Alabama safety Tony Mitchell refutes report he plans to enter NCAA Transfer Portal

After a tweet suggested Alabama safety Tony Mitchell would enter the transfer portal, he responded and refuted any such reports.

247’s Matt Zenitz tweeted out Sunday morning that Mitchell was expected to enter the transfer portal, and Mitchell tagged several him and several other reporters in a reply, simply tweeting the following cap emoji:

🧢

— Tony Mitchell (@DatGuyTM) April 14, 2024

Colloquially, the cap emoji is a way to signify a lie, as in, the reports of Mitchell headed to the transfer portal are lies. So, it sounds like the rising second-year safety could be an Alabama player this fall after all.

Before committing to Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide, Mitchell had originally committed to Tennessee in late spring of his eighth-grade year. Eventually, Mitchell realized he made that decision in the heat of the moment and backed off the pledge, ultimately winding up with the Volunteers’ rival several years down the road.

Now, after just one season in Tuscaloosa, following a coaching change just a few months ago, reports surfaced he will hop in the portal but Mitchell himself has refuted them.

A lesson from Nick Saban

Tony Mitchell was arrested in March of 2023 for marijuana possession, and he has since been placed on probation for three years. Mitchell publicly apologized in June and his father said he had been reinstated following a suspension from the Crimson Tide team. Nick Saban commented the following of the youngster’s mistake:

“I think there’s probably some occasion where most of us in this room, including myself, did something in our life that probably wasn’t a great choice and a great decision,” Saban said. “And we always want to try to create a path for players who have made a mistake to get a second chance, but also to help educate them on what they can learn from the poor decision or judgment that they actually made. And hopefully, those things don’t affect other people. I think it’s much more serious when those things affect other people.

“And so hopefully the penalties and the time missed and the education received are all going to be beneficial to the learning experience of this young man so that he has an opportunity to get an education, become a better person that has a better chance to be successful in life and also can contribute to the team.”

Mitchell will have a chance to contribute next season, but he’ll have to learn Kalen DeBoer’s trust now as well.