Interview: 2023 LB Caden Mimms Ready to Rock 7A Arkansas Offenses
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @RyanWrightRNG
It is going to be an ugly year in the box for 7A Arkansas offenses this fall with Class of 2023 linebacker Caden Mimms roaming the gridiron. With the focus on seniors getting their snaps on their last go around during the 2020 season, Mimms started a handful of games giving fans and college football scouts a glimpse of what he can do with a full season of activity. When the lights turn on this fall for Cabot High School, expect the 6-3, 200-pound, defender to showcase how well he can read and diagnose a play, his strength shedding blocks, and his burst to the ball closing with a nasty streak in his heart.
With interest already coming in from programs like Middle Tennessee and Illinois, Mimms is ready to add college coaches to his follow list on Twitter ahead of his junior season with camps planned this summer.
Covering ground on all that he does in the box for the Panthers, Mimms stopped by the RNG Lab for a detailed one-on-one.
Interview
Caden, you read your keys like a college veteran. How long have you played the linebacker position?
I started playing linebacker in sixth or seventh grade.
The Panthers were mixing up the defense depending on the opponent. Sometimes you were an inside linebacker and at others a Mike. How did your DC scheme and match against different defenses moving you into the action?
One thing we did, if we were going against a passing offense, I was at outside linebacker. Against a run heavy team, I’d go to the middle.
Beyond reading your keys, it looks like you do a lot of film study having a great understanding of what the opposition is doing from play to play. How do you prepare for any given game?
I like team meetings. In our team meetings I sit in front row, I study the sheets given to us on our opponent, and I watch as much film as I can.
During the 2020 season, in which game did you turn in your best performance?
Probably against Eldorado. I had 12 or 13 tackles in that game.
When the season ended, what did you feel were the strongest attributes to your talents as a linebacker?
My ability to read keys and my tackling.
When the 2021 season gets going where all might we see you on the field?
You will mostly see me at inside or middle linebacker but also at nose guard and some at end.
Nose guard? Are you excited about playing some nose guard this season?
Yeah, it is something different.
Going into the weight room, what are you doing to add more strength and power to your skills?
At school we lift every morning at 6:00 a.m. After school on Tuesday and Thursday I have additional weight training.
Have you maxed out on any of your lifts this spring?
Yes, sir. On bench my max is 315 and my squat is 500.
Nice. How are you increasing your speed and burst?
I have a trainer, Ricky Brown. We train two to three times a week. We do resistance training and focus on fast-twitch movements to open everything up.
What are you doing to work on your hips?
I do a lot of hurdles to loosen up my hips.
Are you competing in any other sports for Cabot?
Track and field.
Which events?
The shot and I tried the discus.
In the classroom, what is your cumulative GPA?
A 3.6.
Are there any college camps you may go compete at this summer?
I know I am going to Arkansas State, Arkansas, and UCA (Central Arkansas).
Caden, thanks for your time today. Wishing you great success at the upcoming college camps.
Thank you, sir.
Photo credit: Mimms family; Caden Mimms