TE Mitchell chooses Oklahoma over Bama, Miami
Blake Baumgartner, ESPN Staff WriterJul 8, 2023, 04:20 PM ET Tight end Davon Mitchell, the No. 19 general recruit in the 2025 ESPN Junior 300, committed to play football at Oklahoma on Saturday. Mitchell, a four-star possibility and the top-ranked tight end in the class, chose the Sooners over Alabama and Miami.The OU training
staff will not have to wait 2 years for his arrival, however, as Mitchell told ESPN he prepares to reclassify to the 2024 class.
“I have actually been to Oklahoma most likely 7 or 8 times,” Mitchell informed ESPN before his announcement. “I sort of grew up viewing them, too. … Coach [Brent] Venables, he’s a great coach and hopefully we have the ability to get Oklahoma back to where it was before.”
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Mitchell also credited Oklahoma tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley for his dedication.
“I got a good relationship with him,” he said. “He got a tight end that simply went to the league [Brayden Willis] So I’m hoping they could get me to the league. And the atmosphere there is just insane.”
There is no schedule for when Mitchell’s reclassification will be made official, though when he does, he will likely be ranked in the top 40 in the 2024 ESPN 300.
When Mitchell reclassifies, he would be the top-ranked recruit in a group for the Sooners that consists of four ESPN 300 prospects: wide receiver Zion Kearney (No. 85 overall), security Jaydan Hardy (No. 146), tight end Ivan Carreon (No. 233) and quarterback Michael Hawkins (No. 292).
The Sooners ended up fourth in the 2023 recruiting class rankings, Venables’ very first complete cycle at the helm. Mitchell would be their highest-ranked tight end hire given that Austin Stogner (No. 3 TE) in 2019.
Willis, who was prepared in the seventh round by the San Francisco 49ers in April, was the team’s second-leading receiver in receptions (39) and lawns (514) while leading the group with 7 touchdowns. The Sooners’ passing offense (254.6 backyards per game) ranked 5th in the Huge 12 last season.
“Like some schools, they simply don’t have their tight ends simply sitting around, simply obstructing for them,” Mitchell stated. “Their tight ends get the ball. I like the offense that they run– outside, inside, hand down in the back field. I much like to be everywhere.”
Mitchell moved from Allen High School (Texas) to California powerhouse Los Alamitos High School earlier this year. In 10 games as a sophomore last season, the 6-foot-5, 235-pound Mitchell captured 33 passes for 731 yards with nine goals.
“I want to enter into college and discover a playbook,” Mitchell said. “Have the ability to perhaps begin my freshman year or find out sufficient about the playbook and have the ability to start that next year [as a sophomore]”