Vanderbilt's Chase Mitchell is Fulfilling His Calling Through Fatherhood

The Vanderbilt offensive lineman has two children --the second of which had a complicated birth--and is looking to fulfill what he believes his calling is through being a present father to them.

Chase Mitchell has already experienced the ups and downs of fatherhood, but he's grateful for all of them. | Vanderbilt Athletics

Nashville—-Pain has never been something difficult for Chase Mitchell to imagine. That’s part of the gig for the Vanderbilt offensive linemen and is something he’s accustomed to more than just about anyone on its roster. 

He wouldn’t have been equipped to handle what his girlfriend Shallyn Dixon was going through as he walked into her room at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital and saw her stomach “cut open” and the “fear” on her face, though. 

The pain of the emergency C-Section that Mitchell’s girlfriend--who says she hadn't had surgery outside of an oral surgery that she had in ninth grade--had just received was so striking that it wasn’t a guarantee that the Vanderbilt offensive lineman would be able to be in the room to see his second child born. Dixon fought through the pain and “sacrificed” so that Mitchell could be in the room, though. 

“It was just a crazy sight to see,” Mitchell told Vandy on SI as he referred to his initial walk into the hospital. “When she saw me it was just a beautiful moment because I saw the most undeniable strength ever.”

Mitchell recalls the moment vividly as a testament to the strength of his girlfriend and the mother of his two kids, but it wasn’t all that surprising to him. The birth of Mitchell’s first son Royce already demonstrated Dixon's strength to him. If that didn’t prove the point to him, the days following Mitchell and Dixon’s trip back home to Pennsylvania did. 

It wasn’t even enough time to fully get back into the swing of things after the mid-May trip and Dixon was experiencing sharp pains, spotting and contractions despite being just 28 weeks into her pregnancy that was estimated to be 40 weeks. Her son wasn’t due until August 20, yet she appeared to be trending towards delivering him in May. 

Dixon and Mitchell had just told all of their extended family about the pregnancy during the trip to Pennsylvania and had thrown around the idea of a June baby shower, but their plans were quickly foiled. 

Mitchell's girlfriend would stay in the hospital for what Mitchell estimates was 48 hours and was given magnesium to ease her contractions prior to her eventual release. 

In the hours following the release, Mitchell and Dixon put her pain past them and went to a Vanderbilt football cookout with their son Royce the day of the end of her hospital stay. They felt good about that decision as a result of Dixon’s bleeding stopping. The couple knew that their son was in an upside-down breach position in the womb, but it was business as usual at the cookout—which Dixon says she went to for the fresh air—and throughout that night.

Until Dixon woke Mitchell—who Dixon says is a notoriously deep sleeper—up at 3:30 A.M. 

“I’m bleeding bad,” Dixon told Mitchell. “It’s time to go.”

Now that the statute of limitations has likely passed, Mitchell admits that his drive from home to Ascension Saint Thomas didn’t include him stopping at a single light. Mitchell got in his Dodge Charger and “pushed it” with Dixon in the passenger seat and made what was normally an eight-minute drive into four minutes, Dixon says. 

The Vanderbilt offensive lineman had walked alongside Dixon with a birth before and knew the urgency he needed to proceed with. Dixon was experiencing “irregular” bleeding relative to her first pregnancy and her contractions were occurring at what doctors estimated was every 54 seconds. 

“Thank God it was as late as it was at night,” Dixon said as she recalled the drive and the open roads Mitchell “shot” down. “I was really having a hard time and I'm still bleeding and just trying to get it all to stop and it was just scary because I was still only six months pregnant.”

Mitchell and Dixon’s mom—who Mitchell flew in a few days prior because of the contractions her daughter was experiencing— filled out the paperwork required of them and headed to the back room to check on Dixon–who was already being checked out by a doctor. Mitchell estimates that within “two, three minutes” the doctor declared that it was "time to go” and deliver the baby. 

It was jarring. It was scary. It was early. It was time to do it, though. 

Mitchell's son was born May 31 despite a late-August expected delivery date. | Chase Mitchell

The birth that doctors estimated would bless Mitchell’s young family–which he calls Mitchell’s Kingdom–in late August was happening early and suddenly. When it was all said and done, Zayn–who was named with the definition “God is gracious” in mind–was born nearly three months early at 5:10 A.M. on May 31 at two pounds, 16 inches. 

When Mitchell and Dixon found out about their pregnancy around Christmas time in the middle of Mitchell’s “best friend” Jordan White’s official visit to Vanderbilt, they didn’t envision their son Royce having a brother this quickly. But, here he was.

