Dynamic and charismatic, Joe Mixon plays football with electrifying energy, great balance, and a desire for the end zone matched by few players in the history of the game.
Folks who’ve watched him play in the East Bay compare him to No-Cal greats like Marshawn Lynch and Onterrio Smith.
Mixon’s the one: A 5-star player who has shined at a dozen clinics and camps, Joe Mixon is one of the top running backs in the country with offers from 50 schools. (touchthebanner.com photo)
This afternoon he tweeted out his Top Ten, which didn’t include Notre Dame, USC or UCLA.
Oregon made the cut, along with Tennessee, Florida, Texas A&M, Cal, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Ohio St., Oregon St. and Washington. The Beavers were the first D-1 school to offer, after the St. Mary’s camp the summer before his junior year.
Gary Campbell and the Ducks offered the end of May. Mixon told Justin Hopkins of Duck Territory, “I was so hyped when (Coach Gary Campbell) was telling me I had a full ride to Oregon. I was jumping up and down on the phone, but tried to play it cool.”
Powerfully built at 6-1, 210, Mixon is football fast rather than a speedster in the 100 meters. His personal best last spring in the track event was 10.84, with most of his times in the 11.2 range. Football 40 times range between a 4.68 at The Opening to 4.53 at a combine earlier in the year.
His football stats tell another story. Playing for Freedom High in Oakley, California, Mixon dominated East Bay competition last season with 201 carries for 1,443 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also caught 18 passes for 383 yards and seven touchdowns. He averaged 7.2 yards a carry, 6.63 as a sophomore.
In camps and clinics against the best competition in the nation, the Army All-American Combine, The Opening, The Five Star Skills Challenge in Chicago, Mixon stands out. He’s elusive and plays with tremendous energy. He displays great route-running skills, body control, and moves. Often dancing in place before a kickoff or a play, he’s a tightly-sprung athletic dynamo that exudes confidence and playmaking ability, a natural leader with exceptional charisma and drive.
The 5-star sensation is almost certainly a three-and-done player at the college level; he’s expressed a high degree of motivation to improve life for his family. He told the website collegelevelathletes.com, “Getting to college, that’s the motivation. I’ve gotta succeed in the classroom. I took my SAT before I went to L.A. on Saturday. Right now I’ve got a 3.25 GPA.”
Every recruiting service in the country includes the versatile tailback in their top 50. He also excels as a receiver out of the backfield or returning punts, taking the ball in with a natural ease and grace that eludes most running backs, making a very smooth transition from the catch to full acceleration. Running the football he shows terrific energy and purpose, very tough to bring down, a master of the one-hand down technique, adept at delivering a blow and shedding a tackle.
Gary Campbell and the Ducks have sent their last 10 running backs to the NFL. Mixon, nicknamed PrimeTime, has the presence and the essence to be another one. He wants to major in business, and he’d find a welcome home at the new Football Performance Center and the Lundquist School.
But the Aggies, Badgers, Buckeyes, Schooners, Badgers and Gators will pursue him with urgency and honeyed promises of glory. He’s scheduled to announce at the UnderArmour All-American Game in January.
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