For many Virginia Tech fans — this author included — James Mitchell’s career in Blacksburg is about what could have been. A four-star recruit from Union High School in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, in the class of 2018, Mitchell became an immediate contributor for the Hokies.
As a true freshman in 2018, Mitchell appeared in all 13 games, mainly on special teams. He did start one game at tight end but did not record any statistics.
In 2019, Mitchell split time with Dalton Keene, and the Hokies should have had an elite duo of pass-catching tight ends, but to the previous offensive staff’s ineptitude or outright refusal to feature the tight end, it never happened.