Kawika Uilani Mitchell (born October 10, 1979) is an American former 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

in 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 ...

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

. Mitchell was selected by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

in the second round in 2003. Mitchell also played for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

College career

Kawika Mitchell started his

career with the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

, but transferred to the

South Florida Bulls The South Florida Bulls (also known as the USF Bulls) are the athletic teams that represent the University of South Florida. USF competes in NCAA Division I and is a member of the American Athletic Conference for all sports besides sailing, a n ...

after his freshman year. During his career he made 367 tackles, a school record, and he was nominated for the

Butkus Award The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...

as a junior and senior.

Professional career

While playing with the Giants, Mitchell was a resident of

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the ...

. Mitchell appeared in

Super Bowl XLII Super Bowl XLII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

, and recorded 8 tackles and a sack. On February 29, 2008, the

signed Mitchell to a five-year contract for (equivalent to about $M in ). Mitchell was expected to take over the starting weakside linebacker position that was shared by

Coy Wire Coy Michael Wire (born November 7, 1978) is an American television anchor and correspondent as well as a former professional football player in the National Football League (NFL). Since 2015, he has worked for CNN as a sports anchor and correspo ...

and

Keith Ellison Keith Maurice Ellison (born August 4, 1963) is an American politician and lawyer serving since 2019 as the 30th attorney general of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Ellison was the U.S. representative for fr ...

in 2007. On September 10, 2010, two days before their season started, the Bills put Mitchell on the IR, ending his season.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

Mitchell and his wife Billie have a son, Lewai (pronounced Levi) who followed in his footsteps at playing football for the University of South Florida. He also has a daughter, Eliza. In 2007, Mitchell donated his game check from week 15 to Gridiron Greats which helps retired football players in dire need.

References

External links

*
Buffalo Bills bio

New Orleans Saints bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Kawikia American football linebackers Buffalo Bills players Living people New York Giants players Sportspeople from Hoboken, New Jersey Players of American football from Hudson County, New Jersey South Florida Bulls football players Kansas City Chiefs players New Orleans Saints players 1979 births Lake Howell High School alumni