Shady Side ATH Reggie Mitchell has three favorites
by Wade Perry
Posted April 20, 2011 3:32 am
One of the top “under-the-radar” football prospects in the state of Pennsylvania for the class of 2012 is none other than Shady Side (Pittsburgh, Pa.) athlete Reggie Mitchell.
Mitchell is blessed with excellent speed in the open field and also displays excellent footwork in his highlight package.
The fleet-footed signal caller shredded opposing defenses to the tune of over 600 rushing yards last year as a junior.
The 6’0, 170 pound athlete also passed for over 550 passing yards last year as well.
His future on the Division I-A level is likely at defensive back, where he snatched up three interceptions last year for the Shady Side Indians.
Currently he doesn’t hold any scholarship offers but a few different schools like Pitt and Uconn have shown more interest than others.
FinestPreps.com caught up with the dynamic athlete to discuss his college football recruitment process yesterday.
Below is the interview.
FinestPreps.com Interview with Shady Side ATH Reggie Mitchell
FinestPreps.com: First off Reggie, talk about the college football recruiting process and how it’s going for you.
Reggie Mitchell: “Well right about now I’ve been getting a lot of mail from different schools–some of the big name schools like Pitt, Connecticut, Maryland, Toledo, Duke–all those different types of schools. As of right now the two schools that are showing me the most interest are Pitt and Connecticut. I’ve made visits to Pitt–I’ve made three unofficial visits to Pitt. I’ve talked to coach (Todd) Graham. My recruiting coach is coach Gibson. We talk every once in a while. He’s their DB coach and they’re recruiting me as a corner or safety down there. I just went to Connecticut this weekend. I talked to coach Don Brown and coach Moorehead. I really liked it up there.”
FinestPreps.com: So what teams are you the most interested in at this point Reggie? Are you ready to name any kind of favorites as far as the recruiting process is concerned?
Reggie Mitchell: “I mean right now it’s just Pitt, Connecticut, and Maryland.”
FinestPreps.com: Talk about what you like about the three favorites that you mentioned.
Reggie Mitchell: “Well first off, Pitt is right down the street from me. I went and visited them on Junior Day. They’ve got the new coach, Todd Graham down there. I really like the new type of concept they’re bringing in. Coach Graham is totally changing the whole Pitt concept. They’ve got that high scoring offense going on. He just really seems like he knows what he’s doing and I like it because it’s local and my family can come see me and watch me.”
“Well Connecticut, I went up there this weekend and I loved the campus. I love their football facilities and the stadium. I talked to coach Paul Pasqualoni, coach Don Brown–all of them seem to like me. I like them a lot. They’ve showed me a lot of love. I really just like that whole environment up there.”
“I made another visit down to Maryland on a college tour–this was strictly academic. I really just like their whole campus. They don’t have any indoor facilities but their facilities are still nice and it’s pretty close to home.”
FinestPreps.com: Reggie you’ve got some pretty good footwork as a quarterback and as a defensive back. Is that something you’ve worked on your whole life or does that kind of come naturally to you?
Reggie Mitchell: “I’ve been working with Dewayne Brown–he’s a speed and agility coach. I’ve been working with him ever since I was a freshman. I can tell just from working with him for the past three years it’s definitely improved my footwork. I think that’s probably the biggest reason why I’ve succeeded so much is because I’ve been doing speed and agility for the past couple of years. All of that stuff we do there translates directly to the field. That’s a big part why people have good footwork.”
FinestPreps.com: What’s the biggest thing you’re trying to improve on in your game heading into next season Reggie?
Reggie Mitchell: “I think the biggest thing right now is just getting faster. I’m pretty fast right now but if I can get my forty down to a 4.4, I believe it can take my game to the next level.”
FinestPreps.com: Reggie as far as the college football recruitment process is concerned when do you think you’ll make a decision?
Reggie Mitchell: “I’ve been talking to a lot of my coaches and some of them are saying if you really like a school, commit right now. I’m hearing just wait it out and make sure you really like the school. Me, personally, if I get these offers I really want to look into a school–not from a football standpoint because I really want to make sure I like the school. If I break my leg one day I’m gonna have to not play football for a while. I’ve got to make sure I like the school from an academic standpoint if football is not my main priority if I get hurt or something. That’s one of the biggest things.”
Check out his highlight package below–courtesy of FinestPreps.com!