Texas makes strong move with LB Juwan Mitchell during weekend visit

JUCO linebacker Juwan Mitchell took his second official visit in as many weeks – this time a trip to Texas – and the Butler County Community College standout said things could not have gone much better. From the facilities to the academics to the people in the UT program, Mitchell was blown away by the visit.

“It was amazing. Just amazing,” Mitchell said. “The Texas culture, being a Longhorn, everybody just takes care of each other. I got to meet a lot of people this weekend as well. I was with Jacoby Jones, was chilling with Byron (Vaughns), De’Gabriel (Floyd). Gary Johnson was here for the weekend, Davante Davis was here.

“They were all telling me that if you want to be somewhere you can live without football, being at the University of Texas is still a big deal.”

Mitchell had been committed to Minnesota but confirmed on Monday morning that he is no longer committed. Prior to the Texas visit, he took an official visit to Arkansas. He isn’t planning to take any other visits and said he’ll likely decide on either the Razorbacks or the Longhorns this week. Coming out of the UT visit, Texas has surged into the top spot.

“Texas is higher over Arkansas,” Mitchell said, before citing UT’s alumni network as

The Longhorns’ need at linebacker was elevated in the spring when it was learned that true freshman Floyd would have to sit out the 2019 season due to a spine issue. Floyd was expected to play early and often for Texas and his absence, combined with the departure of seniors Gary Johnson and Anthony Wheeler, have the UT staff looking for talented players to fill out the linebacker depth chart.

“They were just saying they need me a lot, need experienced linebackers. They’d have Joseph (Ossai), Jeffery (McCulloch), me, Dele (Adeoye) and Caleb (Johnson) . The loss of (Floyd) hurt a lot because he was expected to compete immediately, so they definitely need depth at the linebacker position.”

A full qualifier out of high school, Mitchell is eligible to enroll at the Division I school of his choice in June and play in the 2019 season. His plan is to make his decision in the next few days – either Texas or Arkansas – and then get ready to move a couple weeks later. As it stands right now, the Longhorns appear to the be leaders heading down the home stretch, and could add a valuable piece to their 2019 recruiting class if things fall their way with Mitchell’s decision.

The 6-2, 225-pound Mitchell will have four years to play three seasons of Division I football.