Roaring laughter erupts from the student section as senior Judah Mullican delivers one of his effortless jokes.

Mullican, the 2025-26 Plunger Boy, entertains the Coppell High School student sections by formulating jokes with the snap of a finger, keeping the crowd entertained at all the events the Plunger Boy is present.

After a football game between Coppell High School and Southlake Carroll in the 1990s, Coppell students were called plungers and were teased that they would be working-class people. They took it to heart, and created the morale president, Plunger Boy.

At first, the role was associated with neither the cheerleaders or Student Council. Years later, after discussion, between Principal Laura Springer and Student Council sponsor Benjamin Stroud, it transitioned to being part of cheer. Now, the mascot is part of Student Council.

As Plunger Boy, Mullican is responsible for boosting the morale of the student section at games and pep rallies.

“He knows that he’s one of the many faces that lead our school,” Stroud said. “The student body looks to him for direction in how we’re going to have school and student morale.”

The selection process for the role of Plunger Boy started during summer, where Mullican made an immediate impression on the staff.

“We’ve got a rowdy crowd, and we’ve got to know how to make them rowdy, yet be sportsmanlike,” Springer said. “Judah has such a great character and he stands for what we want. Immediately I knew that this was the right guy.”

Senior Dillon Slaton said Mullican’s shining personality is easily recognizable around CHS. Slaton has been friends with him since preschool, and has seen growth in both his confidence and self-esteem.

“He has a great personality. Everything is fun with him and there is never a dull moment,” Slaton said. “His energy is unmatched, and he is never down, but he is also very positive.”

Mullican anticipated he would get the role. Every quality fit him, and he was recommended various times by friends and staff. The thoughts of him becoming Plunger Boy had started long before.

“We knew Judah was going to be the Plunger Boy during freshman year,” Slaton said. “We knew it was going to be someone in our friend group, but in freshman year, Judah always had the most energy and everyone loved him. We knew for sure that he was going to be the Plunger Boy.”

Mullican’s journey to Plunger Boy has not always been easy. At the start, he found himself anxious prior to games. Before the first game, Mullican threw up out of nerves, but after he experienced the feeling of exhilaration a couple of times, Mullican put it aside by thinking about what he is doing for the school.

“I started realizing that it’s fun and it’s not like I’m doing anything that’s hard,” Mullican said. “It’s just being myself, having fun and being loud, which are all things that come easy to me. Realizing that’s all I have to do makes it 10 times easier.”

In school, Mullican chooses to be part of the Student Leadership class, a class associated with Student Council and its officers. Although he is new to Student Council, he has collaborated with various people and gained insight from others, such as Student Council president Johan Padayatti.

“As the president, we work with each other during football games to decide the themes, work on the student section, dress up days, taglines and more,” Padayatti said. “We both really care about improving school spirit, and in the class, it helps him build a sense of camaraderie that allows him to go throughout the school, meet new people and have a stronger network.”

Mullican has already brought the energy, dedication and passion to Coppell High School’s games and pep rallies. Now, Mullican is ready to plunge ahead and wear his bandana with pride.

“He’s there for the game, for the sportsmanship and for the spirit,” Springer said. “He already has the leadership skills that are going to take him a long way in life.”

This story was originally published on Coppell Student Media on October 8, 2025.