The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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COMMITMENT PROFILE staff, all brand new basically from the NFL," Mitchell said. "I have great companionship with the coaches and talk to them every day. "The thing I like most about them is the track record. Coach [Jim] Har‑ baugh has been to the champion‑ ship [in the NFL], and he's a great guy. It's a good time talking to him. Being there in Ann Arbor, going through campus with Jabrill Pep‑ pers, seeing the life of a Michigan college football player has been a great experience." Mitchell, who sported Michigan‑ themed socks to the Rivals Five‑Star Challenge presented by Under Ar‑ mour in early June, kept U‑M near the top of his list — eventually narrowing a multitude of scholarship offers that included Alabama, Florida State, Vir‑ ginia Tech and Wisconsin, among oth‑ ers, to just U‑M and rival Ohio State. In selecting the Maize and Blue, Mitchell brought the Wolverines' recruiting class to 23 total pledges (though that number decreased with Canadian defensive back Benjamin St‑Juste reclassifying to 2017), and he will join quarterback Brandon Peters, running backs Matt Falcon and Kings‑ ton Davis, and linebacker David Re‑ ese among the current pledges who will head to town in January. Mitchell received attention from the former Michigan coaching staff as an athlete/defensive back, but his prefer‑ ence to play wide receiver at the next level resulted in an opportunity from the Harbaugh staff to catch passes in Ann Arbor, and that brought him over the top. At that position, he's a physical mismatch thanks to his combination of size and speed, and he can be a difference‑maker at the position in the winged helmet. "Mitchell is a really good athlete and could really be a safety or a wide receiver in college," Rivals.com na‑ tional director of recruiting Mike Far‑ rell said. "He's an athletic kid who could play safety if things didn't work out at wide receiver. Is he an elite safety? No, he's better as a wide re‑ ceiver and with the ball in his hands. "He's a guy we've seen a ton, and he never shies away from competi‑ tion. He got injured at the Five‑Star Challenge, which I think limited him, but he still did well. Mitchell is a su‑ per‑talented kid that I've liked a lot since he was young." Complementing a wide receiver corps that already includes a number of possession receivers, Mitchell can provide a big‑play threat to the Wol‑ verines, and he could be deadly on play‑action, which Harbaugh and of‑ fensive coordinator Tim Drevno plan to use heavily in their pro‑style of‑ fense at Michigan. Growing the Jersey connection with Mitchell's pledge could pay dividends for Michigan going forward, as well. The Wolverines are in the hunt for the nation's No. 2 overall prospect, Para‑ mus Catholic defensive tackle Rashan Gary, in the 2016 class. The junior class also features six prospects with offers from U‑M, including four‑star Paramus Catholic linebacker Drew Singleton. — Tim Sullivan