DB Miguel Mitchell Commits to the Florida Gators Over Tennessee

The Florida Gators land a commitment from Alabama-based defensive back Miguel Mitchell.

Following a busy weekend of official visitors in Gainesville, the Florida Gators land a commitment from Alabama defensive back prospect Miguel Mitchell.

Hosting a bevy of top targets on the Jan. 14-16 weekend at the University of Florida, the Gators would apply full-court presses to ensure they land as many recruits as possible in a crucial transition cycle.

In doing so, the Gators continued to re-equip the secondary with talent, adding their fourth member of the 2022 cycle. Mitchell joins fellow high school prospects Kamari Wilson and Devin Moore as well as Georgia transfer Jalen Kimber in the third level.

Mitchell, who recently narrowed his top schools down to Florida and Tennessee, has had an eventful recruitment.

Flying under the radar as a prospect early on, Mitchell was expected to head to Nashville to continue his football career as a Vanderbilt Commodore. However, when he started to receive considerable attention from big-time Power Five programs, Mitchell elected to reopen his recruitment.

He then turned his attention to Northwestern, where he expected to sign in the Early Signing Period before he, yet again, distanced himself from his top school.

Taking time to evaluate his options, the Gators — who asserted themselves into the mix when Billy Napier and staff took over at the helm — quickly shot up to the top of his potential destinations.

"I've just always liked coach Napier and what he's got going," Mitchell said soon after he received his UF offer. "I feel like they can get Florida back to where Florida needs to be."

Formerly recruited by Napier during his storied tenure at Louisiana, Mitchell picked back up where they left off.

"We kind of built a relationship before when he was at Louisiana," Mitchell said. "We've just always had a good relationship."

That previous connection proved to pay dividends as the Gators were able to land who they believe to be an underrated safety prospect over their SEC East foe Tennessee Volunteers.

Mitchell is expected to travel to Knoxville for the Jan. 28-30 weekend. If his feeling remains steady with Florida after that visit, he will sign with the Gators on Feb. 2 and will likely enroll in the summer.

Stay tuned to AllGators for continuous coverage of Florida Gators football, basketball and recruiting. Follow along on social media at @SI_AllGators on Twitter and Florida Gators on Sports Illustrated on Facebook.


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Brandon Carroll
BRANDON CARROLL

Brandon Carroll is a recent graduate of the University of Florida. He serves as the lead reporter for the Florida Gators FanNation-Sports Illustrated website, covering football, basketball and recruiting. When he isn't hard at work, he enjoys listening to music, playing flag football and basketball, spending time with his friends and family, and watching an array of television shows. Follow him on Twitter @itsbcarroll.