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Wake-Up Call: Mitchell ready to roar for Hillsborough
By JOEY JOHNSTON | The Tampa Tribune
Published: September 1, 2009


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

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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.

Wake-Up Call: Mitchell ready to roar for Hillsborough