Mel Mitchell III (born February 10, 1979) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

. He was drafted by the

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 ...

in the fifth round of the

2002 NFL draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted ...

. 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 ...

at Western Kentucky. Mitchell also played for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

College career

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University (WKU) is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a few decades earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glas ...

, Mitchell started all 36 games and totaling 288 tackles, seven interceptions, 1.5 sacks, 21 passes defensed, and returned 20 kickoffs. He majored in

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

References

External links

New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Mel 1979 births Living people People from Rockledge, Florida Players of American football from Brevard County, Florida American football safeties Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football players New Orleans Saints players New England Patriots players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen