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Tom Archdeacon: OSU a great fit for Mitchell
Thursday, October 05, 2006
COLUMBUS — For Brandon Mitchell, the key has been knowing when to stay home and when to go. When to kick and buck and when to become a Buckeye.
"It's the story I've heard my whole life," the Ohio State safety said with a smile as he recounted how his mom — who'd given birth to him when she was just 15 — had decided to leave their Atlanta home for California with a friend when he was 2.
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"I was supposed to go with her. She'd packed all my stuff in her bag, but at the airport I pitched a fit. Fell out right on the floor and started crying, 'I'm not getting on that plane. I'm not going. I want to stay right here!' "
His grandfather — Marquis Mitchell — was there:
"He just kept saying, 'granddaddy, I don't want to go!' So I said we'd keep him. ... And that's just what we did."
As Brandon now describes the decision: "I wouldn't trade what happened for the world. It turned out great."
Marquis and his wife Ida raised him as their own and — even when Brandon's mom returned — they were the ones who guided him through Mays High School, where he was a top student and athlete.
Georgia and Georgia Tech recruited Brandon, Marquis said, and "Northwestern wanted him so bad they told us all kinds of horror stories how he wouldn't play at Ohio State.
"Brandon visited Columbus anyway and then called and says, 'granddaddy, I love it. I'm gonna sign right now.' I told him, 'No, you're coming home first to think.' "
Brandon did, still chose OSU and today again could say: "It turned out great."
After four years of mostly backup work, Mitchell is a starting safety on the No. 1 team in the nation. Going into Saturday's Bowling Green game, he's the Bucks' second leading tackler. Last Saturday against 13th-ranked Iowa, he intercepted a Drew Tate pass and recovered a Hawkeye fumble.
He's just as impressive in the classroom. A three-time Scholar-Athlete, he graduated last year with a political science degree and is well on his way to getting his master's:
'When I left, I told my grandparents, 'No matter what — whether I get hurt or go to the NFL — I'll get that degree.' And seeing their faces when I walked across the field to get my diploma was great."
Actually, Marquis and Ida have seen a lot of Brandon.
Retired after 30 years with the Atlanta fire department, Marquis now is a prep football official: "My games usually end by 10:30 on a Friday night and I'll come home, shower and we'll be on the way to Ohio by midnight."
They like what they're seeing now, as does coach Jim Tressel, who said Mitchell's become "a great leader" in the secondary.
For Bowling Green — an easy Buckeyes' romp most think — Mitchell is spinning the cautionary tale to younger teammates.
He tells them about being upset by Wisconsin in 2003 and especially how Northwestern stunned the visiting Buckeyes in 2004.
"We hadn't lost there in a long time. The crowd rushed the field and I vividly remember walking off and a fan screaming, 'Over-rated'! as he ran past. I had my head down. It was humiliating.
"The thing I'm stressing to our guys now is don't look ahead. Make yourself stay in the moment."
It's something he's been good at.
Even if it's meant throwing himself on the floor and pitching a fit.
