Sports Update
Boys of Summer: Mike, Mickey Mitchell have productive few months
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@starlocalnews.com
Many families go on summer vacation.
The Mitchell family is no different in that respect, except of course for the number of places they have been this summer.
"We have been everywhere," said Ken Mitchell, family patriarch. "We went to California, Oregon, Minnesota, Georgia, Nevada, Arkansas, South Carolina ... I think we might have even gone to Antarctica."
Mitchell is kidding about that last destination, but other seemingly tall tales are true.
"The other day I was walking through the house and [Prestonwood Christian Academy senior linebacker Mike] was Skyping with (Ohio State football head coach) Urban Meyer," Mr. Mitchell said.
That is what happens when you have nine children, all of whom have names that start with M, that have combined for nine varsity state championships, 51 youth, state or national AAU titles and 1,200 trophies.
One might think the kids are striving to live up to the accomplishments of their father, a former Atlanta Falcons linebacker. Instead, they are trying to outdo him.
"Not that long ago the boys were being interviewed and they said they were trying to make up for the fact that I wasn't any good in the NFL," Mr. Mitchell said with a chuckle. "I think they are right."
Leading the Mitchell's current athletic charge are Mike and Mickey.
The former is a 6-foot-4, 216-pound four-star linebacker that is ranked as one of the top 50 recruits in the Class of 2013 by Rivals.com and the latter is a 6-foot-8, 205-pound sophomore guard at Prestonwood that is a consensus top five recruit for the Class of 2015.
Mike's profile has spiked over the past year.
Though the linebacker is now at Prestonwood, he was a first team all-district selection last season for Plano West after recording 151 tackles, 32 tackles for loss and 11 sacks. That massively increased the college possibilities for Mike, who has now received 3,000 letters and 51 scholarship offers during his high school career.
He has cut those candidates down to Florida State, Ohio State and Texas A&M.
A choice may still be a couple months away though.
"I know Mike is anxious to get the process over with and make a commitment because all he really wants to do is play football," Mr. Mitchell said. "But he has been so busy he hasn't had the chance to really visit anywhere, so he is going to make these visits in the fall and make a tough choice because these are some really good schools with really good coaching staffs."
When Mr. Mitchell says Mike has been busy, he isn't kidding.
Mike made waves in July at The Opening, a gathering of the nation's top 150 football recruits at NIKE headquarters in Beaverton, Ore. Not only did Mike make an impact on the field, he also won the SPARQ rating national title, which determines overall athletic ability, with a record-setting score of 154.47.
Mike threw the 6.6-pound power ball 45 feet, posted a 40.6-inch vertical jump, ran a 4.00 shuttle and a 4.39 40-yard dash.
"Mike only trained for that specific event for a day," Mr. Mitchell said. "He got out well with the power ball and just rolled from there. A couple guys were saying that was a record that would be hard to ever break."
Mike's all-star tour wasn't over there.
Next it was off to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., for the Champion Gridiron Kings, a 7-on-7 competition among 64 of the top players in the country. Mike impressed once more as he started at his natural spot in the middle before injuries forced him into deep cornerback mode.
Mike, however, isn't the only Mitchell from Prestonwood making noise this summer.
Mickey fits the bill as well after he and his AAU basketball team, the Texas Titans (which include Prestonwood's Julius Randle, Marquan Botley and John Paul II's Jackson Forbes) continued their dominance through national tournaments in Arkansas and South Carolina.
Though he is two years behind Mike, Mickey has a plethora of college offers as well.
"I believe Mickey is at 22 offers right now and half of those are double offers to play basketball and football," Mr. Mitchell said. "I know it would be difficult to play both basketball and football in college, but right now, though he still has plenty of time to change his mind, Mickey absolutely wants to do both."
Mickey, who played football sparingly at West as a freshman, is primed to earn his first varsity quarterback starting job this fall at Prestonwood.
Last season, Wolves head coach Mike Hughes said he envisioned Mickey becoming one of the, if not the, best starting quarterbacks in the country. That kind of hype has followed Mickey on the gridiron for some time as he supposedly threw a 50-yard pass when he was in fourth grade.
"It wasn't 50 yards," Mr. Mitchell said. "We have it on video; it was only 43 yards."
Mickey (quarterback) and Mike (linebacker) might not be the only Mitchells to take to the gridiron for the Lions next month though as younger brother McKinley, who also plays football and basketball, will be a freshman at Prestonwood.
"It would be really cool to see three Mitchell boys on the field or on the court at the same time," Mr. Mitchell said.
Before that, the Mitchells have a little time to enjoy the rest of what has been a busy summer.
"I think the summer has gone great," Mr. Mitchell said. "And not because of all the accolades; the real measure is if the boys are having a great time, because if you aren't having fun then this isn't going to last long. I understand all the hype, but what I love is that the boys have taken all that in stride. I think they know that they've been blessed with these abilities and they are just happy they get to play a kid's game."
