By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher Ubuntu. It’s a word not many people have ever heard of, yet it is printed on the back of the Cedar Creek High School football team’s 2015 season T-shirts, as in #ubuntu. It’s a South African philosophy that translates roughly to mean the belief in a universal bond — sort of a cooler way to say “one for all, all for one.” The back of the T-shirts say “I am because we are” #ubuntu. With senior wide receiver Ahmir Mitchell receiving unprecedented media coverage in this area as one of the most highly recruited players in the last several decades, the Pirates’ coaching staff felt it was important to impress upon the rest of the players that they are just as important to Cedar Creek’s success this year as their star player. And, to Mitchell’s credit, he hasn’t let all the attention get to his head. He’s quick to mention that without the rest of the offensive unit, he wouldn’t be putting up the kind of numbers he has the last three years. It would be easy for Mitchell to walk around Cedar Creek like the BMOC — Big Man On Campus. It would be hard to blame a 17-year-old boy to start feeling like a rock star when he has premier college coaches such as Nick Saban of Alabama, Jim Harbaugh of Michigan and Jimbo Fisher of Florida State fawning over him for more than a year. But Mitchell has stayed humble and focused as he heads into his final year of high school football despite the near non-stop attention from college coaches and the media. The straight-A student knows he will graduate early from Cedar Creek before heading to the University of Michigan in January. He selected the Wolverines over his other final choice, defending national champion Ohio State. While he plans on enrolling in January to get a jump start on his college career, he still has plenty left to accomplish in his high school career. The Pirates graduated more than a dozen seniors from a squad that went 7-3, but missed out on the state playoffs after early losses to Buena Regional and Bridgeton. Mitchell said he wants to make some noise on the big stage of the state playoffs before he’s done at Cedar Creek. Big brother What helps not only Mitchell but his teammates, as well, is the fact that the Pirates have been through this kind of thing before. Ahmir’s older brother, Damon “Duwop” Mitchell, currently is a redshirt sophomore at the University of Arkansas and when he attended Cedar Creek he was a coveted recruit, ranked No. 11 nationally when it came to dual-threat quarterbacks. As a senior at Cedar Creek, Duwop passed for more than 2,000 yards, rushed for more than 1,000, and accounted for more than 40 touchdowns. Having an older brother who has been through the process to lean on has been invaluable for Mitchell. Cedar Creek senior wide receiver Ahmir Mitchell was one of the most highly recruited players in the nation for more than a year before finally deciding to sign with the University of Michigan in late August. (Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O'Sullivan) Cedar Creek senior wide receiver Ahmir Mitchell was one of the most highly recruited players in the nation for more than a year before finally deciding to sign with the University of Michigan in late August. (Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan) “It’s been great for him, especially early on in the recruiting process. Duwap had a chance to talk to him about it and kind of help him have a level head, take his time with the decisions he has to make,” said Pirates head coach Tim Watson, himself an outstanding high school and college player who nearly made the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks before an injury derailed his career. “Duwop is doing pretty well now. He went through some times at Arkansas where he was frustrated early on. … he went from being the star to not playing, and having to learn everything (at a new position), and that was frustrating for him. But the reports are that he’s a whole new person and he’s turned things around, so that’s the type of stuff that we share with the team and those are the types of things I think Ahmir can gain a lot from.” “Duwop is a great role model. He’s doing big things at Arkansas, and he has been a big help. I think when Ahmir is in a rough spot, that’s the person he goes to because Duwop has been through the same thing he has,” said fellow Cedar Creek senior and close friend Louie Pitale. “He and I talk about the recruiting process all the time, not only for him, but for me as well. I’m always asking him for advice. He knows what is going on with the process because of how many coaches have contacted him. He’s come to me on a few occasions when it comes to things about recruiting, but for the most part he keeps things private. “He’s stayed humble through our coaching staff. Our coaching staff makes sure that anybody who thinks they are a big-time player, they make sure that kid stays humble. And Ahmir is the type of kid, in the games his competitive nature will come out, but off the field he is quiet and humble.” Mitchell said his older brother has done just what any good older brother should do — push him on the field, and be a mentor off the field. “I’ve always had high hopes and aspirations, especially with my brother being a great player. He was the No. 11 quarterback in the nation when he was a senior. Coming in, I wanted to be better than him. He was always pushing me, showing me the ropes and keeping me