Tymon Mitchell 'always family' at Georgia after transfer to TCU
LOS ANGELES — TCU defensive lineman Tymon Mitchell is plenty familiar with his opponent for this week. That was the case before he turned on a second of film for the Georgia Bulldogs. That’s because the Nashville, Tenn. native spent his first three seasons in Athens before transferring to TCU this past spring. Now, less than nine months later, he’ll be going up against his former team with a title on the line.
Mitchell played eight games during his Georgia career including five on the Bulldogs’ way to a National Championship last season. He totaled 11 tackles before moving on in search of more playing time. Mitchell found exactly that in Fort Worth, playing in all 14 games for the Horned Frogs on their way to a national title game appearance. He described the experience of getting ready to play against the Bulldogs as ‘weird.’
“Yeah, it’s definitely weird but it’s something I’ve talked about all season,” Mitchell said. “A what if kind of thing, looking forward to it. Hopefully it turns out to be a really fun experience. I’m glad to be here.”
“Yeah, it was really just, I wasn’t going to get the playing time that I wanted and it just was what it was,” he continued. “I just took a visit, fell in love with the place, fell in love with the staff, loved the team. We had a team with guys that could make stuff happen. Yeah, it just worked out for the best.”
Of course Mitchell has been a big addition for TCU, exactly what first-year defensive line coach JaMarkus McFarland was looking for. His new defensive line coach called him one of the smartest players in his position group, and his old one certainly agreed.
“You can see some lightbulbs come on. Like I said, that hunger was always there for him, so as soon as you start getting some reps and success early, you see the mental aspect of it all. He is extremely smart, one of the smartest guys in the room and one of the smartest guys on the field,” McFarland said. “He sees a lot of things. He’s like having a coach out there. The information that he brings to the sideline is very helpful in games. He’s very mature when it comes to the football aspect of it on game day, but he has that juice. He isn’t going to say too much until he takes the grass. And you can’t stop him dancing. He’s a guy that at practice is dancing from the minute he walks in the building to the minute he walks out of the building. That’s just a sign of love for the game.”
“I love him. I love him. Those guys that you go and commit and sit in on their homes, eat their food, he’s going to be family no matter what,” Georgia defensive line coach Tray Scott said. “I’m so proud of him. I love him dearly. I love his dad, his mom. He’s a great kid, and I’m so happy for him.”
Mitchell sees it that way too. He’s still close friends with his classmates from Georgia and even texted with Zion Logue after the matchup was finalized. But until the game’s over, Logue is the enemy for Mitchell and TCU and vice versa for all the Dawgs.
