Adonai Mitchell embodies Texas' confidence heading into the College Football Playoff
NEW ORLEANS – Alabama’s hit song “Dixieland Delight” plays during the late stages of Crimson Tide football games at Bryant-Denny Stadium. When the Longhorns ventured to Tuscaloosa in September, it was a song they were very familiar with as they had heard it played ad nauseum during the preceding week of practice.
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When the familiar guitar riff and resulting towel waves started, Texas wide receiver Adonai Mitchell wasn’t awestruck. He was in his element.
“I just heard some good music, I found a rhythm, and once I do that it’s over with,” Mitchell said Friday. “I don’t care where I’m at. I don’t care who we’re playing. I don’t care if I’m at the crib, at the park, or at the football field. I hear some good music with some rhythm, I’m going to go ahead and do a little something to it and enjoy it.”
At the time, Texas was up 27-24. The Crimson Tide had just cut the Longhorn lead to three after a 39-yard scoring catch and run from Amari Niblack.
Just a few minutes later, Mitchell caught his own 39-yard touchdown reception to put the Longhorns up 34-24 and quiet the over 100,000 in attendance.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about enjoying the moment,” Mitchell said. “It’s all about not letting the moment get too big and not letting the lights get too bright.”
Texas has remained confident in its ability all season, but Mitchell, dancing or otherwise, has been the embodiment of that calm, cool, and collected confidence that has propelled the Longhorns into the College Football Playoff.
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This season, Mitchell has been a key part of the Texas offense. He’s hauled in 51 passes for 813 yards and 10 touchdowns, all career bests. He’s been the piece Texas needed to add to its receiver corps after Xavier Worthy drew so much attention over his first two seasons without a teammate to help shoulder some of the burden.
“As a player, he’s got a skill set that we were lacking before he got here,” Texas offensive coordinator Kyle Flood said. “What I mean is, he is the complementary receiver to X really that we needed to kind of make the field a little bit more open for both of those guys and for a guy like (Ja’Tavion Sanders). His role in what we do in the gameplan is critical. I think he’s got an air of confidence about him that I think is good for everybody in the locker room.”
As Flood alluded to, Mitchell’s attitude does resonate within the Texas locker room. Mitchell was with Georgia prior to transferring to UT. He’s played in big games. He’s performed in big games. And how he’s acted before, during, and after those contests has made an impact on his teammates.
“I feel like he helped us be loose in big games and not get overpressured by it,” Worthy said.
Said Sanders, “he’s probably the type of guy I want on my team for this type of game.”
When looking at those teammates, Mitchell sees a team ready for the bright lights of the College Football Playoff he’s seen four times with UGA. He sees players who, like him, are unfazed by undefeated opponents, semifinal games, or 100,000 people singing a platinum record from 1983.
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“I really feel like this team is built for this,” Mitchell said. “I don’t feel like this team would get caught up into the crowd and caught up into what’s going on because we all know what’s at stake. I’m very confident in this team and I’m very excited for these next couple of days.”
