Tony Mitchell has been a hot name in college football recruiting circles since he was an 8th grader. After many years of having contact with some of the top programs in the nation, the star defensive back out of Thompson High School (Alabaster, AL) is entering the final offseason before finding his college home.

Mitchell has been a starter at Thompson since arriving on campus as a Freshman, and has helped the Warriors to three consecutive 7A State Championships in Alabama’s highest classification. His tape is impressive and he lines up all over the secondary. On one snap he may line up as a DB over the slot receiver, on the next he might be the boundary corner, and on another he can be found as a Safety in a Cover 2 look. Mitchell is a ball hawk. At 6’2” and 180 pounds he possesses the length to shut down big WR’s on the outside, and his coverage skills are complimented by his ability to fill gaps and deliver big hits in run support.

These skills have made him one of the most sought after recruits in the nation. Mitchell is consider him one of the top DB’s in the Class of 2023, and the 247 Sports composite rankings list him as a five-star and the #19 overall player in his class.

Recruiting experts have often predicted that Mitchell will be headed an hour down the road to Tuscaloosa after he finishes college. Nick Saban doesn’t often lose in-state talents who are this highly rated, but Georgia isn’t going to let him go without a fight.

Kirby Smart’s program has been recruiting Michell for years, and Mitchell’s interest in the Bulldogs has been deepened by the hire of new DB Coach Fran Brown from Rutgers. Brown is a fantastic developer who has taken two-star CB recruits and turned them into NFL Draft picks.

The team of Smart, Brown and new Co-DC/Safeties Coach Will Muschamp is one that could take Mitchell’s natural ability and turn him into a high-round pick in the NFL Draft. Georgia’s staff will have a chance to sell him on that vision in a couple of weeks, as Mitchell has told DawgSports that he plans to Visit Uga the weekend of March 19th.

Time will tell how his recruitment will ultimately play out, but for now it seems like Georgia is on Mitchell’s mind.