FIU receiver reflects on journey from skinny freshman to record-breaking star
When FIU’s Kris Mitchell completed his prep football career five years ago at Jacksonville’s Mandarin High, he weighed just 150 pounds on a 6-1 frame.
“I was a fast and little guy,” Mitchell said. “That’s why I didn’t have many (scholarship) offers. Teams were worried about my size.”
According to 247 Sports, there were 220 football prospects in Florida who were better than Mitchell, who didn’t even rank among FIU’s top-10 recruits that year.
But despite the low rankings and skinny body, Mitchell had a college coach who served as his advocate – former FIU wide receivers coach Aubrey Hill, who died of cancer in August of 2020.
“I miss him a lot,” Mitchell said of Hill. “He believed in me years before anybody else offered me. He saw something in me. He knew I was going to be a great player.”
Mitchell, who now weighs 183 pounds, has indeed become a great player, finishing this season with an FIU-record 1,118 receiving yards.
To get that record, he had to pass the only two other FIU receivers to ever have 1,000-yard seasons. That’s Tyrese Chambers, who in 2021 set the receiving record with 1,074 yards; and T.Y. Hilton, who went on to become an NFL star and a four-time Pro Bowl player.
Mitchell got the record this past Saturday as FIU ended its second straight 4-8 season with a 41-28 loss to Western Kentucky.
“It was always a goal of mine to go get (that record),” Mitchell said.
Mitchell, who has indicated he wants to turn pro and make himself eligible for the 2024 NFL Draft, said he had a “rollercoaster” career in college.
“I came here with Butch (Davis),” Mitchell said of the coach who stepped away from FIU following the 2021 season. “I didn’t think he was going to leave. He’s a legendary coach. I miss him.”
Mitchell, a Georgia native, said he hasn’t kept in touch with Davis. However, he has heard from his son, Drew Davis, who is a wide receivers and tight ends coach at St. Thomas University.
In essence, Drew Davis said he is proud of Mitchell.
The “rollercoaster” Mitchell referred to has to do with all the losing he has endured in his five years at FIU – a combined record of 15-39. FIU went 9-4 the year before Mitchell arrived, and the Panthers have followed that up with five straight losing seasons.
Transferring, however, was never a consideration for the highly-loyal Mitchell, who. hasn’t ruled out returning to FIU for one more season.
“Staying here, I felt like I had a purpose,” he said of FIU. “I wanted to come here and win. I wanted to help turn things around, and I think it’s going in the right direction.
“I never give up. My parents (Kevin and Nicole Mitchell) told me that no matter how hard things get, keep pushing through.
“God has a plan for me.”
That plan, though, did not include keeping the football he caught to break Chambers’ record.
“In the moment, I didn’t think about it,” Mitchell said. “I was trying to win a game.”
The memento would’ve been nice, but ...
“I will remember this moment forever,” Mitchell said. “I don’t think I need a ball.”
THIS AND THAT
▪ The STU Bobcats football team, which made the NAIA playoffs this year for the first time in program history, got to the second round before losing on Saturday to third-ranked Keiser, 45-21. STU, ranked 15th in the nation, finished with a 9-4 record. The Bobcats went 6-0 at home but just 3-4 on the road.
This story was originally published November 27, 2023 at 9:20 AM.