Mitchell Seeing Hard Work Pay Off
September 04, 2024 | Football, Joel Coleman
Bulldog linebacker showing early he’ll be a huge piece of State’s defense.
STARKVILLE – For three years, linebacker Nic Mitchell kept his head down and worked for his big opportunity at Mississippi State.  Behind former Bulldog standouts like Nathaniel Watson and Jett Johnson, Mitchell was getting better and better. He knew his time would come.
Last Saturday, Mitchell's time was here. He drew his first career start in State's 56-7 season-opening win over Eastern Kentucky and went on to tie his career high with four tackles while also notching half a tackle for loss.
It was the first of what the Bulldogs hope will be many strong performances out of Mitchell this season, and the Jacksonville, Florida, hopes to build on his opening-week showing this coming Saturday as MSU faces Arizona State on the road at 9:30 p.m. CT.
Ahead of this weekend's game, Mitchell met with reporters on Tuesday following practice to look back on the contest against Eastern Kentucky and look ahead to the Sun Devils. Here is an edited transcript of Mitchell's press conference:
Question: In today's age of college football, a lot of guys transfer and it's hard to be patient and wait your turn…You did, so how satisfying was that?
Mitchell: "It feels good to see your hard work pay off. But there's a lot of football left and we're just getting started. So, I'm not satisfied with that at all so I'm just going to keep going."
Question: What was it like to get out there this past weekend and play such a big part?
Mitchell: "It was a lot of fun. We were flying around and having fun. Just playing ball, it felt good."
Question: You guys were really good on third and fourth and short. How important is that to be strong on third and fourth and short?
Mitchell: "That's huge…Just using our hands and being violent at the point of attack, that's huge for us. That'll help us play great defense this year."
Question: Seems it looked like you and [Sulaiman Kpaka] worked well together up front. What's it like playing with him?
Mitchell: "Pak is good. He's great with his hands. He's a smart player. He knows what he's doing. It's good to have a guy like that in front of you."
Question: In film study after the game, what was the main talking points for you guys – good or bad?
Mitchell: "Really, it was just that we can't be satisfied. We have to flush it and prepare for the next week, keep being violent, keep flying around and know we have our hands full this week coming up."
Question: What stands out about Arizona State?
Mitchell: "They like to stretch it out [and] throw the ball to the perimeter. They have some speed out there, so our hands are definitely full this week."
Question: You're used to hot weather, but it will be a different type of hot out there in Arizona. How are you all preparing?
Mitchell: "I really think it's just a mentality thing. Just make sure you're hydrated, and you should be good."
Question: What was the chemistry like between you and [Stone Blanton] in your first game playing alongside each other?
Mitchell: "That's my boy. He's my weightlifting partner, so we built a good relationship over the summer and over the spring. So, that's my boy. It's fun to be out there with him."
Question: As the game went on, what were you and he talking about and watching and telling each other?
Mitchell: "Just tendencies and whatever we see. Getting our calls out and making sure everyone is aligned. Just being vocal leaders out there."
Question: What's it like playing with Branden Jennings? Seems like he's always around the football.
Mitchell: "Yeah, he's crazy. Me and Branden actually knew each other since we were little boys. It's just fun being out there. We never knew we'd end up playing college ball together, but it's fun. He's crazy man."
Question: You all rotated out a good bit on Saturday. How different was that from last year and how big of difference did you see?
Mitchell: "That's huge. Everyone needs to be fresh. That's what [defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler] is trying to do – keep everyone fresh and fast. You don't want to just beat someone up out there where they're not moving as fast as they could."
Question: What did you think of some of the younger players that got in on Saturday?
Mitchell: "They flew around. Especially [Zakari Tillman]. I give props to him. He flew around. He set the tone on special teams for us. He had a good game. And [Joseph Head Jr.], that's what Joe Head does. In practice, it just translated to the game. We expected that from Joe Head."
Question: Was it good for the defense to put a touchdown on the board?
Mitchell: "Yeah, it's always fun when you can end a game like that. That's just having fun out there. It's just what you like to see."
Question: Does that set the tone? Who's going to get the next defensive touchdown?
Mitchell: "I couldn't tell you. Hopefully we can get somebody to do that this week, but I can't tell you on that one."
Question: You and several others were on the team that played in Arizona two years ago. What did you learn about making that long trip and how can it help you this time around?
Mitchell: "We know it's going to be a long flight, so we know we need to be hydrated. But the people that have experienced it before, they know. They can tell the young guys how it's going to be [whether it's] the flight or how you have to hydrate or eat or stuff like that."
Question: Arizona State has a lot of new guys. You can't really look at what they've done previously. Is this a week where you all had to put in a lot of fast film study to learn about your opponent?
Mitchell: "Of course. We're just going to watch the film, break it down, break down [their game against Wyoming] and just break it down like each other opponent. Nothing too crazy to it."
