TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Email Print

Wake-Up Call: Mitchell ready to roar for Hillsborough

Mitchell has scholarship offers from the likes of Florida, Florida State, Georgia, South Florida, Tennessee, Ole Miss, California, Ohio State and Penn State.

ADVERTISEMENT

By JOEY JOHNSTON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 1, 2009

The Wake-Up Call greets you each weekday with news, views and a few Tampa Bay area sports offerings to anticipate for the day and night. We encourage suggestions and contributions.

Good morning!

He is "T-Rex."

Hear him roar.

When Hillsborough High School defensive back Terrence Mitchell was 14 – long before he became one of the nation's most highly recruited players – he was playing youth football, stalking his prey, an unsuspecting pass-catcher.

Bam!

"I laid him out,'' Mitchell said.

He triumphantly released an intimidating noise. Coaches thought he sounded like a dinosaur, and one even suggested a nickname.

"T-Rex" stuck.

Some things haven't changed for Mitchell, who begins his highly anticipated senior season Friday night, when the Terriers host the Jefferson Dragons. Offensive players still pull up when Mitchell is nearby. But aggressiveness is only part of his game.

Mitchell (5-foot-10, 160 pounds), a state champion-level track and field athlete in the triple jump and long jump, runs 4.4 in the 40-yard dash. He is smooth and graceful, gliding across the field without any outward strain. As an NFL scout might observe, Mitchell has a lot of bend and swivel in his hips, giving him the ability to change directions while covering the deep and intermediate passes with equal effectiveness.

In short, he has the classic characteristics of a big-time prospect at cornerback, a high-value position, given the pass-happy tendencies of many college programs. Mitchell, with a 3.6 grade-point average, has scholarship offers from the likes of Florida, Florida State, Georgia, South Florida, Tennessee, Ole Miss, California, Ohio State and Penn State.

In fact, Hillsborough coach Earl Garcia said Florida's Urban Meyer told him that Mitchell was the Gators' top recruiting priority at cornerback.

Mitchell, who plays safety at Hillsborough so offenses won't avoid his side of the field, already is among the best players Garcia has coached. That includes quarterback Jarred Fayson (now at receiver at Illinois) and offensive lineman Shannon Snell (who received All-America and All-SEC mention at Florida).

And he's on the short list of the best defensive backs to play in Garcia's era at Hillsborough, joining the likes of Marco Williams (Boston College), Garnell Wilds (Virginia Tech), Cedric Edmonds (Syracuse), Derrick Edmonds (Tennessee), J.R. Reed (USF) and Preston Jackson (Notre Dame).

"He knows where the ball is at all times,'' said Jackson, now a secondary coach on Garcia's staff. "He's rarely lost. You see certain guys in the NFL, like Ed Reed and Rod Woodson, who have a nose for the ball. That's T-Rex. He has that sense.

"You see how fast he is, how he bursts out of his backpedal, and that gets your attention. But he also has the film that backs up everything he can do. When all those college came calling, they watched the first five clips of T-Rex's film, then they turned it off. They didn't need to see anymore. They knew.''

Garcia knew immediately, too, when Mitchell entered Hillsborough as a ninth-grader. "Terrence is such a coachable guy, such a pleasant guy,'' said Garcia, who coincidentally once coached Frank Mitchell, the player's father, at Wilson Middle School. "I don't think I've ever heard him raise his voice or swear.

"Now on the field, he will flat knock your lights out. And he's one of those 4.4 [speed] guys who is still running 4.4 in the fourth quarter, instead of slowing down to a 4.6 or a 4.7. He's a weapon for our program. And to meet Terrence, he'd never give you the impression that he's anything more than just another player on this team.''

The only negative from Mitchell's career has been concussions. He has had three – one from youth football, one from a car crash and another from a scary incident in last season's game against Plant.

Panthers quarterback Aaron Murray already had been carted off with an injury that ended his regular season. Four plays later, Mitchell was blanketing Panthers receiver Orson Charles, trying to track the ball's flight, when he collided with another Hillsborough defensive back, helmet to helmet.

He was down.

And he was out.

"It was like an out of body experience,'' said Mitchell, who missed two more games after his injury. "I was awake, but I wasn't awake. I could see my sister, but everything was like in slow-motion.

"I'm wearing a new helmet that is supposed to add more protection. It's a rough game. It hasn't changed the way I play.''

