Mitchell happy with first Pac-10 offer
Alex Mitchell went to the U.S. Army National Combine in San Antonio with the hopes of performing well and getting noticed by big-time colleges.
The trip paid off in a big way for the Portland (Ore.) Jefferson offensive guard last week when Oregon State offered. It was his first and Mitchell, a 6-foot-2, 309-pound prospect, is pleased but also looking for more.
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"My coach told me they had been watching film on me for two or three hours and they were ready to make an offer," Mitchell said. "They were really impressed with how I did in San Antonio.
"I talked to their offensive line coach (Mike Cavanaugh) and I talked to coach (Jay) Locey and the offensive line coach gave me the official offer."
Mitchell is certainly impressed with Oregon State's program. He saw the stadium during the Oregon state championship but had not toured the facilities or been around the campus much until a recent junior day. What the Beavers had to offer intrigued him and the Pac-10 school will stay high on his list.
"The junior day was really nice when I went up there," Mitchell said. "I was actually surprised at how nice their facilities were because I've been there for the state championship but I've never seen inside their school. I was impressed by that.
"I'm not going to make my decision anytime soon probably so I'm going to wait it out. It was really exciting for me to get my first offer but I can't say I can (commit) yet but I can't say I'm not interested."
Rivals.com placed Mitchell on its U.S. Army National All-Combine first team for the offensive line along with Bobby Hart, Matthew Hegarty, Gregory Robinson and Aundrey Walker, all of whom have multiple offers. Mitchell hopes he can say the same soon.
Oregon, UCLA, Arkansas, Michigan and Miami are showing the most interest in Mitchell, who said his spring and summer will be filled with more camp stops. Since he did so well in San Antonio, Mitchell hopes the more exposure he gets the more offers become available.
He is considering NIKE Camp stops at Oregon and Oregon State and Mitchell also said he's planning to attend the Southern Cal NIKE Camp as well. His off-season schedule is loaded up and if he performs as well as he did at the Army combine many more offers should start arriving by his senior season.
"That's what I'm planning is going to happen, getting my name out there even more," Mitchell said. "I was pretty much unknown in San Antonio. People were saying, 'Alex Mitchell? Who's that kid?'
"That was huge to me because I never thought I was going to be invited there. I didn't think I was up there like that. That was huge. I loved it down there. I wasn't taking no for answer down there. I had to win. I only lose three out of 15 one-on-ones."