As the pre-season of the ELF is slowly approaching, starting end of April, the Stuttgart Surge announced another defensive highlight: Finnish NCAA Div. 1 player, CFL player and NFL Pathway Program participant Chris Mulumba has signed with the Surge and will be a defensive lineman for the Surge in 2024. Born in Finland, 31-year-old defensive tackle Chris Mulumba already has an impressive athletic resume: After practicing judo in his youth and earning a black belt in the sport, he was introduced to American football with the Helsinki Roosters.

From the European gridiron to the highest collegiate level

He played for the Roosters from 2009 to 2012. He quickly caught the attention of American football scouts, and in 2014 he went Chabot College in Hayward, California, where he played for the Gladiators. In the season he played there, he recorded 35 total tackles, four tackles for loss and a sack. He transferred to Diablo Valley College for the 2015 to 2016 seasons, where he recorded 63 total tackles, 9 tackles for loss and 4 sacks in 10 games. With those stats, it's no surprise that higher-level colleges took notice of him. The Buffaloes of the University of Colorado Boulder are members of the Pac-12 and play in the NCAA Div. I FBS division. At the highest collegiate level, Mulumba recorded 57 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in 24 games from 2017 to 2018.

Huge frame and outstanding help for the Surge. © Colorado University Athletics

Same IPP-class like Platzgummer and Bada

Due to these outstanding performances, Mulumba was named the Finnish Football Player of the Year in 2017 and 2018, and was named to the 2018 Ted Hendricks Award Watch List as one of the best defensive ends in college football. Additionally, Mulumba received the Ron Scott Award as the Most Improved Defensive Lineman in 2018 and was named to the All-Pac-12 Third Team. Following his collegiate career, the 1,90 m, 127 kg Finnish defensive tackle continued to draw the attention of scouts and was accepted into the NFL's International Player Pathway Program in 2020. He was part of the same IPP generation as Germany's David Bada and Austria's Sandro Platzgummer, now Frankfurt Galaxy, and Bernhard Seikovits. Mulumba was selected in the 2021 CFL Global Draft by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, with whom he played from 2021 to 2023. Now, he is back on the European continent.

With this elite resume and his diverse high-level football experience, Chris Mulumba is a significant addition to the Surge's defense.