During a ceremony at his school, James Mitchel opted for Virginia Tech over finalists Duke and Georgia. The Hokies offered the 6-5, 230 pound wide receiver / tight end in March of 2016, and he was pitched to play a similar role in the Hokies' offense as former tight end Bucky Hodges.
"As far as my role, they just told me to watch Bucky," Mitchell told The Key Play in 2016 following a visit for the Boston College game. "They said that was kinda what I could do if I came there, Bucky's role."
And yes, there's compelling photographic evidence of why Tech's coaches might envision him in such a role.
~Union Football ~ James Mitchell (Emily Ball photo) pic.twitter.com/WT08fK702T— K&B Bostic (@brandibostic) November 26, 2017
There's also first-hand accounts of his on-the-field production.
The defining play of James Mitchell's high school football career up to this point came last November in a second-round playoff game against the Dan River Wildcats.
His 95-yard touchdown reception with less than three minutes remaining clinched Union's 28-23 victory. The catch-and-run was impressive to say the least.
"Not one, but two defensive backs blanketing him and he still makes the catch and outruns them for the score," said Lee High coach Jeremy Pendergraft, who has seen the touchdown on film. "What could those DBs have done different? Nothing. James just has the ability to make extraordinary plays look routine and that special quality has propelled him into one of those most sought after tight ends in the country."
The 247Sports Composite ranks the Union HS propduct as a 3-star TE and No. 6 player in Virginia. Rivals rates him as a 4-star prospect.
"I loved it, I mean playing in front of those fans every home game, you love that," Mitchell said of his 2016 Lane Stadium visit. "It was a really great experience. Just everybody getting into the game, they've got a great fanbase."
Comments
holy hell that was quick!
Yea Joe's a really fast typer.
YES! I like how the VT hat matched his outfit.
Congrats James!
HOKIES
Perfect.
So if I can take advantage of your presence on this thread... what type of role do you see James playing? Does he have the athleticism to split out wide and play a Bucky type role or should we expect him as more of a traditional pass catching style TE in the long run?
Out wide. He doesn't fit how VT uses their HBacks.
WOOOOOOO!!!!
lol lining him up with the guys we already have in the fold?
Damn, our receiving core is going to be ridiculous
Lets go! Adding to the WR/TE arsenal! The receiving future is bright in Blacksburg!
Very excited to see him on the field in a Bucky type role. He moves so smooth for a kid his size and is going to make a lot of big plays in his time in Blacksburg. Welcome to Hokie Nation James!
Wow a 6'5" 230 lb TE? He's gonna make a great QB in 2020
He played QB most of the year after their starter got hurt. Don't jinx it.
With the lack of predictive powers displayed thus far in my lifetime, I think Hokies are gonna be a-okay on that front
Am sure he could transition back to TE in the NFL
Hell yeah!
Did Wise County have any other important officials that wanted to get on the kids spotlight?
Last night, he wanted named the WJHL player of the year as well.
Welcome to Hokie Nation Mr. Mitchell!
Lol on the first clip from his Senior tape he launches a kid into the Union sideline and drops one of his teammates with him.
Bucky 2.0, minus the fall after contact from a defender.
Bucky just fell in general. Lol. It was his thing.
Contact from a defender? How about contact with the ball?
It's a feature, not a bug.
Mitchell, Turner , Graham, Farley, Savoy.. With others in Grimsley, Kumah , Denmark , Ellis ( I can see him as a slot kind of playmaker), Simmons. We got some dynamic playmakers on the outside with depth !
Don't forget Hazelton! If I had to bet on anyone based of of coach speak, him and Savoy will be our top two receivers! But having Farley, Kumah, CJ Caroll, and Ellis ready to play will be crucial. Wiggins always talks about wanting to be 8 deep at WR and I think this will be the first year we get to that!
Hazelton will be up there too! Forgot about him I see Turner being a contributor from day 1
I hope we can include Patterson in that group! (did I miss some news that would explain why no one is mentioning him?) It seems like he was getting meaningful PT after getting healthy.
I think Turner could potentially get major PT early on but with his shoulder injury it will be interesting to see how he develops in the offseason. I think Patterson will get more reps as well, it definitely will be a good problem to have if we can develop 5 outside guys and 3 slot guys that we trust with the ball.
I just forgot about Patterson . I think we have a ton of potential there on the outside but I don't think any of else know who will get major playing time when it comes to next year . Bright future is all I know for our young hokies at skill positions
Thank you Santa!
Y'all can downvote me, but I'm about to speak the damn truth. The key play is the best place to follow Virginia tech sports. Great article!
You got that from behind a paywall, didnt you
Without a source? Your post is trash. /s
Nice to have a good kid from my neck of the woods. This used to be the original LPD (Lonesome Pine District). I think it's now the Mountain 7 district or something like that. Union is the consolidation of the former Powell Valley and Appalachia high schools, both of which won Group A state championships in the 70's and 80's. There's not a lot of talent in the area, but the teams tend to be pretty gritty. Glad to see Mitchell as a Hokie!
LPD represent.
Played Appalachia in the early/mid 90s. They literally walked off the bus, lined up and kicked off. NO WARM UP NOTHING. Oh, and I took an A** Whoopin' from what appeared to be my uncle. Good Times.
PV won in the 90s as well. Appalachia was still a very good team then, but I cannot recall if they won a championship in the 90s. I know they played in a state title game.
I know Appy won state in 97 and I believe they won in 96 as well. A quick google search would probably help but I think they won 3 or 4 in the 90s. I know Powell Valley won in 90, 94, 95, 97, and 98.
He's gonna grow a bunch over the next few years....
I'm predicting at least 2 inches
Wink wink.
Hey... 2 inches at 200mph will hurt anybody...
If we can get/stay healthy, our skill position group is gonna be straight up baller in a year or two!
#10 in that photo probably got his reception stolen.
If this kid can block, I can imagine him becoming a nightmare for DCs in terms of faking the block on a qb roll out and getting downfield. Also like that Fuente could keep a 2 TE set on the field and still run LBs out of the box by lining Mitchell out wide.
Hey...
Did you guys know that James Mitchell is 6'5"...?
Not anymore... its now 6'6
6'13"
My sources tell me his ceiling is the roof.
His ceiling is the sky.
He doesn't have a ceiling
Space Cadet reporting for duty sir.
our version of the 'Bama bump. Nice.
Can we refer to the Hokie bump as the "HUMP"?
But how big are his hands!!!???
I don't always drink Kool-Aid..... But when I do, It's HOKIE flavored Kool-Aid.
If he is going to play the Bucky role he is going to have to learn to fall while making every catch, say goodbye to YAC Mr. Mitchell /s
He's got speed and runs like he's control (making the defense guess where he's going). this will be very exciting.
How's LOLUVA's instate recruiting going?