Mitchell, as always, will rely on his instincts. They rarely let him down.

"I know if something doesn't look right on the field,'' he said. "I don't get caught out of position too often.

"It's kind of like school. All you have to do is pay attention. If I hear it a couple of times, I'm going to remember it. If I see it a few times, it's going to come back to me.''

It's kind of like that moment in youth football, when Mitchell was 14. He made an impact, one that reverberates to this day.

"I like to make a statement,'' he said.

He is "T-Rex.''

Hear him roar.

Coghlan: Mr. August

Florida Marlins left fielder Chris Coghlan (East Lake) was 1-for-4 in Monday night's 5-2 loss against the Atlanta Braves. That gave Coghlan 47 hits in August – the most hits in any month by a National League rookie since Wally Moon's 52 for the St. Louis Cardinals in July 1954.

Coghlan hit .385 (47-for-122) in August, the month when he improved his overall batting average from .255 to .296.

Figgins reaches century mark

Los Angeles Angels third baseman Chone Figgins (Brandon) scored his American League-leading 100th run during Monday night's game at Seattle. Figgins' career high is 113 runs scored in 2005.

Woodson cut by Giants

Rookie cornerback Stoney Woodson (Middleton), a seventh-round draft choice, was cut Monday by the New York Giants. Woodson played for Coach Steve Spurrier at the University of South Carolina.

Hudson's Toole back in big way

Quincy (Ill.) University linebacker Nate Toole (Hudson) was named Mid-States Football Association's Midwest League Defensive Player of the Week after registering 11 tackles in Thursday's season-opening 26-20 overtime victory against Indiana State.

Toole, who sat out the 2008 season due to a knee injury, had five tackles for a loss and one sack. He led a defense that limited Indiana State to 57 total yards in the second half.

Quincy faces Southeast Missouri State University on Thursday night.

Joyce hits 16th homer

No word on a potential call-up to the Rays for outfielder Matt Joyce (Armwood) of Triple-A Durham. Monday night, Joyce was 2-for-4 in an 8-6 loss to Gwinnett. Joyce has 16 home runs and 65 RBIs for Durham.

Romine named FSL's top player

Tampa Yankees catcher Austin Romine was named Monday as the Florida State League's Player of the Year. Romine batted .273 with 12 home runs and 70 RBIs in 115 games.

USF's Allen rated sixth

The Sporting News Today, utilizing draft expert Russ Lande and his team of NFL scouts, rated University of South Florida senior Nate Allen as the nation's sixth-best safety prospect.

"He has good height and is muscular,'' Lande's report said. "He makes a lot of tackles, consistently in the right place to make plays. He shows rare intelligence, instincts and intangibles. He reads the quarterback quickly and shows the athleticism and hands to make interceptions. He does not fly upfield like a rocket in run support, but does a good job of following his assignment and taking the correct angle to the ballcarrier. He shows good speed and athleticism to play man-to-man coverage.''

Allen was projected as a third-round draft choice.

The complete safety ratings:

1. Eric Berry, Tennessee.

2. Taylor Mays, USC.

3. Kendrick Lewis, Ole Miss.

4. Kam Chancellor, Virginia Tech.

5. Myron Rolle, Oxford (Florida State, he's eligible for 2010 draft).

6. Nate Allen, USF.

7. Darrell Stuckey, Kansas.

8. Larry Asante, Nebraska.

9. Harry Coleman, LSU.

10. Justin Woodall, Alabama.

Birthday wishes

Happy birthday to former University of Florida running back Larry Smith, a star on Robinson High School's state runner-up team of 1963 who was a first-round NFL draft pick and played five seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Redskins. Wednesday, Smith turns 62.

The Answer Man

Frank Lentz, who served 25 seasons at Plant City and Chamberlain High Schools (302-279 career record) was the boys basketball coach at Chamberlain before Doug Aplin. In fact, Aplin played for Lentz.

Tuesday trivia

Here's our daily sports trivia question, featuring a Tampa Bay/Florida spin. Try your luck by commenting below.

Which two former Hillsborough High School football stars later played in the Super Bowl?

Check for the answer in Wednesday's Wake-Up Call.

ADVERTISEMENT

Coupons and Deals

Games, Puzzles & Trivia

Advergaming and Branded Media

Oops! Your email could not be sent because of the following errors: