Mitchell ready to take leadership role on defense

One of the most pleasant surprises for the Georgia Tech defense last fall was the development of linebacker Brant Mitchell. He transitioned from a little-known freshman to a guy who played a lot of downs and showed the ability to make big plays.

There is no mystery about Mitchell this spring. Not only is the sophomore expected to start, he’s accepted a leadership role on the defense.

“P.J. (Davis) and I are the leaders of the defense,” Mitchell said. “We’ve got to work on doing everything right. When we’re told to do something, do it right, and set an example. Also a vocal aspect, on and off the field. I have to have my game on point all the time.”

Mitchell, a 6-foot-2, 235-pound product of the Webb School in Knoxville, Tenn., played in all 12 games last season and made three starts. He finished with 36 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack and two interceptions. He returned an interception against Virginia Tech for a touchdown.

Defensive coordinator Ted Roof has watched Mitchell grow at the position.

“I expect him to be a leader, but he expects himself to,” Roof said. “He’s not the only one we need leadership from. It’s natural for that position to force you out there a little bit and he’s not afraid of that.”

The same is expected from Davis, a 5-11, 230-pound senior from Cairo. Davis led the defense with 77 tackles and had 45 solo tackles. Like Mitchell, Davis played a lot as a true freshman and has played 39 games, starting 25 over the last two years.

“We’re working on tackling, ball skills … making sure we do the little things right,” Davis said.

Mitchell and Davis are the two most experienced players at linebacker, where underrated playmaker Tyler Marcordes and Dominique Noble graduated. But the Yellow Jackets are so deep at the position that Roof is playing mostly a base defense in the spring just to get a look at everyone.

“We want to get the linebackers evaluated because we’ve got a lot of them,” Roof said. “There are more bodies there and we want to get reps on tape and see how it shakes out.”

There is some marginal experience with sophomore Victor Alexander, who played 12 games and had nine tackles, junior Chase Alford, who had 11 tackles in 12 games, and junior Terrell Lewis, who had seven tackles in 12 games.

The spring also offers opportunities for Emmanuel Bridges, who graduated from Newnan High and enrolled at Georgia Tech in time to participate in spring drills, and David Curry, who came close to playing last year as a true freshman. Curry had an interception in the 11-on-11 portion of Saturday’s practice.

Christian Campbell update

The former quarterback is making the transition to safety. Roof said Campbell has shown a good attitude and willingness to tackle. He said, “He’s really raw and young at the position. We’ll keep working and see where it goes.”

Spring cleaning

Monday’s practice ended in a stalemate. Reports said quarterback Justin Thomas got loose for several big runs and that redshirt freshman B-back KirVonte Benson had a big runafter bouncing outside. … Shawn Davis, a redshirt freshman, isn’t expected to displace Harrison Butker as the team’s kicker. But Davis showed some leg with a 40-yard field goal on Saturday.

This story was originally published April 5, 2016 at 5:35 PM with the headline "Mitchell ready to take leadership role on defense."