Some more om Mitchell from Wescott Eberts--
" .... The coaching staff sold him on how much it needed help at linebacker.
“They were just saying they need me a lot, need experienced linebackers. They’d have Joseph (Ossai), Jeffery (McCulloch), me, Dele (Adeoye) and Caleb (Johnson) ...... The loss of (Floyd) hurt a lot because he was expected to compete immediately, so they definitely need depth at the linebacker position.”
With the addition of Mitchell, defensive coordinator Todd Orlando now has more flexibility to find the best fits at the inside linebacker positions.
McCulloch, a rising senior, spent the spring at Rover and played well there, but he doesn’t have ideal speed for the position. While Johnson does, he’ll probably spend preseason camp acclimating to the increased level of competition. According to head coach Tom Herman and multiple players, Adeoye, a middle linebacker, put on too much muscle mass during his redshirt season and that weight gain impacted his movement ability.
So where does that leave Mitchell? Listed at 6’1 and 235 pounds, he’s probably a middle linebacker based on high school testing numbers from back in 2016, when he ran a 4.81 40-yard dash and posted a 26.8-inch vertical leap. He’s likely a better athlete three years later, in part because he’s slimmed down while adding muscle mass, but his numbers are close enough to McCulloch’s testing numbers from high school that he doesn’t seem like an ideal fit at Rover.
What makes Mitchell a possible early contributor at the Mac position is that he does have some sideline-to-sideline speed, but most importantly, he diagnoses and reacts to running plays extremely quickly — there are times when he gets such a good jump into the backfield that it looks like he knew what play was coming.
There are also numerous bone-crunching hits, as there’s no question that Mitchell has the physical demeanor necessary for the position. He can sink and explode through his hits while driving his legs and wrapping to finish tackles with authority.
He also had an interception last season, so he showed some ability to take effective coverage drops......"
lots more (Incldg video) at the link What JUCO LB Juwan Mitchell means for Texas