The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Versatile Garrison Mitchell Making an Impact in UAB Secondary
10/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Garrison Mitchell learned about the game of football as much at home as he did the fields of his hometown of Beaumont, Texas.
Mitchell is the youngest of four brothers. All of them played high school football. The three youngest went on to play college football, including Garrison, a safety at UAB.
Needless to say, it was a competitive household.
“It was pretty fun,” Mitchell said. “All four of us, never got to play together (on a team) but I wish we could have. (My older brother) stayed on all of us. We all learned from each other.”
Football is important in the towns of Southeast Texas and Beaumont is no different. Mitchell played on his first team at the age of five and grew into a two-way standout at Beaumont Central High. He was part of four state playoff teams as a wide receiver-defensive back at Central High and also a key contributor to the school’s basketball team that advanced to the state semifinals in 2013-14.
Mitchell, a National Honor Society member in high school, signed with the University of New Mexico following his senior season, but his time in Albuquerque was short. He chose to leave before his first football season got underway.
“It was a very tough decision,” Mitchell said. “Talking to my family, they said maybe I acted too fast. I didn’t really have a backup plan. I was just making the decisions with knowing what I was going to do. I had to think real quickly.”
Mitchell landed at Blinn Community College in Brenham, Texas. His brother, Robert, now a quarterback at Charleston Southern, was also at Blinn.
“What I take from Blinn is teaching you how to be appreciative,” Mitchell said. “Junior college is tough. You’ve got a whole bunch of good players and there is always a lot of competition. You are going to have adversity anywhere you go. They’ve always got somebody just as good or better than you. You got to step up to the plate and play.”
UAB was the first school to offer Mitchell a scholarship after his time at Blinn was finished. UAB head coach Bill Clark said what jumped out to the Blazer coaches was Mitchell’s versatility.
“Garrison is a guy who played both sides of the ball, that tells you he’s a talent,” Clark said.
The 6-foot-1, 193-pound Mitchell is capable of playing at a high level on both sides of the ball. However, he leaves little doubt where he wants to play.
“My favorite side to play is defense,” Mitchell said. “You can be physical and I like to tackle. The only reason I like offense is you get to show people what you have by catching the ball and making people miss. But defense is what I love.”
Mitchell arrived at UAB in the summer and immediately went to work on impressing the UAB coaching staff. Doing that meant changing some old habits.
“I think the thing for him, we knew he had great ball skills, he’s a very intelligent player, we wanted to see urgency out of him,” Clark said. “I wanted to see a little more oomph out of him.”
Mitchell heard what was being asked of him and didn’t disagree with the assessment.
“One thing I had a problem with was being lackadaisical,” Mitchell said. “That had to change. I had to come out and make plays. That’s what changed. My coaches stayed on me. That’s what brought it out of me.”
He quickly moved to the top of the depth chart at one of the safety spots and is battling to stay there. He was credited with five tackles in the Green and Gold game on August 29.
“We’ve seen him take those steps to become more physical,” Clark said. “I think he’s learning what the position entails. Like all of them, he’s got work to do but I’ve been pleased with his progression.”
