Arizona State’s quest to add experienced depth for its linebacker core has been accomplished, as Tennessee linebacker transfer Juwan Mitchell, who also played a couple of seasons at Texas, committed following his visit to Tempe a couple of weeks ago.
“I loved the atmosphere, the coaches, the players, everything, honestly,” Mitchell said. “It’s a perfect situation for me. (Linebackers) Coach AJ Cooper has been recruiting me, and he likes a lot about game, and also told me where I can improve so I can play at the next level. He liked my maturity, that I’m a vocal leader, and how I have a lot of game experience. They see me as that centerpiece with Trey (linebacker Travion Brown), who came from Washington State. I met him during the visit and chopped up.
“I’m an explosive sideline-to-sideline fast player. I got a 79-inch wingspan. The way I play, I’m just a dawg. There really is no other way to put it. When I watched film with coach Cooper, I loved how he dives into the little stuff like the footwork. He goes through the same position drills every day until you master it. It’s amazing to see what he had done with his players from when he got there to the end of spring. Watching the film, there is a lot of stuff that is familiar, and I know what I’m walking into.”
The 6-1 235-pound Mitchell who as an all-conference linebacker at powerhouse Butler (Kan.) Community College before he signed with Texas, where he played in 11 games, starting in five in his first season at Austin. He posted 39 tackles (27 solo), 3.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, and four pass breakups.
His 2020 campaign at Texas was his most successful. He saw action in ten games, starting eight of them, and paced the Longhorns with 62 tackles (32 solo), 4.5 tackles for loss, as well as one quarterback hurry, one pass breakup, and one fumble recovery. In 2021 a shoulder injury forced him to redshirt after playing in just three games.
Prior to the 2022 season, he transferred to Tennessee, where he started seven games and tallied 43 tackles for the Volunteers, as well as three quarterback hurries, two pass breakups, and an interception.
Mitchell is expected to be in the two-deep at the WILL linebacker, where the presumed starter is junior Will Shaffer, who along with Washington State transfer Travion Brown, the presumed starter at the MIKE linebacker, are the most experienced players at this position group for ASU. The newest team addition, though, is the most experienced out of the three.
The linebacker, who is a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility left, visited Arkansas previously and canceled a visit to Ole Miss this month due to his pledge to the Sun Devils. The linebacker, who has been in the transfer portal since December of last year, said that the relationship he has built with ASU over the previous few months has thoroughly convinced him that there was no better landing spot for him.
“Arizona State was the most consistent throughout spring,” Mitchell explained. “So, when I came here, it was like they already believed in me; we grew to know each other. All of that other stuff was out of the way once we built that relationship. It’s very welcoming coming to a place where I knew so many players from Texas, like Xavion Alford, who hosted me, Prince Dorbah, Jake Smith, and Troy Omeire. I can see on their faces that this s the most fun they ever had playing football.
“There’s a lot of stuff to do in the city; it’s so versatile. Even without football, I feel like I’m just as alive. Football is fun because everything around here is fun. It gives you a lot of room to get your mind off football. The apartment I’m gonna be moving into that I went and toured is like a resort. It looked so peaceful. It’s a blessing.”
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