humble. You have to work for everything, especially coming from a small town in South Jersey,” Mitchell said. “Having my brother has been probably the biggest help through this entire journey. Even before I had great coaches at Cedar Creek he was always working with me in the backyard. Switching from running back to receiver, he knew I was going to have to work a lot on that and he was the main one working with me on the playbook. And just keeping me grounded. He would always make me do extra reps in the weight room. If coach said to do three sets of eight reps, he would make me do three sets of 12, with pushups in between. So he was always there to push me and make me better, and I try to do that now with the younger guys to try to make this program something big in South Jersey.” Hard work When Mitchell began his high school career, he was a wiry 160-pound running back. In the past three years, he has switched to wide receiver and worked his tail off in the weight room to carve his body into the kind that big-time college coaches are looking for. He has added more than 50 pounds to his frame, and now he is a 6-foot-3, 215-pound wideout that had college coaches salivating for more than 12 months. At the high school level, he is what is commonly referred to as “a beast.” Sure, when he gets to the Big Ten there will be plenty of guys like him, but for now, he is a man among boys. Just ask Pitale, who as a defensive back has to go up against him every day in practice. “He is probably the hardest worker we have in the weight room, every rep, and doing extra reps at the end. He’s working hard and really looking forward to college. I think he’s ready for it,” Pitale said. “The fact that he is a 6-foot-3, 215-pound wide receiver helps him a little bit. He’s fast, he knows how to attack the ball, he runs very clean routes. He’s a threat, there’s no doubt about that. When you’re guarding him you just have to try to make a play on the ball. There’s not much you can do against a kid that size. He’s lightning fast for how much he weighs and his size.” Nick Sartorio, another Pirates senior who plays wide receiver and tight end, said simply having a player with the size and speed that Mitchell possesses on the field every day in practice makes everyone better. “He helps us get better just by being on the team because we can watch him and see what he does. We have to go up against him every day in practice, and that helps everybody,” Sartorio said. Mitchell was a 160-pound running back as a freshman. In the past three years, he has worked hard to transform his body, and know weighs more than 200 pounds. Mitchell was a 160-pound running back as a freshman. In the past three years, he has worked hard to transform his body, and know weighs more than 200 pounds. “He’s a physical presence. He’s probably the most impressive physical specimen I’ve seen and I’ve been coaching for more than 10 years. He is a beast,” Watson said. “A big thing he has, from an attitude standpoint, is he thinks he can score any time he touches the ball. He has some elusiveness and he does a lot of things correctly, but he still has a ton he needs to work on. But he uses his physical abilities as good as anybody I’ve ever seen.” What makes Mitchell even more of a threat is that he plays with a bit of a chip on his shoulder. He spent most of his life trying to prove himself. He didn’t want to be known just as Duwop’s little brother. He might be bigger, stronger and faster now, but he still feels the need to prove himself every time he steps onto the field. Combining that kind of desire with his physical skills is what has made him a top 100 recruit nationally and one of the best players in New Jersey. “I only had two touchdowns my freshman year, but I was always eager to get on the field and do something once I had the ball in my hands. I’ve always had that determination, and that stems from my brother and just growing up loving the game. When I get the ball I just try to make as much happen as I can for my teammates. I know if I give them my all, they will give me their all. Nothing comes without the offensive line, the quarterback getting me the ball, the running backs doing the little things that help me out. They give me their all and I give it right back,” Mitchell said. “I’ve put on some weight over the years, just working hard and getting after it with my teammates. With the speed, that’s something we always work on as a team. I feel like my game is really elevating and that I’m ready for the next level, but there is always room for improvement.” Trying to get people to know the name Ahmir as well as they know Damon has been a real driving force, Mitchell said. “I always look back to my freshman year. No one knew about me, I was just always Duwop’s little brother, I never had a name for myself. When I did make plays it was always ‘look at what Damon’s little brother just did.’ It was never Ahmir Mitchell. So that really humbles me,” Mitchell said. He said he also knows just how quickly football can become a thing of the past. One injury, on any level, can be enough to force an athlete to hang up the shoulder pads for good. “Looking at guys like coach Watson, who went to the NFL and never had injuries and then he got hurt and how it can all be taken away so easily,” Mitchell said. “So I don’t let all the hype get to me. Come next year, I will be a freshman and I’ll just be another guy. I enjoy it while it lasts in high school, but once you are a freshman in college you are just another guy until you make a name for yourself all over again.” Another thing that separates Mitchell from the average 4- or 5-star recruit is the he brings that same dedication to the classroom. His grade-point average is above 3.5, and he has been working hard to take extra classes to gain the necessary credits to graduate high school early so he can be an early enrollment athlete in college and get a semester of spring practice in before his freshman year officially begins in the fall of 2016. “I have probably the greatest student counselor, Karen Cavalieri, she helps me out with everything. I’m probably at her office more than I am in class with all this college stuff going on,” Mitchell said. “I have a great staff behind me at Cedar Creek, both on the football field and academically. And that’s one of the main things (Cavalieri) tells me is that I’m a student first, and that’s one of the things people forget about. But I know school is the main focus in this entire process.” Taking it all in While the recruiting process has added a lot of pressure onto the shoulders of a boy who won’t turn 18 until next May, Mitchell said he is keeping it all in perspective. He knows how blessed he is to be in a position in which every major college coach in the country is calling and sending letters, and national media outlets want to feature him in stories and videos. He knows this will only happen once, so he’s living it up. “Right now I’m just trying to get healthy and mainly focusing on this season. Making the decision, I think that will be a big relief off my shoulders before the seasons starts. I just want to focus on the squad and hopefully get a state championship,” Mitchell said. “It is wild having coaches that, when you are younger, you’re thinking, ‘man, if I get a scholarship offer from there, I’m definitely going.’ But when you have everybody, it’s like, ‘dang, where do I want to go?’ But it’s definitely a humbling experience. Just three years ago I was looking at these schools and wondering if I could play for them and thinking that one day I might have that opportunity, and now having that opportunity, it’s a very humbling experience and it shows you how far you can get in life if you keep working hard. “I’m just trying to sit back and take this all in. You only get to have an experience like this once in your lifetime. You just have to enjoy it, take your time and, and embrace it all. It’s very overwhelming at times, but you have to sit back and embrace it. I’m just taking it day by day, enjoying it with my team. Before I know it, I’ll be out of here, so the main thing is to enjoy it and take it all in.” His teammates said they don’t mind Mitchell getting so much attention. In a way, it benefits them as well. Every college coach who comes to see Mitchell also gets to see the other players on the team. And when it comes to the recruiting process, getting seen is what it’s all about, no matter what level a player wants to be at when he gets to college. “He’s fun to be around and he’s a good friend. I think (the attention) is great because you have colleges coming to watch him work out, and we are working out with him, so it kind of feels like they are there for the whole team. It feels like they are there to watch everybody and not just him,” Sartorio said. “It’s been exciting experience to be invited to all these camps and be able to showcase my ability. Also, bringing the scouts here (to Cedar Creek) for guys like Bo Melton and Owen Bowles, Isaiah Watson, some of the other top players, bringing the eyes here so that the guys can get looks,” Mitchell said. “It’s not easy coming from a small town to become known. It’s a lot easier if you play for Paramus or an established program like that, but that’s what we are trying to do here at Cedar Creek. We are trying to build a program and potentially build a powerhouse.” Added Pitale, “I don’t think any of our players think like that because of the type of person Ahmir is. He doesn’t want all the attention. He would be perfectly fine if he went to practice every day if Rivals didn’t show up, and Bleacher Report didn’t show up. It doesn’t matter to him, he just loves the game, and our teammates and I know that. So we don’t really mind about him getting all the attention.” Mama knows best As Mitchell began to whittle down his college choices, eventually settling on either Michigan or Ohio State in August, he knew there was one very important person in his life who had to be on board with whatever decision he made — his mom, April Bell. She has been there for him through thick and thin, he said, ever since he first strapped on a helmet and shoulder pads in the youth football leagues in Mays Landing. “She might be enjoying it just as much as him,” Pitale said. “She gets to go to Michigan, she gets to go to Ohio State with him. He’s making sure his decision is what his mom likes, too, and not just what he likes, and that’s really important to him. He’s very close to his mother.” “S
he has helped me and my brother throughout the entire journey. Ever since I was a kid she’s always been running up and down the sideline screaming my name, telling me to keep my legs driving and stuff like that. She’s always been my No. 1 supporter,” Mitchell said. “She knows a lot and I’ve definitely taken her insight when it came down to deciding where I want to go.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays [adsense]