Tony Mitchell received an offer from Tennessee on Monday. He added it to a growing collection that already includes Mississippi State, South Carolina and Georgia Tech. Florida Atlantic and Jacksonville State have already offered, too. It should be noted: Tony Mitchell is in the eighth grade. That hasn’t slowed schools down in trying to get a head start on the 6-foot-1, 180-pound athlete from Alabaster, Ala., a rising star in the class of 2023.
“It’s crazy,” Mitchell told GoVols247. “Not that many eighth graders, or high schoolers, are getting offers. “It just motivates me to work hard so I can be good at the next level.” Right now the next level is high school. He’ll be attending Thompson High School in Alabaster, preparing himself now for the start of his varsity career. He started playing the game at 5 years old. He started at running back and linebacker, he said, before moving to his current positions at receiver and cornerback. “As I started growing, getting taller and getting faster, I moved to receiver and corner,” Mitchell said.
On top of the SEC offers from Tennessee, Mississippi State and South Carolina, Mitchell is drawing interest from Alabama, Georgia and Penn State. “It’s a really good feeling,” Mitchell said of the college attention at such a young age. “Growing up I always dreamed of playing for big-time schools. Now that I might get an opportunity, it’s a blessing.”
He said he wasn’t a fan of a particular college football team growing up, but instead just loved watching the sport. Mitchell may play at that level one day, but he has high school football to worry about first. “It ain’t going to be easy, just like middle school,” Mitchell said. “Next year I’m going to be playing varsity so I’m going to have to be on my A-game and work hard in the offseason so I can be prepared for the season.”
