Quinyon Keaaron Mitchell (born July 18, 2001) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

of 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 ...

(NFL). He played

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 ...

for the

Toledo Rockets The Toledo Rockets are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Toledo. The Rockets compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The ...

, where he was a two-time all-conference selection. Mitchell was selected by the Eagles in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft.

Early life and high school

Mitchell was born on July 18, 2001, in

Williston, Florida Williston is a city in Levy County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 2,768. Histoy The city was established before 1885 by J.M. Willis, who named it after himself. Geography Williston is located at (29.386 ...

. He attended Williston High School in his hometown and played football, basketball, and ran track. He won three

letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

at Williston and in football totaled 86

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

, 19

pass deflections In American football, a pass deflected, also known as a pass deflection, a pass defended, a pass , a pass knockdown, or a pass breakup, is an incomplete pass that is caused by a defensive player. This is done by slapping or blocking the ball with ...

and eight

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

s in his career; he also played on offense and recorded 983 rushing yards and 11

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s with a 9.5 yards-per-carry average as a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

in 2019. Ranked a three-star recruit, he committed to play

for the

College career

Mitchell played all six games as a true

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

during the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

-shortened 2020 season, totaling seven tackles. He then started all 13 games in 2021 at

, totaling 34 tackles, eight pass breakups, one forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

and one fumble recovery, along with a sack. Mitchell remained a full-time starter in 2022, starting all 14 games while posting 41 tackles, 25 passes defended (which led the country), five interceptions, and 3.5 . He was named the national defensive player of the week after recording four interceptions and two pick sixes in a win over

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by th ...

; his four interceptions tied the school record. He was selected first-team All-

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

(MAC) and was a second-team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

honoree by the

Walter Camp Foundation The Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF) is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The organization also presents various awards. It is named in honor of foo ...

. In 13 games during the 2023 season, Mitchell compiled 41 total tackles, 18 passes defended, and one interception. He was named a semifinalist for the

Chuck Bednarik Award The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to the defensive player in college football as judged by the Maxwell Football Club to be the best in the United States. The award is named for Chuck Bednarik, a former college and professional Ame ...

, being Toledo's first player to earn the honor, and was chosen a first-team All-American, being the second back-to-back All-American in school history. He also was invited to the 2024 Senior Bowl.

Professional career

Mitchell was selected by the

in the first round (22nd overall) of the 2024 NFL draft.

References

External links

*
Philadelphia Eagles bioToledo Rockets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Quinyon 2001 births Living people American football cornerbacks People from Levy County, Florida Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from Florida Toledo Rockets football players