Tony Mitchell saw his recruitment begin a little earlier than most. His offers started coming in while he was still in middle school.

Schools like Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas A&M offered while the 2023 athlete was still in 8th grade. The star at Thompson High in Alabaster (Ala.) has since added offers from the likes of Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Penn State, and South Carolina among others to push his total to over 20.

With offers coming in so early, a commitment was made earlier than expected too. In July 2019, the 6-foot-2, 187 pound sophomore committed to Tennessee. After almost a year, Mitchell decommitted from Tennessee in June 2020.

He is back open to all options now.

"At the time I committed, I felt like Tennessee was the place for me, but I acted a little too quickly and I just want to see more," said Mitchell. "I want to take more time, see more schools, talk with more coaches, and the best way to do that was not being committed to anyone.

"It wasn't a bad decision for me at all. Committing to Tennessee taught me how to communicate with a staff, how to deal with recruiting, what to look for in coaches and things like that, so that commitment will help me moving forward."

Tennessee is still a school on Mitchell's list. He is still communicating with the Vol coaches and he doesn't expect that to change.

"I really like coach Jeremy Pruitt a lot. He is a great coach, he is very caring for his players and I know he and the Tennessee coaches could help me as a player. I still like Tennessee, and I know I will be back up there, so nothing has changed with them."

There is no list of favorites now for Mitchell, the future Rivals250 prospect, but there is a group of schools he has his eye on.

"I am really open, but schools like Georgia, LSU, Florida, Florida State and South Carolina are definitely up there for me," said Mitchell. "I have visited Georgia and Florida before, and I like both schools a lot. The coaches at Georgia are great and I have talked to them some. Florida and LSU produce great defensive backs, so that has my attention too.

"I am just going to communicate with coaches, take more visits when we are allowed to and see what happens after that."

Mitchell has not thought about a new timeline for his decision. He knows he is in no rush.

"My plan is to take my time and not make a decision too early," said Mitchell. "I am not sure when that will happen. I would like to wait a while though so I can get out for more visits. I want to get back to some places and see other schools for the first time."