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Newcomer Profile: Young or Not, Here's Why Oklahoma TE Davon Mitchell's Success Seems Inevitable
The Sooners' young tight end phenom graduated a year-and-a-half early and has fit right in with his older teammates because he's embraced the work with confidence.
NORMAN — There’s a good reason Davon Mitchell hasn’t flinched.
Entering college at Oklahoma a year-and-a-half early didn’t scare him. Horror stories about OU strength coach Jerry Schmidt were apparently overblown. The academic side hasn’t been too difficult. And playing football against 22-year-olds hasn’t caused any wide-eyed moments.
“Loving it, man. Great adjustment,” Mitchell said last month. “I feel like I didn’t have any struggles since I’ve been here.”
That’s because Mitchell is the rare specimen who could pull off such a move without a hitch: reclassify from the top tight end in the 2025 recruiting class, jump ahead one year into the 2024 class and insert himself into the conversation as one of the Sooners’ most talented athletes.
“Yeah, everything has been smooth,” Mitchell said. “Like, my classes are straight. Everything’s been good. Not having any problems. Adjusting well with school and in the weight room aspect and on the field, too.”
On Saturday, OU fans will see for themselves the explosive athletic ability their newest, youngest tight end brings to the offense. Mitchell may be barely 17, but at 6-foot-3 and 255 pounds, he’s fast, explosive, twitchy, catches the ball with a natural flow and can deliver physical, punishing contact.
WATCH: Davon Mitchell Interview
Head coach Brent Venables called Mitchell “one of our most important recruits” back on National Signing Day.
“He’s got the size, the speed, the athletic ability, the versatility at that position,” Venables said, “that really is going to give us something unique in that tight end room moving forward.”
Then halfway through his first spring practice as a collegian, Mitchell drew even more effusive praise from his head coach.
“Davon Mitchell has done some really good things,” Venables said last week. “Not just from a receiving standpoint, learning how to block and mix it up with some All-American-type linebackers.”
When it comes to quickly acclimating to college football and fitting in with older teammates, what’s helped Mitchell as much as anything is his attitude. He puts the work first, but he also confident knows he belongs.
“I wouldn’t really say there are tough adjustments,” he said. “Know what you gotta come here to do. So that’s just it. Work your butt off and keep your head down and try to outwork everybody.”
Although it’s a big step — and a complicated one — to reclassify and graduate early, Mitchell’s motivation to get to Norman as soon as possible was simple.
“Honestly, the reason I wanted to (reclassify),” he said, “was I wanted to get in here and learn the playbook early and hopefully be able to get on the field as a freshman.”
That’ll be a challenge, as Baylor and former North Texas transfer Jake Roberts is a fifth-year senior and Southeastern Louisiana transfer Bauer Sharp is a fourth-year junior. The 6-4, 250-pound Sharp has 40 college catches and has scored nine touchdowns, while the 6-4, 251-pound Roberts has 66 catches and four TDs.
“They’re great guys. Great leaders. They’re always stepping up,” Mitchell said. “We all work hard. They’ve been busting their tails.
“They push me because I’m like the youngest one here right now.”
Someone else that pushes Mitchell — and everyone else — is Schmidt. Bob Stoops’ old drill instructor has become one of this generation’s favorites.
“I ain’t lying. I love Schmitty,” Mitchell said. “Schmitty is gonna push you hard. He wants the best for you. That’s where it all starts at, weight room then field. … He’s a hard coach. I say that in a good way, though. He’s a hard coach. One of the best to do it. I appreciate him a lot for the things he’s done for me since I’ve been here. He’s helped me grow as a person and helped me become a man.”
Last year the tight end position fell off in Jeff Lebby’s offense. Fans should expect to see it become more of a lynchpin position under new offensive coordinator Seth Littrell, especially since tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley was promoted to co-offensive coordinator.
“That’s your position coach at offensive coordinator,” Mitchell said, “so you know he’s gonna put stuff in motion for you. So I was really excited when I found out and happy for him that he was able to get that job.”
Mitchell said he and Finley have been close ever since he attended a camp at OU several years ago now. He said Finley was the only recruiter that he talked to every day, and that created a familiarity that now fits like a glove.
Mitchell also has a strong relationship with freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins, with whom he played in 2022 at Allen, TX, before he transferred to Los Alamitos, CA, to play his junior season.
“That’s my dog,” Mitchell said. “We went to school together. We got great chemistry. It’s always good having your high school quarterback with you, knowing that he’s a good quarterback too. We help each other out with like, plays, things we don’t understand, ask each other questions. So that’s like a big thing for us right now.”
Hawkins has been the backup to Jackson Arnold all spring, but he’s made plays and has shown the kind of immediate growth that would allow the coaching staff to feel comfortable putting him in a game if something happens to Arnold and senior transfer Casey Thompson isn’t ready.
And Hawkins is absolutely comfortable with Mitchell.
“It means a lot just bringing the family back together and keeping that relationship going throughout our college career and after college too,” Hawkins said. “He’s a good guy to be around.”
Another north Texas high school product — and one who’s been trying to keep up with Mitchell this spring — sees great things for the young tight end in the future as well.
“Davon’s my boy,” said sophomore safety Peyton Bowen, from Denton. “For how young he is, he’s very physical. He’s gotta get under himself a little bit. He’s still got a little bit of growing up to do, but he’s gonna be a god.”
Mitchell has also been working and learning alongside OU’s few returning tight ends, such as former Division II basketball player Josh Fanuiel and redshirt freshmen Kade McIntyre and Kaden Helms. Helms, for one, has been impressed with Mitchell’s many tools.
“Obviously size,” Helms said. “He’s a freshman, but he looks like a fifth-year senior already. Davon, I’m really excited to see what he’s capable of — and we’re already starting to see some of that stuff.”
“We’re excited about him,” Venables added. “Great athletic ability. Really good size for a reclassified freshman. It has been a much different group.”
With that, Mitchell agrees. He said fans should expect big things from Finley’s bunch this fall.
“We got pretty good tight ends in our room,” Mitchell said. “I’m excited for the guys that have already been here, I’m excited for myself as well as I learn and get better and maybe — not maybe; I can go and compete and become one of the greatest.”
