Notre Dame and 2013 California wide receiver Steven Mitchell certainly got things started on the right foot.
The Irish extended an offer to the 5-foot-11, 180-pounder from Bishop Aleman High School (Mission Hills, Calif.) earlier this month.
“They talked to my coach and we contacted them and they offered me over the phone,” said Mitchell. “I was very excited.
“I actually like Notre Dame. I’ve been watching them for a very long time and I was excited to get the offer. I told them that and they said I was an awesome football player and liked the way I played. It all just clicked like that.”
Mitchell immediately started his research on the Irish.
“Me and my dad went online and we looked at Notre Dame for a very long time,” he said “It looked like it was a fun school, the atmosphere looked great. The coaches seem really good and like they have a really good connection with the players too.”
The Irish told Mitchell, who has been clocked as low as 4.5 in the 40-yard dash, they could see him making an impact at the next level.
“They said they love the way I run my routes,” said Mitchell. “I’m efficient at separating from a defender. We sent them some full game highlights of me blocking so they could see what I was doing when I didn’t have the ball. They said they liked that a lot.”
Mitchell, who had around 1,000 receiving and 20 touchdowns as a junior, currently has offers from Texas A&M, Ole Miss, SMU, UCLA and Washington along with Notre Dame.
Mitchell is hoping to see South Bend for himself soon.
“I should be going out there,” he said. “Right now we’re just looking at everybody’s junior days and we want to see how many we can get to.”
Mitchell has already been to junior days at USC and Cal, but doesn’t have any other visits scheduled at this point.
He has a few things he’s looking for in a school.
“You have to look at the depth chart and see who’s ahead of you and the style of offense they run and their coaches, obviously,” he said. “Just the atmosphere of the school and see if I feel comfortable there. If all that goes well, that could probably be the school for me.”
A few schools already stand out to Mitchell.
“My top one is Oregon and then I would say USC and Cal, those are my top three right now,” he said. “I like Washington and Notre Dame, but those are my top three.”
Mitchell did say Notre Dame does have a chance to jump into that top group and he’s looking forward to giving the Irish the opportunity to do so.
“Probably just keeping in contact with them and staying in touch with them and keeping that relationship,” said Mitchell when asked what it would take for the Irish to make a move.
He doesn’t have any timeline for a decision at this point.
“I really don’t know,” he said. “I have to sit around with my family and discuss it. I’m just keeping my options right now and we’ll see what comes along.”
