Donald Mitchell (American football)
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| Position: | Cornerback | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | December 14, 1976 Beaumont, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 182 lb (83 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Beaumont Central (TX) | ||||||||
| College: | Southern Methodist | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1999 / round: 4 / pick: 117 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Donald Roosevelt Mitchell (born December 14, 1976) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Tennessee Titans and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Southern Methodist University.
Early life
[edit]Mitchell attended Beaumont Central High School. He played cornerback and was an All-District selection as a senior. He also practiced track and baseball.
He accepted a football scholarship from Southern Methodist University. As a sophomore, he started 6 games at cornerback. As a junior, he became a regular starter at cornerback, collecting 45 tackles and 3 interceptions.
As a senior, he registered 74 tackles, 16 passes defensed, 3 interceptions and 2 forced fumbles. He had 13 tackles against the University of Mississippi. He finished his college career after starting 26 out of 41 games, while making 160 tackles, 6 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries and 4 forced fumbles.
Professional career
[edit]Tennessee Titans
[edit]Mitchell was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the fourth round (117th overall) of the 1999 NFL draft.[1] As a rookie, he earned the position of nickel back and appeared in all 16 games, tallying 7 tackles, one pass defensed, 19 special teams tackles (fourth on the team), one blocked kick and one returned interception for a touchdown. The Titans would eventually make it to Super Bowl XXXIV, where they lost to the Kurt Warner-led St. Louis Rams.[2]
In 2000, he suffered a torn right ACL during a practice and was placed on the injured reserve list on August 22.[3][4] In 2001, he appeared in 12 contests, missing the final 4 games with a sprained right knee, while making 25 tackles, 4 passes defensed, 13 special teams tackles and one blocked kick.
In 2002, he started 9 games at right cornerback in place on an injured Samari Rolle and was able to play through ankle and knee injuries.[5] He posted 51 tackles, one interception, 8 passes defensed, 2 quarterback pressures, 11 special teams tackles, 3 recovered fumbles and one forced fumble. In February 2003, he underwent arthroscopic surgery in one of his ankles. During his time with the Titans he was also a core special teams player.
Dallas Cowboys
[edit]On March 20, 2003, he was signed as a free agent by the Dallas Cowboys, with the intention of playing him at the nickel back position.[6] He suffered a serious left high ankle sprain in the final preseason game against the Oakland Raiders and was placed on the injured reserve list on August 31.[7] He was released on August 31, 2004.[8][9]
References
[edit]- ^ "1999 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- ^ "Super Bowl XXXIV Team Rosters". sportspool.com. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
- ^ "Pickens Is Added To Titans' Arsenal". Retrieved March 5, 2018.
- ^ "Transactions". Retrieved March 5, 2018.
- ^ "Mitchell To Start In Place Of Rolle". Retrieved March 5, 2018.
- ^ "After Losing Coles, Jets Sign Conway To Three-year Deal". Retrieved March 5, 2018.
- ^ "Setting Roster Intrigues, Infuriates Cowboys' Parcells". Retrieved March 5, 2018.
- ^ "Baltimore Signs Sanders For Depth In Secondary". Retrieved March 5, 2018.
- ^ "Cowboys release nine, put DiNapoli on PUP list". August 31, 2004. Retrieved March 5, 2018.