The Mitchell family is no different in that respect, except of course for the number of places they have been this summer.
"We have been everywhere," said Ken Mitchell, family patriarch. "We went to California, Oregon, Minnesota, Georgia, Nevada, Arkansas, South Carolina ... I think we might have even gone to Antarctica."
Mitchell is kidding about that last destination, but other seemingly tall tales are true.
"The other day I was walking through the house and [Prestonwood Christian Academy senior linebacker Mike] was Skyping with (Ohio State football head coach) Urban Meyer," Mr. Mitchell said.
That is what happens when you have nine children, all of whom have names that start with M, that have combined for nine varsity state championships, 51 youth, state or national AAU titles and 1,200 trophies.
One might think the kids are striving to live up to the accomplishments of their father, a former Atlanta Falcons linebacker. Instead, they are trying to outdo him.
"Not that long ago the boys were being interviewed and they said they were trying to make up for the fact that I wasn't any good in the NFL," Mr. Mitchell said with a chuckle. "I think they are right."
Leading the Mitchell's current athletic charge are Mike and Mickey.
The former is a 6-foot-4, 216-pound four-star linebacker that is ranked as one of the top 50 recruits in the Class of 2013 by Rivals.com and the latter is a 6-foot-8, 205-pound sophomore guard at Prestonwood that is a consensus top five recruit for the Class of 2015.
Mike's profile has spiked over the past year.
Though the linebacker is now at Prestonwood, he was a first team all-district selection last season for Plano West after recording 151 tackles, 32 tackles for loss and 11 sacks. That massively increased the college possibilities for Mike, who has now received 3,000 letters and 51 scholarship offers during his high school career.
He has cut those candidates down to Florida State, Ohio State and Texas A&M.
A choice may still be a couple months away though.
"I know Mike is anxious to get the process over with and make a commitment because all he really wants to do is play football," Mr. Mitchell said. "But he has been so busy he hasn't had the chance to really visit anywhere, so he is going to make these visits in the fall and make a tough choice because these are some really good schools with really good coaching staffs."
When Mr. Mitchell says Mike has been busy, he isn't kidding.
Mike made waves in July at The Opening, a gathering of the nation's top 150 football recruits at NIKE headquarters in Beaverton, Ore. Not only did Mike make an impact on the field, he also won the SPARQ rating national title, which determines overall athletic ability, with a record-setting score of 154.47.
Mike threw the 6.6-pound power ball 45 feet, posted a 40.6-inch vertical jump, ran a 4.00 shuttle and a 4.39 40-yard dash.
"Mike only trained for that specific event for a day," Mr. Mitchell said. "He got out well with the power ball and just rolled from there. A couple guys were saying that was a record that would be hard to ever break."
Mike's all-star tour wasn't over there.
Next it was off to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., for the Champion Gridiron Kings, a 7-on-7 competition among 64 of the top players in the country. Mike impressed once more as he started at his natural spot in the middle before injuries forced him into deep cornerback mode.
Mike, however, isn't the only Mitchell from Prestonwood making noise this summer.
Mickey fits the bill as well after he and his AAU basketball team, the Texas Titans (which include Prestonwood's Julius Randle, Marquan Botley and John Paul II's Jackson Forbes) continued their dominance through national tournaments in Arkansas and South Carolina.
Though he is two years behind Mike, Mickey has a plethora of college offers as well.
"I believe Mickey is at 22 offers right now and half of those are double offers to play basketball and football," Mr. Mitchell said. "I know it would be difficult to play both basketball and football in college, but right now, though he still has plenty of time to change his mind, Mickey absolutely wants to do both."
Mickey, who played football sparingly at West as a freshman, is primed to earn his first varsity quarterback starting job this fall at Prestonwood.
Last season, Wolves head coach Mike Hughes said he envisioned Mickey becoming one of the, if not the, best starting quarterbacks in the country. That kind of hype has followed Mickey on the gridiron for some time as he supposedly threw a 50-yard pass when he was in fourth grade.
"It wasn't 50 yards," Mr. Mitchell said. "We have it on video; it was only 43 yards."
Mickey (quarterback) and Mike (linebacker) might not be the only Mitchells to take to the gridiron for the Lions next month though as younger brother McKinley, who also plays football and basketball, will be a freshman at Prestonwood.
"It would be really cool to see three Mitchell boys on the field or on the court at the same time," Mr. Mitchell said.
Before that, the Mitchells have a little time to enjoy the rest of what has been a busy summer.
"I think the summer has gone great," Mr. Mitchell said. "And not because of all the accolades; the real measure is if the boys are having a great time, because if you aren't having fun then this isn't going to last long. I understand all the hype, but what I love is that the boys have taken all that in stride. I think they know that they've been blessed with these abilities and they are just happy they get to play a kid's game."
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