Texas Longhorns wide receiver AD Mitchell is expected to declare for the 2024 NFL Draft, moving on from the Forty Acres after one season following his transfer from the Georgia Bulldogs, according to a report from Chip Brown of Horns247 on Monday.
On Tuesday, Mitchell made it official, writing a letter to his daughter published in The Players’ Tribune.
When you came into my life, everything changed. Everything.
I was never someone who liked being around babies. If anyone ever brought one over to the house, I’d be outside right away. But the moment you were born, there was nothing else I wanted to do other than be around you. So by far, the hardest part of being a new dad was the time I wasn’t there. Even though I knew you were being well taken care of in Texas, being away from you felt like a piece of me was missing.
I loved my life at Georgia. I was getting better. We’d just won the national championship. We were about to win another one. What else could you want?
It was when I got injured my sophomore year and for the first time I actually couldn’t play football that things became more clear to me. I’d spent so much time away from you that, whenever I visited, it would feel like we were starting over from scratch. Whenever I picked you up, you’d cry at first because you didn’t recognize me — we didn’t really have a relationship. And that just made my heart sad.
I was making incredible memories at UGA, but it was hard to appreciate them fully because of the memories I knew I was missing out on at home. Even though I’d moved around from place to place my whole life, I’d never really felt lonely until I wasn’t around you.
So that’s why I decided to move back to Texas.
After winning two national championships with Georgia and catching touchdown passes in each College Football Playoff game in which he appeared, the 6’4, 196-pound wide receiver from Missouri City transferred to Texas. During Mitchell’s season in burnt orange, he led the team in touchdowns and yards per catch.
At Texas, Mitchell cemented his legacy as a big-play pass catcher with clutch first downs and touchdowns in the biggest moments. His play also provided a much-needed threat alongside fellow wide receiver Xavier Worthy.
Over the course of the season, Mitchell reeled in 55 catches for 845 yards and 11 touchdowns. Mitchell’s seamless transition into the offense was a huge reason why the Longhorns were able to be win the Big 12 and make the program’s first appearance in the College Football Playoffs — his touchdown catch in the fourth quarter against Alabama helped put the game away and served as a season highlight.
The departure of Mitchell completely alters the outlook for Texas next season — losing a sure-handed wide receiver with big-time, big-play ability puts the next Texas offense into a tough spot given the departures of wide receivers Xavier Worthy and Jordan Whittington and tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders, which will thrust Houston transfer Matthew Golden and inexperienced Longhorns such as Johntay Cook and Ryan Wingo into much greater roles next season.
