An American original: Mitchell brings pedigree, ability to Iowa State
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. – Re-al Mitchell’s mother was Blaze on the popular show American Gladiators, and his father has been in the Marines for decades and is a master gunnery sergeant.
This is the pedigree of Mitchell, the dynamic three-star quarterback from Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco who committed to Iowa State in May.
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Both of Mitchell’s parents remain incredibly physically fit, and it’s one reason why the talented dual-threat prospect looks like he’s chiseled out of marble.
“She definitely still works out every day,” Mitchell said about his mother at the recent Battle at the Beach 7-on-7 tournament. “Literally, every day, so I’m fortunate to have their genetics.
“It’s a deadly combination, so I’m blessed.”
Growing up watching your mom on American Gladiators – the popular 1980s and 1990s show that focused on contests of power, toughness and agility – is rare. But Mitchell vividly remembers those days, even if he doesn’t exactly comprehend the dated means of viewing.
VHS tapes.
“I’ve seen it on, I don’t even know what you call those DVR things – VHS,” said Mitchell, who looks like he could take on Malibu, Nitro, Gemini or any of the other orginal American Gladiators.
“It’s 2017, right? I’ve seen a good amount of her in action, especially with me growing up and people equating it to us. It’s definitely a cool thing.”
Mitchell’s father is still in the Marines and has done stunt-double acting work and some bodybuilding. It shows - at the Battle at the Beach, he was popping out of his polo shirt. He’s jacked, just like his son. His shaved bald head adds to an aura of his I’ll-kick-your-butt-if-I-need-to look.
That physical ability and presence has served Mitchell well, since he’s a dynamic running quarterback with tremendous speed who can also deliver menacing hits to linebackers and defensive backs trying to slow him down.
The St. John Bosco quarterback is fine-tuning his throwing ability, too, hoping those two traits can be special in the wide-open Big 12 during his time at Iowa State.
“I’m getting a little bigger, so in the run game I hope I’m more durable,” Mitchell said. “I’m pretty fast compared to some, so that will definitely translate nicely.”
Pac-12, Big 10 and ACC schools all offered Mitchell, but he seemed to love how the Iowa State staff – led by coach Matt Campbell – recruited him.
It was a tremendous selling point in Mitchell’s recruitment and final decision.
“The coaching staff and how they recruit, they recruit like no other,” Mitchell said. “Their whole staff collectively tries to get players whereas some schools have that position coach talk to them and build that connection and chemistry. I have that from the whole coaching staff.
“Every D1 program has great facilities, they also have a really great kinesiology program which I’ll be majoring in and minoring in marketing and psychology. That was important to me. Then I kind of wanted to get away from SoCal. I wanted to get away and I thought Iowa was a great place for that.”
Other options were clearly available to Mitchell, who landed the Iowa State offer midway through his recruitment. The way the youthful Cyclones staff recruited him, though, sold him on the Big 12 program.
“They do a really good job of each coach talking to you maybe on different days,” Mitchell said. “Some schools will have the same coach talking to you every day. In recruiting, it’s easy to get annoyed by a lot of coaches.
“Iowa State does a good job of balancing things out for you. They’re all very charismatic people, they’re all, for the most part, young, which is cool from a recruiting standpoint.”
The new Iowa State staff is trying to build something special in Ames. With his background and his pedigree, Mitchell should be an important part of the Cyclones’ future.
