Derrell Lavoice "Mookie" Mitchell (born September 16, 1971) is a former
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
slotback
Slotback, sometimes referred to as an A-back or slot receiver, is a position in gridiron football. The "slot" is the area between the last offensive lineman on either side of the center and the wide receiver on that side. A player who lines up ...
with the
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
and
Edmonton Eskimos and former
wide receivers coach
In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, assistant coach, and the offensive and defensive coordinators.
Common ...
for the
Edmonton Eskimos.
Junior College Career
Mitchell attended
Joliet Junior College
Joliet Junior College (JJC) is a public community college in Joliet, Illinois. Founded in 1901, it was the first public community college founded in the United States.
In Spring 2014, the college enrolled 16,375 students. Every year, 48,000 stu ...
. As a
sophomore, he was an
NJCAA
The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...
second-team
All-American pick, and was his league's co-Player of the Year.
College career
After a stellar career at Joliet Junior College, Mitchell transferred to
Texas Tech
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
. He finished his two-year
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
career with 91 receptions for 1312 yards (14.42 yards per rec. avg.) and 9 touchdowns.
World League Career
Mitchell spent the
1995 season with the
Scottish Claymores of the
World League of American Football
NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally ...
, having been allocated there by the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
, catching 11 passes for 145 yards and one touchdown.
CFL career
Mitchell signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the
CFL
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
in 1997 and immediately made a mark in the league with close to 1,500 yards and 17 TD's receiving in his first season in the league, going on to win the 1997
CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award The Most Outstanding Rookie Award is annually awarded to the player judged to be the best player in his first year in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Frank M. Gibson Trophy winner from the East Division, and the ...
. Days later, Mitchell and the Argonauts went on to win the
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...
in
Edmonton, Alberta
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...
. In 1998, he took his game one step forward catching a CFL-record 160 receptions for 2,000 yards. After a failed tryout in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
in 1999, Mitchell returned to the Argos and consistently put up 1,000-yard or close to 1,000-yard seasons.
In 2004, he was released by the Argonauts, and was promptly signed by the
Edmonton Eskimos who he helped win the
2005 Grey Cup a season later. Mitchell was eventually released by Edmonton on June 23, 2007. On July 2, 2007, Mitchell rejoined the Argonauts by signing a practice agreement with the team. On July 11, 2007, he was put on the active roster in time for a game against the
Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...
the following day and scored a touchdown in his first game back with the Argonauts. On July 26, 2007, Mitchell set a new Argonaut record for career receiving yards after catching a pass from
Damon Allen
Damon L. Allen (born July 29, 1963) is a former professional quarterback who played in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is currently fourth in all-time professional football passing yards and second in all-time CFL passing yards after he ...
in a home game against the
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes (French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Canad ...
, surpassing former record holder
Paul Masotti
Paul Masotti (born March 10, 1965) is a former professional Canadian football player and current front office executive with the Canadian Football League Toronto Argonauts. Masotti played the wide receiver position for 12 seasons with the Toronto ...
's 8772 receiving yards. On October 27, 2007, Mitchell surpassed 12,000 career receiving yards in the CFL against the
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...
.
He was released by the Argonauts on March 20, 2008.
On November 27, 2015, it was announced that Derrell "Mookie" Mitchell had been selected for enshrinement into the
Canadian Football Hall of Fame with the Hall of Fame's Class of 2016.
Coaching career
On January 20, 2012, it was announced that Mitchell had joined the
Edmonton Eskimos' coaching staff as the team's
wide receivers coach
In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, assistant coach, and the offensive and defensive coordinators.
Common ...
.
[http://www.esks.com/article/eskimos-announce-2012-coaching-staff Eskimos announce 2012 coaching staff]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Derrell
1971 births
Living people
American football wide receivers
American players of Canadian football
Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees
Canadian Football League Rookie of the Year Award winners
Canadian football slotbacks
Canadian football wide receivers
Edmonton Elks players
New Orleans Saints players
Players of American football from Miami
Scottish Claymores players
Miami Northwestern Senior High School alumni
Texas Tech Red Raiders football players
Toronto Argonauts players
Players of Canadian football from Miami