NORMAN — Joe Jon Finley knew he was going to see something special when he visited Allen High School in Texas a few years ago.
It’s hard not to.
The school is a powerhouse, having produced a handful of NFL players, including former OU stars Kyler Murray and Bobby Evans.
But even as a sophomore a few years ago, surrounded by plenty of talent that dots college rosters now, Davon Mitchell stood out.
“I saw him as a 14-year-old and I thought he was a college kid coming back to Allen High School,” said Finley, the Sooners’ tight ends coach. “What I love about him is, you know, he looks like an NFL guy right now. If he went to the pro combine, you’d be like, ‘Man, that guy fits in.’”
Tight end for the Sooners is a position in transition this season. Austin Stogner departed off last year’s team; Mitchell signed out of high school; a pair of experienced players — Jake Roberts and Bauer Sharp — joined via the transfer portal.
More: Inside OU quarterback Jackson Arnold, Dillon Gabriel’s reunion at Manning Passing Academy
While Roberts in particular might have the experience, Mitchell is confident in his ability to break through quickly at the position, and in the Sooners’ offense to take advantage of it.
“I can do everything those guys can do,” Mitchell said of the others in OU’s tight ends room. “Maybe even more. But I’m still learning, trying to get better.”
Mitchell’s father, Marko Mitchell, was a wide receiver at Nevada and spent time in the NFL.
Marko helped shape his son’s drive to improve.
“Those guys get up at four or five o’clock every single morning. They go to work and that’s all he wants to do,” Finley said before Mitchell’s arrival on campus. “He’s texting me, calling me. ‘Coach, when can I get the playbook? Can I talk to Schmitty, try to get in the weight room?’ I’m like, ‘Man, just relax and enjoy these two weeks and then when you get here, we’ll have plenty for you.’”
The freshman wasted no time making a quick impression once those two weeks were up.
“For how young he is, he’s very physical,” defensive back Peyton Bowen said. “He’s gotta get under himself a little bit. He’s still got a little bit of growing up to do, but he’s gonna be a god.”
Mitchell committed to the Sooners last July, citing his strong relationship with Sooners coach Brent Venables and Finley.
After offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby’s departure to take the Mississippi State head coaching job, it didn’t take long for Mitchell to reaffirm his commitment to the Sooners.
More: How OU athletics is running into SEC with confidence: ‘We know where we’re going forward’
That was bolstered by Finley’s elevation to co-offensive coordinator, where he’ll team with Seth Littrell to run the offense.
Littrell has also demonstrated a commitment to using the tight end.
Mitchell (6-foot-3, 255 pounds) bounced around quite a bit during his high school career.
He’s from York, Alabama, near the Alabama-Mississippi state line, but transferred to Allen where he was a first-team all-district selection in 2022 when he had 33 catches for 731 yards and nine touchdowns.
After that season, he not only moved to Los Alamitos, California, but reclassified from the class of 2025 to the class of 2024.
Mitchell’s time in Texas convinced him that he not only could compete at the highest levels but that he could excel.
“They say Texas is one of the hardest, one of the best football states,” Mitchell said. “I felt like it showed me I’m a dog. Not everybody can just stand up there with those guys like that.
He said his time in California helped him mature.
“It helped me grow a lot,” Mitchell said. “We had a super-young team. I was one of the oldest that were there so I had to step up and lead and teach them the way.”
More: OU in SEC: 16 things for Oklahoma Sooners fans to look forward to in new conference