There's no doubt that Opelika (Opelika, Ala.) super athlete Jakell Mitchell is truly a jack-of-all-trades for the Bulldogs.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound junior used his 4.6 speed to dominate from his outside linebacker position on defense and confuse opponents routinely on offense by excelling at tight end (28 catches for 403 yards) and also rushing the football (88 carries for 392 yards).
Mitchell would help lead Opelika to a 10-5 record and to the state championship game where unfortunately they lost the state power Hoover, 31-0.
Though the outcome of the game was disappointing, the talented prospect’s statistical output wasn't and college recruiters have been coming out of the woodwork ever since.
“It's been great so far and I'm really enjoying the experience,” said Mitchell. “Getting to know everything about the schools and meeting the coaches has really been a great experience. I was really hoping this day would come, where I'd start receiving Division I offers, because I've put a lot of hard work into this. I always hoped one day this would all come true and it's finally becoming a reality.
“I believe I'm up to eight offers right now. Those offers are from Auburn, Duke, Florida, North Carolina, Tulane, Rice, Wisconsin and Vanderbilt. I've also been hearing from Clemson, South Carolina and Georgia.”
While he feels blessed to be getting so much attention, Mitchell admits that it's made him even hungrier to become a more complete player this upcoming season.
“Right now, I'm still playing basketball, but I really can't wait to get started back up playing football,” he admitted. “I'm blessed to be getting all these offers and it makes me want to work that much harder to get even better.
“I believe I'm a player that plays hard all the time. I feel that I'm a well-coached athlete and that I'm very coachable. To put it plain and simple, I love to win.
“If I had to improve on something in my game, it would be my strength and my speed. I feel I'm already a quick player, but I believe I can get faster.”
Since recruiting has really started to heat up has he heard anything from the Irish or is even interested in them at all?
“I haven't heard anything from Notre Dame yet, but I haven't checked my e-mails lately either,” said Mitchell with a laugh. “To be honest, I really don't know much about Notre Dame, but I know they're a pretty good school.
“I'm interested in any school that's interested in me, so if Notre Dame decides to show that they're interested in me, I will definitely be interested in them.”
