TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — One of the questions that University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban fielded during his press conference on Tuesday evening was about the Auburn football player killed over the weekend and what he subsequently told his team.
“We feel horrible bad for Jakell Mitchell’s family,” he responded. “He’s a fine young man we recruited here.”
Mitchell, a freshman who was redshirting, was shot and killed at an apartment complex near the Auburn campus early Sunday morning.
Listed as a 6-foot-3, 218-pound H-back, Mitchell was considered a 3-star tight end from Opelika High School, where he missed his senior season after sustaining a knee injury. Nevertheless, 247Sports still rated him the 13th best prospect in the state.
“I think our players have to understand choices and decisions with the kind of people you are around, you sometimes you put yourself in bad situations,” Saban continued. “Hopefully, this is a circumstance they can learn something from and make better choices and decisions. We are just very sorry that something like this could happen.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his teammates and their whole organization.”
Auburn coach Gus Malzahn announced on Monday that the Tigers will wear Mitchell’s No. 31 as helmet decals during the upcoming Outback Bowl, where they’ll face Wisconsin.
Christopher Walsh has covered Alabama football since 2004 and is the author of 19 books. In his free time, he writes about college football.
