For Aztec Receiver, It’s All Relative : Mitchell Met the Mitchells

DeAngelo Mitchell found himself in the most public of places for the most private of reunions.

Last June, Mitchell, a wide receiver on the San Diego State football team, was to be introduced to the half-brother he never met, by the father he never knew, on the infield of San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

This was the same stadium that Mitchell turned into a personal showcase on Saturday, making his first major-college catch in a 52-42 victory over Cal State Long Beach, leading the Aztecs in receiving, and catching a 50-yard touchdown pass that gave quarterback Todd Santos more than 10,000 yards passing in his college career.

But the occasion in June was a time for more heartfelt encounter.

It was Father’s Day and camera day. Earl Mitchell of Chicago had brought his camera.

He took DeAngelo onto the field and introduced him to his half-brother, Kevin Mitchell, who was then the Padre third baseman.

“He (Kevin) just gave me a funny stare,” DeAngelo said. “He said, ‘You’re my brother, huh?’ ”

It made for an uncomfortable few minutes as Earl Mitchell asked DeAngelo and Kevin to pose together on the field for photos. Father, son and son had never been together before, even though Kevin and DeAngelo were reared in San Diego. DeAngelo, 21, had never even known his father until the meeting.

“Nobody really knew what to say,” said Kevin, 25, who is now with the San Francisco Giants. “It was a little tense.”

In the months since that June reunion, DeAngelo and Kevin have kept in touch.

“He came over to the house one day and we talked for like two hours on the steps,” Kevin said. “We even poised for a family photo with all my other brothers. It’s nice to know I have a brother playing my favorite sport--football.”

But until the past two games, DeAngelo, who attended San Diego High School and Mesa College, almost didn’t have a chance to play for the Aztecs. Academic difficulties kept him off the field.

Mitchell transferred to SDSU fully expecting to be competing for playing time at receiver. Since SDSU had a pass-oriented offense and only two experienced receivers returning--Alfred Jackson and Monty Gilbreath--Mitchell said he figured to get a good look.

After all, he had just finished a sophomore season in which he had broken almost every receiving record at Mesa. His 71 catches for 1,033 yards and his 116 career catches were all school records. His 14 touchdowns led the Mission Conference in scoring and were just one short of the school record.

He chose SDSU over Illinois (“That was my first trip outside California, and when I felt that cold weather, I knew I couldn’t handle that”), Oregon State, Pittsburgh, San Jose State, Texas A&M; and Washington, among others.

“I wanted to go to the school with the best quarterback,” said Mitchell, a 5-foot 11-inch, 170-pound junior.

He selected Santos and the Aztecs. But no sooner did he enroll at SDSU for the spring term than his troubles began. He learned that there was a dispute over transferring his credits from Mesa. Until that could be resolved, he would not be eligible to play.

“He didn’t have a good spring,” Coach Denny Stolz said. “He just didn’t show any progress.”

Mitchell had other problems, too. He grew up never knowing his father. He said he was reared by his mother until she died when he was 8 years old. “She died in her sleep,” Mitchell said. “It’s still unknown why. She was only 29.”

Mitchell was reared by an aunt and uncle. They were the ones who gave him the nickname “Yo-Yo.” “I was always hopping up and down in the car wanting to go shopping,” Mitchell said. “They called me a little yo-yo.”

As for his father, Mitchell said he never tried to locate him. “I really didn’t want to see him or talk to him,” he said.

He has not heard from his father since his visit in June.

“And I don’t want to,” he said.

In August, Mitchell returned to SDSU for preseason camp, hoping to re-establish himself in the competition at receiver. But his eligibility remained in doubt. Not until the end of September was he cleared to play. By then, he was firmly rooted on the scout team. At least seven receivers were rated ahead of him.

“Quite frankly, he didn’t look good on the scout team,” Stolz said. “He didn’t have a fast start. I can’t cut it any other way.”

But even when Mitchell was academically ineligible, even when he was toiling halfheartedly on the scout team, even when his family problems weighed on his mind, he believed his chance would come.

He just wasn’t sure he could wait.

“I wanted to quit,” he said. He almost did.

Mitchell figured he was wasting one of his two remaining seasons of eligibility. He was not eligible for a redshirt season because he had attended classes for a year before he played two seasons at Mesa.

“Coming off the year I had at Mesa, I was a little depressed about practicing with the scout team,” Mitchell said. “I was always looking over at the first team, knowing I could be over there. The first week, it was all right, but after awhile, I started getting down. I was just lollygagging around. After a month, (the frustration) started building up. I couldn’t handle it anymore.”

Only a talk with Dana Bible, SDSU receivers coach, kept Mitchell from leaving school and moving to the Bay Area.

“I have a cousin who goes to school at Berkeley,” Mitchell said. “He said there are good job opportunities up there. But Coach Bible told me I had the skills to play. I had to keep working. Something would come up.”

Said Bible: “I had several talks with DeAngelo. He had to understand that if he stuck with it, he would get a chance. He had to look at things clearly.”

But just when Mitchell had become eligible to play, an uncle became seriously ill and was hospitalized. He missed the game against Texas El Paso Oct. 10 to visit.

It was then, when Mitchell was near his lowest emotionally, that his opportunity came. Patrick Rowe sprained his ankle, Randy Peterson required arthroscopic surgery on his knee and Jimmy Raye was switched to defense. Suddenly, the receiver-rich Aztecs were short at the position.

Mitchell was recalled from the scout team. He played briefly against Stanford Oct. 17 without catching a pass. When Michael Broome left the game against Long Beach with a concussion, Mitchell was thrust into the spotlight.

He responded in a way that surprised even Stolz.

“I didn’t know he would be that outstanding in his first chance,” Stolz said. “He made the two or three catches by which you judge a receiver. He made the great sideline catch; he made the streak-burn catch, and he made the catch over the middle in traffic--all in one ballgame.”

Mitchell might be remembered most for the ‘streak-burn’ catch--in which he took the defensive back deep, stopped, then took off again--because that was the one that gave Santos more than 10,000 yards and clinched the victory. But it was the first catch that meant the most to Mitchell.

“I had the first-game jitters real bad,” Mitchell said.

He felt the butterflies when he heard his number called in the huddle. But he got the willies when his defender did the same thing.

“I was a little nervous after Mike Broome got hit,” Mitchell said. “(The defensive back) said, ‘No. 83, you’re next. You saw what happened to No. 15 (Broome).’ ”

His fears aside, Mitchell cut across the middle and made a catch for a 15-yard gain. It was the start of one of the most productive games by an Aztec receiver this season. He finished with 5 catches for 135 yards.

“I never doubted myself,” Mitchell said. “I knew I could play on this team. It was just a matter of getting in, getting my chance.”

Aztec Notes

Mike Hooper, senior defensive end, will not play at Hawaii Saturday because he aggravated an injured big toe on his right foot Saturday against Long Beach, trainer Don Kaverman said. Mario Mitchell, a senior cornerback who missed the Long Beach game with a sprained ankle, will be available to play Saturday, Kaverman said.