Steve Sarkisian opens up on AD Mitchell's improvement at Texas

Texas is going to have more than a few pass catchers that could pop off for them this season. Even so, one that Steve Sarkisian says has made his presence felt early and often during fall camp on The 40 Acres has been WR AD Mitchell, the transfer from Georgia.

Sarkisian applauded Mitchell’s development and production since his arrival in Austin during a press conference a few days ago. The junior receiver obviously needed to get acclimated upon his arrival after winning a second straight national title in Athens but, since July, he has been a different player for Texas’ offense according to Sarkisian.

“I’ve been proud of AD. I’ve seen a different AD Mitchell today than I saw in spring ball,” said Sarkisian.

“Naturally, he came into spring ball off of the national championship. There’s probably a little fatigue. That was a long season for them. He had the ankle thing from last season that kind of lingered. But I really saw the shift in about the middle of summer. He made a conscious effort to make the change in how he wanted to play and what we were asking of him,” Sarkisian said. “From about mid-early July? There’s been a shift in him that he’s been carrying here through training camp.”

Mitchell caught 38 passes as a ‘Dawg for 560 yards and seven touchdowns. An injury held him back as a sophomore last fall, though. He appeared in just four games in 2022, Georgia’s first two and last two, and caught only nine passes.

Now, after a few months as a Longhorn, Sarkisian says Mitchell is checking all the boxes and fitting right in with their offense. He has actually become such a consistently fantastic option that they’re more surprised when he doesn’t make a dynamic play for them than when he does.

“He’s really part of our team now,” said Sarkisian. “Sometimes that transfer, when they come, how do you fit, where do you fit in? Two, understanding the system. And then, three, playing with a real sense of confidence.”

“I think that we see it. He’s been a dynamic playmaker for us here early in camp to a point of, like, when he doesn’t make these spectacular plays, it’s almost like, ‘Dang. What happened? Why didn’t he make that play?’,” said Sarkisian. “He feels that way too. He’s got a real confidence in his ability to make big-time plays.”

Texas already has some great receivers in their corps already in Xavier Worthy, Jordan Whittington, and Isaiah Neyor. Even so, if Mitchell can add yet another option to the fold, Quinn Ewers should have more than his fair share of solid targets to connect with this fall.