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Adonai Mitchell has been exactly what the Texas offense needed

Eric Nahlinby:Eric Nahlin•11/06/23
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Adonai Mitchell asks are you not entertained? (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Despite having only 38 career receptions, former Georgia wide receiver Adonai Mitchell arrived at Texas with plenty of fanfare. That was partially attributable to scoring a touchdown in each of Georgia’s four College Football Playoff games and also due to his natural gifts being so obvious. There aren’t a lot of receivers with Mitchell’s blend of speed, fluidity, length, and explosiveness. The three-time Big 12 Newcomer of the Week is equal parts ‘target’ and big play receiver.

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His next reception at Texas will tie the amount he had in his two years at Georgia. Not only has he been productive, he’s also retained his reputation for making plays on the biggest stage. He had two touchdowns against familiar foe Alabama in Week 2, and unloaded an eight-catch, 149-yard day against Kansas State this past Saturday. Mitchell also had 10 receptions for 141 yards against upstart Kansas. 

When Texas landed Mitchell last January, the hope was he’d become a dangerous No. 2 receiver opposite fellow junior Xavier Worthy, but it’s actually become more of a 1A, 1B dynamic. What a difference a year makes.

While Mitchell struggled with injuries his sophomore year, Worthy struggled with consistency while playing through injury. The story of the season for Texas, at least offensively, was its inability to take advantage of a two-headed running attack consisting of Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson. All too often the lack of a second big play receiver to relieve pressure on the passing attack short-circuited Texas’ offense, with the most glaring example being the road loss to Oklahoma State.

This season, teams have been punished for focusing too much attention on Worthy. In the process, the entire passing game has become much more efficient.

Despite all his gifts, Mitchell was far from a finished product upon arrival. Steve Sarkisian touched on his growth in his Monday press conference. 

“I’d like to credit Chris Jackson for this,” Sarkisian said. “He’s done a great job of working with him on a daily basis, right? There’s a level to details at the receiver position that are vitally important to rapport with the quarterback, understanding why you’re in certain spots at certain times. I think the two things I’ve seen the most out of AD here now, especially over the last month or so, has been ‘A’, the details of his route running and being where he’s supposed to be and it’s not just about the deep balls, it’s catching crossing routes and slant routes and stop routes and creating explosive plays. But two, he’s become a really good blocker. He’s a guy that’s bought into the mentality around here of, we block on the perimeter.

“A couple of the bigger runs we’ve had over the last few weeks have been because of blocks he’s made on safeties or corners that have sprung long runs. I do think that all stems from a level of maturity. I think he’s really matured in his time here, in his approach to practice, in his approach to preparation. And like I said, I credit Coach Jackson a lot with that. He’s done a great job working with him.”

Xavier Worthy, who also met with media on Monday, was a little more succinct.

“Yeah. I feel like I got that (someone to take the pressure off of him) this year in AD,” Worthy said. “I feel like if they want to pick to double me, I feel like any one of the receivers — J-Whitt or AD — could go off at any given moment.”

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Texas now hits the home stretch of the season with all its goals still in play, in large part thanks to the addition of Adonai Mitchell, who has been as good as advertised.

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