Highlands graduate Mike Mitchell to be inducted into Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame announced it will induct Highlands High School graduate Mike Mitchell into its new class this summer.
The induction ceremony is June 23 in Lexington.
The hall of fame is celebrating its 22nd anniversary, and Kentucky is the only state to have its own pro football hall of fame.
Among prior Northern Kentucky inductees are Doug Pelphrey of Scott High School, Marty Moore of Highlands, Irv Goode of Boone County, Shaun Alexander of Boone County and Bruce Kozerski of Holy Cross.
2020 Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame:Elder High School graduates chosen for Hall
2017 Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame:Former Bengal Kozerski joining Hall
Other inductees joining Mitchell in this year's class include Joe Bugel (Western Kentucky, Washington), Frank Fuller (University of Kentucky, Los Angeles Rams), Teddy Bridgewater (University of Louisville, Miami), Larry Kirksey (Eastern Kentucky University, San Francisco) and Steve Wright (DuPont Manual High School, Green Bay).
“it's a great group to be going in with,” Mitchell said Thursday. “I dedicated a lot of my life to this game so this is just a great honor. It just goes to my parents. It’s not really much about me. I feel like a lot of the guys would say that it’s the people around you who help you achieve these things and all the credit goes to my parents and God for sure.”
Mitchell played 145 career games over 10 seasons, starting 88. He was a full-time starter beginning in 2013 with Carolina, when the Panthers went 12-4 and won the NFC South Division. He had a career-high four interceptions and 66 total tackles, one of the highest totals of his career.
Mike Mitchell played in six straight playoffs with Panthers, Steelers and Colts
That started a run of six seasons in which Mitchell played in the NFL Playoffs. He started for the Pittsburgh Steelers four years from 2014-17. Pittsburgh went to the playoffs in all those seasons, including the infamous 18-16 win at Cincinnati in the 2016 Wild Card Game.
Mitchell played in nine playoff games, finishing his career with the Indianapolis Colts. He played for the Colts in 2018, participating in eight games.
His biggest run came in the 2017 playoffs after the Steelers went 11-5 in the 2016 season. Pittsburgh went to the AFC title game, losing to New England. Mitchell had 18 tackles in three postseason games.
In the second round of those 2017 playoffs, the Steelers won 18-16 at Kansas City, a game in which the Steelers didn’t score a touchdown but won with six field goals. Mitchell said that game is one of his fondest memories.
“They had a very good team. It was a hostile environment,” Mitchell said. “That was a pretty tough day. It’s one of those where the weather wasn't great. We really had to gut it out. We ended up getting a stop and then our offense was able to convert on a pretty critical third down late and ran out the clock.
“I just remember that plane ride home was a really good time. I'm sure all the guys here that are going in can can attest to memories like that, just being one of those hard games, pulling it out and getting it done.”
In his only season with the Panthers, he had a big season, making a career-high four sacks, career-high two forced fumbles, and a career-high four interceptions. His play contributed to a season where the defense was ranked second in the NFL in total yards, rushing yards, and points, and helped the team win a division title and playoff berth for the first time in five years.
Mitchell finished the season with a total of 66 combined tackles and a career-high eight pass deflections.
Mitchell started 30 of 45 games at Ohio University, 23 at strong safety and seven at free safety. He ended his career at Ohio with a total of 213 tackles, 126 solo, 14.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, and 7 interceptions for 140 return yards. He finished his senior campaign with 62 tackles and led the team with 3 interceptions.
Mike Mitchell became an all-star while at Highlands
Mitchell played two years of football at Covington Catholic before transferring to Highlands for his senior season.
He earned Kentucky All-Star honors that season, 2004, in addition to being selected honorable mention all-state as a senior. That year, he recorded 87 tackles with three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries, returning one for a touchdown.
Highlands won a state championship that season but Mitchell did not play after being declared ineligible by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association the week of the game.
The Oakland Raiders selected Mitchell in the second round (47th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft. He was the fourth safety selected in that draft. High school teammate and close friend Jordan Nevels was signed with the UK Wildcats that season.
“I guess I just wasn't good enough. I wasn't big enough or whatever,” Mitchell said. “It was motivation for me when I got to Ohio. I did have some other offers but Ohio was the only school that told me I could come and start as a true freshman so that was a big reason why I ended up going there. I was exactly where I was supposed to be so I went there and made the most of it."
Mike Mitchell went from 'late bloomer' to 10-year NFL career
He was projected to be a sixth-round or seventh-round draft pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and analysts, including Mel Kiper, Jr. He was ranked the seventh-best strong safety by NFLDraftScout.com.
“I've always been a slow learner and I was kind of a late bloomer,” Mitchell said. “It was just getting the experience needed. By the time I got to Carolina I was in my fifth year, I had started several games, and by that time I'd seen the game was starting to slow down. I was really starting to put my skills on display and then, the four years in Pittsburgh, I had great veterans to learn from.”
Mitchell was on those elite Steelers defenses with the likes of Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu, James Harrison, Ike Taylor and Brett Keisel.
“I can name several guys but you just learn what it is to be a professional and be very serious about winning,” Mitchell said. “We won a lot of games there.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Mike Mitchell to be inducted into Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame
