinator Sed Bonner explained, the Hudl film shows a player with a remarkable first two steps and breathtaking power. Mailo wrecks game plans. But with tight end/edge star Mason Bonner gone to the University of Michigan, Mailo figures to get chipped more this season than your windshield on I-25.
“I trust whoever will be on the opposite side. We have really good players,” Mailo said. “But I am working with my coaches, so I am ready for it.”
Mailo was big when he was small. He began seeing football as a vehicle to reach his goals in fifth grade. He played tight end, standing out on a Raptors youth team with Mark Bowman as his quarterback — he is at USC as one of the top tight end recruits in the country — and Cherry Creek’s Alijah Landrum-Hamilton, a Wyoming commit.
At Mullen, Mailo focused on defense, where his father, Shaun, has coached the line for years, wanting to follow in the footsteps of former Mustang and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Aidan Keanaaina.
Mailo started as a freshman. And when he showed up at the Lindenwood University football camp in St. Louis after his sophomore year, he looked right at home against some of the best offensive linemen in the country.
“He got to compete in front of 117 Power 4 coaches and dominated guys who already had offers by those same coaches,” Bennett said.
The physical traits are obvious. The statistics are impressive.
What the measurables and numbers don’t show is the full picture of Mailo. The way everyone smiles when his name is mentioned on the Mullen campus, the way he helps younger teammates in practice, and the way he carries himself in the classroom.
“My goal when I came to this school was to leave it better than when I got here,” Mailo said. “I love it. It is home.”
Mailo has stacked his schedule with advanced placement classes. He wants to avoid academic whiplash at Stanford. That challenge initially created pause as he weighed opportunities at Arizona and Arizona State, but a visit to Palo Alto last month eased concerns.
“Coach (Tavita) Pritchard and his staff were great. Everyone there was welcoming and I could see how much the coaches care about each other. And it was cool to meet the teachers and understand how they could provide support,” Mailo said. “A chance at a Stanford degree is something special that I couldn’t pass up when thinking about a future after football.”
Part of Stanford’s appeal was its approach. While some schools wanted Mailo to graduate early to participate in spring ball, Pritchard told him it was important to enjoy his senior year and everything that comes with it. This went over well with mom and dad, who are not ready to see their oldest son leave home yet.
“He is not being rushed,” Esther said. “He can be a kid for a little longer.”
Mailo reveals a child’s grin when talking about things he is passionate about, like possibly pursuing a career in sports law. And the tattoo on his right forearm that pays homage to his Polynesian culture and his younger sister Annalise, a Mullen freshman, and little brother Johnny, a sixth-grader.
“It was a coming-of-age thing. Family is everything to me. I wanted them on my arm,” Mailo said. “It also allows me to promote who we are.”
The more Mailo talks, the more he reveals.
It is clear he is humble and driven, seeing relationships as connective tissue. His teammates have chosen him as a team captain since his sophomore season, even if Bennett has to remind him that “he does not always have to deflect to the very end, while giving everyone else credit.”
It is part of his dedication to something bigger.
Mailo has been an altar boy at Light of the World Catholic Church since the third grade. He also serves in mass at Mullen, something uncommon for athletes.
Is it really that important to him?
Well, he plans to start a podcast with a teammate to discuss his faith journey.
“It has kept me on the right path,” Mailo said. “It has helped me be my true self and not let anything change me.”
The transformation comes on the field. The young man who says thank you and shows appreciation for a reporter’s visit plays with violence. Mom compares it to “Jekyll and Hyde.”
“When he was younger, I tried to talk him down from that, afraid he was going to hurt someone. But I realized you cannot do that. My husband made it clear that is how he has to be on the field,” said Esther, a grade school teacher. “It is funny. I was trying to teach him to be gentle, and now when I watch him, I become someone different, too.”
Which brings us back to college and all those choices, including options in-state at CU and CSU. Many offered early playing time, and some represented potential paths to the NFL.
But Stanford, in the end, was not just about the player Mailo might become, but the person he already is.
“I think I am most proud of my son for leaving his mark as a great human at Mullen,” Esther said.
“It is just the man he has matured into,” added Shaun, voice cracking, “and the way he holds his faith in everything he does.”
