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Former Williston High School cornerback Quinyon Mitchell heads to the City of Brotherly Love after being selected 22nd overall by the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, Thursday night.
No. 22 Philadelphia Eagles – Quinyon Mitchell, CB – Williston HS, Florida.
Follow our draft tracker -> https://t.co/8tIPohQcqn #playfootball #NFLdraft📷📷📷📷 pic.twitter.com/AnNWGMPWs9
— High School Football America (@HSFBamerica) April 26, 2024
The born and raised Williston native had family and friends watching from home as he was selected.
In the NFL Draft, Mitchell was the only player selected from a school outside Power 5 conference.
.@QuinyonMitchell became @ToledoFB's first Round 1 pick in 30 years.
His teammates went crazy for him. 🥹 @Eagles pic.twitter.com/XPZWmAzNAT
— NFL (@NFL) April 26, 2024
High School Career
While Mitchell was at Williston, he earned the Gainesville Sun’s All-Area team honors his junior season for defense and his senior season for offense.
Mitchell impressed in high school for his versatility on both sides of the ball.
In his junior season at Williston, he had four interceptions and 29 tackles. Moreover, in his senior year, he ran for 983 yards and had 11 touchdowns.
Coming from a small town, Mitchell was not highly recruited and committed to Toledo before his senior season. However, during his senior season, he began to receive more Power 5 offers leading him to decommit from Toledo. Adversity struck when he failed to receive the grades required by the NCAA. He was forced to spend the next fall in Williston and ended up becoming eligible in January 2020 and enrolled at Toledo.
Time at Toledo
How Mitchell ended up at Toledo is a miracle in itself. Apparently, Mitchell went on a Twitter page of a staff member at Toledo and liked dozens of posts hoping to get noticed.
The tactic worked.
At Toledo, Mitchell excelled in three seasons becoming the all-time leader in pass breakups with 46. Last year, he was named second-team AP All-American and first-team All-MAC.
"It's a testament to the culture in our locker room. It's a testament to who he is as a human being."
–@CoachCandle #TeamToledo https://t.co/Yc8ptdd4np— Toledo Football (@ToledoFB) April 26, 2024
When Mitchell came into Toledo, he was able to learn from the expertise of safety Tycen Anderson and cornerback Sam Womack. Andrson and Womack were both selected in the fifth round in 2022. Mitchell was able to see what it took to make it to the next level.
Mitchell proved his speed and skill at the NFL combine this year with a 4.33 40-yard dash. This was the second fastest time for corners at the combine. His performance caught the eyes of the Eagles.
The @Eagles just drafted a corner with 4.33 speed 🔥 @QuinyonMitchell#NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/O5XPprYWA7
— NFL (@NFL) April 26, 2024
Future with the Eagles
This was the first time since 2002 that the Eagles selected a cornerback in the first round.
FLY @QuinyonMitchell FLY‼️ pic.twitter.com/SXvoClK2j6
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) April 26, 2024
Philadelphia’s Darius Slay and James Bradberry are both entering the back end of their NFL careers. Therefore, the talent and energy that Mitchell brings is exactly what the Eagles need as a team that lacked in the secondary this past season. This also gives Mitchell an opportunity to learn from experienced players.