White–who was among the first to find out about the couple’s pregnancy–says that Mitchell and Dixon were already “really preparing for stuff to happen” regarding the birth and were looking to get ahead of potential difficulties that could pop up as a result of the August 20 due date that was plopped right in the middle of Vanderbilt’s fall camp and 10 days before its season opener. White says he believes that the preparation was ahead of schedule as Dixon went into labor, which equipped the couple well for the early birth. 

The work surrounding ensuring Zayn Mitchell’s health appeared to just be beginning, though. 

Mitchell’s son was immediately put on an incubator and was on “2.6 pumps or three pumps” of oxygen within a few hours of his birth. By noon–which was nearly seven hours after the birth–Zayn was “doing great,” but had oxygen running to his nose and was in an incubator going through blue-light therapy. 

Dixon and Mitchell joked that their son looked like an “old man,” but he was as “productive” of a baby in the NICU as anyone. Zayn was small, but he was healthy. Mitchell and Dixon considered themselves “blessed,” all things considered. Even if everything didn’t go as smoothly as Dixon’s first pregnancy. 

The risk for a baby as “fragile” as Mitchell’s was severe enough to where the young couple taking him home immediately wasn’t in the question. They could come and visit every day, but the first days of Zayn Mitchell’s life were going to be closely monitored by doctors. Mitchell and Dixon could do what they could–which included visiting and bringing him essentials–but their child had still yet to see the inside of their home. 

“Shallyn had it a lot harder than I did because she just had a baby, she didn’t get to bring her baby home,” Mitchell said. “I was just trying to stay as positive as possible and show up for her as much as I possibly could.”

Mitchell and Dixon’s trips back and forth to the NICU were more reminiscent of a marathon than a sprint at some point. Their baby was under the care of doctors for 48 days before his parents were allowed to take him home. Perhaps another couple would’ve been in over their heads, but this one got through it. 

“Chase, he’s a great person, a positive person who looks for the better things out of every outcome,” White said. “[Shallyn] is a strong person for what she did. She’s very strong. I praise her for that, honestly.” 

Mitchell and Dixon told the nurses “like 40 times” to call them when their son was being fed with a bottle for the first time so they could see it. Mitchell says the staff at Saint Thomas Ascension did a “great job" but that the nurse feeding Zayn forgot to call, meaning Mitchell and Dixon didn’t get to see the first bottle their son drank out of. 

“Small things” could be difficult for Mitchell and his girlfriend when they missed out on them throughout the 48 days, but they felt a need to keep showing up in an effort to make the best of an unorthodox situation. 

“The NICU is stressful,” Dixon said. “You have people staring at you all the time. There’s a right way and there's a wrong way to do things. So, even though this is your baby [the nurses] are still doing it their way…I had some days where I was like ‘I just want to see my baby.’”

Those who were taking care of Zayn meant well, but didn’t call often to update Dixon and Mitchell on the status of their baby. They didn’t ask for advice on how to take care of him. The only time Dixon was consulted was when the nurse asked which type of cream to put on Zayn’s backside. 

From May 18 until July, Mitchell and Dixon visited their son every day and brought their older son Royce in to see him for the 20 minute increments he was allowed to. It took until the end of June for Mitchell and Dixon to have the opportunity to have skin-to-skin contact with Zayn. 

Mitchell jokes that the baby stage has never been his favorite part of fatherhood so he was okay with doctors taking on some diaper-changing responsibilities, but behind his joke was a deep desire to get his second son in the same place as his first one. 

It took nearly seven weeks, but that desire was finally fulfilled. Zayn Mitchell finally came home on July 18. His father finally got to hold him and make him look tiny in his hands. 

Nowadays, Mitchell says his son is “the coolest baby ever” and that because of football he only sees his son’s process of sleeping, eating and going to the bathroom for a few hours a day. When he’s gone, his day is often made by receiving pictures of his son smiling and laughing alongside his mother. 

“She makes sure that I don’t miss a second of the growth that he’s on, so that’s what I’m grateful for,” Mitchell said. “He looks amazing. He has the heart of a lion. He has the lungs of a track athlete, he be screaming ‘ahhhhh’ when he’s hungry or he wants something. It’s just a great experience.”

Mitchell sets out to be a present father to his sons Royce (pictured) and Zayn. | Vanderbilt Athletics

Mitchell says he wants five kids by the time he’s 30 years old and is passionate about the idea that he can be a “real father, real example and real provider” to his children. The Vanderbilt offensive lineman is having to learn from experience, but he’s determined to be a present father and is surrounding himself with others that have a similar mentality. 

“Me and Chase, we both didn’t have our fathers in our life growing up,” White said. “Chase is handling his business. We’re all in his corner and he’s handling it as he’s supposed to. Look at us now.” 

Mitchell and White both run the challenging race of being SEC student athletes while simultaneously being fathers, two things that don’t easily coincide. White says Mitchell—who became a father first—makes the challenge look easy, though. 

Perhaps it’s not a matter of ease as much as it is a matter of priority for the Vanderbilt offensive lineman, whose father has passed away. 

“He’s the most hands-on dad,” Dixon said. “So for a man to not see a man lead a family and turn around and give his family everything he has, lead them in every direction, take them everywhere he goes, give them everything he has. Chase is a great provider. He is a great father. He's an even better dad.”

White says that Mitchell helped him through becoming a first-time father and assisted in his transformation in “growing into the person I wanted to be. I wasn’t the person I wanted to be before I met him, he helped me improve myself as a man.” Need an example of Mitchell’s impact on White? Look at how White speaks about fatherhood and his personal evolution. 

The Vanderbilt center says that he and Mitchell want similar things out of life and are connected on a deeper level because of that. He still looks up to how Mitchell handles things. Mitchell says striking the balance between moving mass on Saturday, practicing each day, getting through school and being a father isn’t a one-man effort, though. 

Dixon says that Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea offered Mitchell some time off upon Zayn’s birth, but the Vanderbilt offensive lineman and his girlfriend agreed that he should be all-in on his senior season. 

“Want to know something?” Mitchell says of striking a balance. “It’s not that hard because I have an awesome partner. She doesn’t stress me too much about home because she knows when I come home I’m playing with the babies, just trying to put in as much time with them as possible.” 

Vanderbilt has worked around Mitchell’s schedule and has supported his parenting journey by scheduling shorter, one-on-one meetings with Vanderbilt offensive line coach Chris Klenakis rather than full meetings and limiting his required events. He’s still got to do his fair share to work his way towards the NFL future he desires, though. 

When Mitchell gets home after Vanderbilt’s walkthrough-style practice and his testing on Thursdays, he says he’s often tired and doesn’t feel like playing when he gets home, but has to get through those days. 

There’s also days in which the Vanderbilt offensive lineman likely wakes up and struggles to fight through the aches and pains that come with being an SEC offensive lineman, but he looks to make sure that he’s not taking any days for granted at the practice facility in a similar way to the way he works to be present each day as a father. 

“Chase has got such a big heart,” Lea said. “He’s a dad and that responsibility of being a father I think that gives him a platform to mentor young players, get his arm around people.” 

Lea says that he felt as if Mitchell put too much pressure on himself to perform last season as he was Vanderbilt’s strong tackle and one of its highest-compensated transfers. He appears to have a new mindset as he’s moved to guard in his second year at Vanderbilt, too. 

The responsibility could overwhelm someone, but it doesn’t appear as if it’s doing that to Mitchell. As far as anyone can tell, he’s embracing it. If he’s having trouble, nobody can tell. 

“I don’t think I’ll ever meet a human being like him ever again,” Vanderbilt offensive lineman Bryce Henderson said. “He’s definitely unique, definitely exuberant. I think that would be a good word. I’m a word guy, I think that’s a good word for him. Vibrant, eccentric, he brings the energy no matter what.” 

Mitchell's young family celebrates after the birth of his second son. | Chase Mitchell

As Mitchell’s sons grow up under his guidance, he hopes they notice what his teammates notice about him–as well as a few other things.

The big family that Mitchell has in mind will be centered on the things that he’s hoped to pursue himself. He’s working to be intentional about being present. He’s working to teach his young kids to “trust the process” and that “hard work is undefeated.” 

Most importantly to Mitchell, teach his sons to be “a blessed man” and allow God to work in their lives like he’s done over the years. 

“God is the best plan,” Mitchell said. “Consistency is undefeated. If you can be consistent through the hard times, consistent through the hard times, consistent through the times that you don’t feel like doing anything. If you can fight your brain, you’ll reach success.” 

When Mitchell met Dixon in the weeks prior to his arrival to Liberty, his faith was important to him. She couldn’t say the same thing, though. 

Dixon says she didn’t realize the depth of how religious Mitchell was at that point and didn’t have a relationship with God herself. When her kids are old enough, she’ll tell them that along with the story of how she has since come to faith and bought in on placing God at the forefront of her relationship With Mitchell. 

“We raise our kids knowing that we are second and God is first,” Dixon said. “I just want my kids to believe in God the way that we do and follow their father's lead. I want them to understand that as men that they have to be leaders and that at some point of the time the world is gonna rest on their shoulders.”

Dixon and Mitchell have heard doubt from those around them about what the Bible says in regard to them having children premaritally, but they’re not letting that deter their relationships with God or the family they’re trying to build. 

When it’s all said and done, they want 20 grandkids and a family that follows God. 

They feel as if they've been through too much already to let anything get in the way of that.