James Mitchell: Quiet, Small-Town Guy Embracing Big-Time Opportunities

James Mitchell, Virginia Tech
James Mitchell will be one of Virginia Tech’s top targets and most experienced players in 2021. (Ivan Morozov)

James Mitchell always dreamt about playing Division I football.

Raised in the heart of Appalachia in Big Stone Gap, Va. by his parents, Jimmy and Marcia, Mitchell is as humble as they come. He’s naturally a quiet guy, which he says he gets from his mom, a former Division I basketball player at Brown.

So, when he received Power Five scholarship offers from Clemson and Ole Miss after his junior season at Union High School, it was a shock. While the goal to play D-I remained in the back of his mind, he hadn’t given it a second thought – until then.

“I always knew I wanted to play. Growing up, I always dreamt of playing D-I, but I never knew if I was going to get to that level,” Mitchell said. “I always worked to get there, and I was going to play where the best opportunity was. Junior year rolled around, basketball season came and I was getting offers from Clemson and Ole Miss, people like that, and it just really opened my eyes like, ‘wow, this is really happening.’”

...