James Maxell Mitchell (born August 11, 1999), nicknamed "the Governor", is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Virginia Tech Hokies The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams representing Virginia Tech in intercollegiate athletics. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 22 varsity sports. Virginia Tech's men's sports are football, b ...

Early life

James Mitchell was born August 11, 1999, to Jimmy and Marcia Mitchell. Mitchell's father is a pastor and his mother played college basketball

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

. Mitchell's father appeared in Big Stone Gap, a film about set in Mitchell's hometown. Mitchell grew up in

Big Stone Gap, Virginia Big Stone Gap is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The town was economically centered around the coal industry for much of its early development. The population was 5,254 at the 2020 census. History The community was formerly kn ...

and attended Union High School where he was a stand out athlete in multiple sports. Mitchell's athleticism was noticed at an early age when he began dunking the ball in middle school while playing JV basketball. He committed to play

for

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

over offers from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

and Clemson.

College career

Mitchell played in 13 games, primarily on special teams, as a freshman. He became a starter as a sophomore and caught 21 passes for 361 yards with two touchdowns. Mitchell had 26 receptions for 435 yards and four touchdowns as a junior. He was nicknamed "the Governor" during his junior season by his coaching staff and teammates. Mitchell considered entering the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

, but opted to stay at

for his senior season. Mitchell was named to the Pre-season All-

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

team prior to his senior year and was on the

Mackey Award The John Mackey Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding tight end. Established in 2000 by the Nassau County Sports Commission, the award is given annually to the tight end who best exemplifies the play, sportsmanship, ac ...

watch list. Mitchell suffered a season-ending injury in the second game of his senior year. Following the end of the season, he announced that he would be entering the

2022 NFL draft The 2022 NFL draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual NFL draft, draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise next to Las Vegas. The first round ...

Professional career

Detroit Lions

Mitchell was selected in the fifth round with the 177th overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. During Week 8 against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

, Mitchell recorded his first NFL catch on a 14–yard reception from

Jared Goff Jared Thomas Goff (born October 14, 1994) is an American professional football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears, setting Pac-12 Conference single- ...

. On November 6, Mitchell recorded his first NFL touchdown on a three-yard reception against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

Ford Field Ford Field is a domed American football stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It primarily serves as the home of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL), the Mid-Americ ...

. As a rookie, Mitchell appeared in 14 games. He recorded 11 receptions for 113 receiving yards and one touchdown. Mitchell was waived by the Lions on August 27, 2024, and re-signed to the practice squad.

Carolina Panthers

On January 21, 2025, Mitchell signed a reserve/future contract with the

References

External links

Carolina Panthers bioVirginia Tech Hokies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, James 1999 births Living people Players of American football from Virginia People from Big Stone Gap, Virginia American football tight ends Virginia Tech Hokies football players Detroit Lions players Carolina Panthers players