BRIDGEWATER — Chris Muller has dropped five pounds since Rutgers football season ended, but the weight loss can’t all be attributed to trimming the bushy beard that he grew each of the last two falls.
Looking a physically fit 315 pounds, the incognito 6-foot-6 Muller is training for Rutgers Pro Day at TEST Football Academy with the mission to prove that there is more to him than a durable streak of 49 consecutive starts to end his college career.
“When you love a woman like I love my girlfriend, you have to shave,” Muller said. “I made a promise that I was going to grow it out and she was all supportive of it, but it’s just a different look. I’m trying to slim down and be a new-and-improved me. I’m going to grow it back out for Pro Day.”
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Not after taking what he learned in the last year from Rutgers’ improved comprehensive strength and conditioning program and combining it with what he has learned at TEST, owned and operated by Rutgers graduate Kevin Dunn.
“I didn’t just show up here in great shape,” Muller said. “I have to attribute that to Coach Kevin and everyone here. I’m eating right and working out hard, and it’s once you get everything in place that you see just how big the improvement is you can get.”
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Add in the skill lessons he is receiving from TEST’s offensive line coach Rich Seubert, who spent 10 seasons with the Giants after going undrafted out of Western Illinois.
“We’re working a lot of technique, a lot of hand placement,” Muller said. “Because he was a little undersized, he was a great technician. And that’s something I needed just to work on with my feet and hands.”
Muller was an anchor at right guard for Rutgers from the second game of his redshirt freshman season — when he replaced then-redshirt senior Andre Civil — through 2016, when he was a co-captain. He is one of only 23 players in school history to play in 50 career games.
Still, experience only goes so far.
In protecting seven-figure-salaried quarterback assets in the NFL, technique matters. Muller is refining his hand placement, footwork and ability to bend and stay low under Seubert’s watch.
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“He knows that he needs to put some work in and he is doing that,” said Seubert, who coaches Watchung Hills High School. “He has good technique, he understands the game and he is very smart.
“But what I like about him is he also likes to have a good time, and he is experienced. He’s seen a lot. He’s a little bit better off than I was coming out of college because he played against better competition. He listens and he improves every day. He’s soaked it all in.”
A four-star recruit-turned-2015 Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection, Muller realizes the competitive nature of what awaits in the NFL, either as a late-round draft pick or a free agent signee.
“Regardless, you have to the same mentality,” Muller said. “You are going to steal someone with a family’s job. If you are not able to do that and fall soundly asleep at night knowing that’s what you are fighting for, then it’s not the right sport for you.
“But competition is what drives me. I don’t score touchdowns and I don’t catch balls or having rushing yards. I get to play offensive line and block and beat people out. Competition is the only thing I have.”
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Muller was invited to the Tropical Bowl and the College Gridiron Showcase for seniors but declined, instead opting to let his tape stand. It includes a couple of games as a center, while he also practiced at but never played tackle.
“My agent and I thought, because I have so much game film, that I don’t want to risk injury,” Muller said. “I’ve been able to play through small bumps and bruises. Luckily, I never had a serious injury midseason. When game time is on, I’m going to be playing. I’m going to strap up.”
Muller was a constant through five different offensive coordinators, three different offensive line coaches and in three different conferences at Rutgers.
“In the blink of an eye, everything in your world can change,” Muller said. “You have to keep on keeping on. I’ve been through a lot of coaching changes, conference changes — a lot of things NFL guys deal with. It’s a wild ride, and you have to always be prepared for it.”
Whereas the constant changes once might have been a source of frustration, it could be a difference-maker on the open market.
“Every time there is a coaching change he’s had to earn that spot,” Seubert said. “He’s a fighter. From what I’ve seen, he busts his butt. Nobody is going to outwork him.”
Ryan Dunleavy may be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook
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