2018 QB Re-al Mitchell Previews Chaminade Showdown and Iowa State Official Visit

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @RyanWrightRNG

There are several very special moments for a student-athlete at the high school level. Beyond starting at the varsity level, impacting a game, and helping chalk up wins on the board, the next level milestones includes receiving scholarship offers, committing to a university, being recognized as one of the best in the nation at your position, and, if lucky enough, bringing home a state title trophy. Class of 2018 quarterback Re-al Mitchell is all of that and more.

If you are new to the information flow regarding the 2018 recruiting class or how the 2016 California high school football season turned out, one of the big national headline grabbers is Mitchell. Mitchell was the starting quarterback for St. John Bosco’s 2016 California state title team ending the year as the No. 2 ranked team in the nation. Along the way, Mitchell proved to be a true dual-threat passing for 2,932 yards with 30 touchdowns while rushing for 1,058 posting 15 more scores on the board. All the hard work on the field translated into an Elite 11 finals invite held over the summer at Redondo Union High School (CA). The Elite 11 is a grouping of the top quarterbacks in the nation competing against one another to be labeled as best in class through Nike sponsored football camps.

All the notoriety, production, and winning brought colleges from across the country calling for Mitchell to join their 2018 class. Reported publicly, 19 teams have offered the 6-0, 190 pound, athlete but the perfect fit was announced on May 1 with Iowa State. The Cyclones have hosted Mitchell twice already on unofficial visits last seeing him in Ames June 16-18 for a camp. This weekend, Mitchell gets to cross another milestone off the list – taking an official visit.

On the field, St. John Bosco is on the path to defend their California state title. The Braves dropped their season opener 9-3 on the road in overtime, and in the rain, to Top 10 ranked St. Thomas Aquinas (FL). The following week, Bosco let out some frustration on Garces Memorial winning 63-0. Ahead of Mitchell’s official to Ames, he has another prime-time game on the schedule, a showdown with Chaminade (West Hills, CA) on Friday night. The heavily anticipated contest pits the nationally ranked No. 4 Braves against the nationally No. 19 ranked Eagles.

In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview, I caught up with Mitchell to get a preview of the game and his official to Iowa State.

Interview

With the St. Thomas Aquinas overtime loss (9-3), what was a learning moment or experience you took away from that game that has made you a better player?

“Being at Bosco, we do not lose a lot. You can learn from it. The Bishop Gorman and Mater Dei losses from last year both hurt during my first year starting. Losing the first game of this season hurt. I realized I needed to work harder and push my teammates to work harder. We had opportunities to score against Aquinas but didn’t. We just needed to work harder.”

The Braves bounced back with vengeance pouncing on Garces Memorial winning 63-0. Teams typically improve the most from Game 1 to Game 2, what were some of the improvements that were made for both you and the team during that stretch?

“I would say we ramped up our offensive tempo. We were getting the plays from the sidelines faster and getting the ball snapped faster. Our playing calling clicked better. We gelled better and had better chemistry against Garces.”

Chaminade has a lot of talent on both sides of the ball. With the Eagles defense, how will they challenge you and the Braves on Friday?

“They do a good job with their run stop. Their defensive tackles are good. We have schemes to get around that. We can take advantage of their weaknesses.”

On to your official. You finally get to take your official visit heading to Ames for the Cy-Hawk game. Now that the moment is nearing, what has you excited about your official visit?

“I’m excited to be back in Ames. I miss it. I’m ready to see what game day is like there. It will be crazier than a normal game because they are playing the Hawkeyes. We are on a tight time crunch from the end of my Friday night game to the ISU start time. ISU wanted me to come this weekend and they are making it happen.”

What is your timeline after the Chaminade game?

“I’m flying to Indianapolis. We are leaving Los Angeles at 12:30 and get to Indianapolis at 6:00 a.m. Then we are driving 2.5 hours to Ames.”

*Correction, Mitchell is flying into Minneapolis not Indianapolis. 

Wow. That is a lot of traveling in a short amount of time. You’ve been to Iowa State twice already on unofficial visits, is there anything you are hoping to learn or want to do that you have not done already with this trip?

“Good question – get more ISU apparel (laughs). The experience of the visit. The ISU staff does a good job of organizing the visits so we cover everything. Getting to see them play, seeing the crowd, and learning about the game day atmosphere has me excited. I can’t wait to see what the fans are like on game day.”

Have you helped get any other national recruits to Ames for the big game?

“I’ve tried with a couple of guys but they are going to Ames during their bye week. I was trying to get a bunch of guys. I know a lot are going up in December. I will already be enrolled then so I will be there anyway. For this game, I will be there and I think one of the committed kickers will be there.”

Are you helping recruit any other players?

“Yeah. I have been talking to Sean Shaw (Jones High School), a wide receiver from Oklahoma. He visited this past weekend. He loved what he saw. I heard all positive things. I’ve been talking to some linemen looking to commit later on this fall. It is hard to convince people from so far away.”

Last question, it is a tough one. Iowa vs. Iowa State prediction… do you have a final score to put out there?

(Laughs) “Let’s go 35-24 Iowa State.”

Re-al, thanks for your time today and good luck with the game against Chaminade on Friday and with your visit on Saturday.

“Thank you.”

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Photo credit: recruitingnewsguru.com; Re-al Mitchell at a 7v7 tournament before his ISU commitment