Arkansas Veteran Playing Best Football of His Career at Just the Right Time

FAYETTEVILLE — If a player isn't striving to get better every single day, then football might not be for them.

For fifth-year senior Miguel Mitchell, he's played his best two games over the previous two weeks, not only in a Razorback uniform but his entire career. The veteran safety has recorded six tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack and two interceptions at critcal moments of games against Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

That has to be one of the more encouraging signs for first-year coach Ryan Silverfield and his staff, who are seeing gradual gains in practice translate to the field during game. Mitchell's pair of interceptions have come in the fourth quarter — where games are won and lost.

Before signing with Florida in the 2022, the 6-foot-2 219 pound defensive back fielded interest from programs such as Oregon, USC, Tennessee, LSU, Wake Forest, Memphis, several other Group of Five teams, and was once committed to Vanderbilt.

Silverfield liked his chances, but Mitchell opted to go the SEC route like several other players on the Razorbacks current team. However, they wanted to play at Arkansas, other league schools or even another Power Conference program.

"I don’t know if I’ve ever shared this with you guys, I saw Miguel Mitchell play live in high school. Went to one of his games," Silverfield said on Wednesday. "The relationship extends back to before he committed to Florida. One of his teammates played for us for a long time a Memphis. So I’ve known Miguel and I’ve watched him."

Mitchell has grown over the past two seasons at Arkansas. Even with an interim defensive staff in place over the final seven games of the 2025 season, he had fought each game instead of mailing it in.

This season, while it's provided plenty of ups and downs has given him the opportunity to improve by grading out with a 67.2 overall defensive grade, 66.8 in pass rushing opportunities and 71.0 in coverage, according to Pro Football Focus.

"But you get to literally … we talked about the gradual improvements of a player," Silverfield continued. "Sometimes people say, well, he’s a senior, he’s a fifth-year, how much better can he get? Well, we’re seeing that and I think it’s a renewed sense of energy for him. Like you see him out there … he’s been over at practice, and he’s like, ‘Coach,’ even though we’re practicing pretty hard and getting after it, he’s like, ‘Man, I’m really happy.’

"And obviously he’s having some success and we’re going to need him to continue to step up and do those things. But I think you saw Miguel Mitchell’s best two games these last two, and I guess, what I hope is three weeks from now we can say, ‘Hey, we saw you in his best two games these last two games and it continues to get better throughout the season."

It's never too late to keep improving, and that's the kind of development Arkansas needs from its veterans. That can go a long way fo this staff, especially with the Razorbacks trying to build some momentum coming out of their bye week and into the transfer portal window.

With Missouri coming to Fayetteville on Halloween night, Mitchell has another opportunity to prove that even after five years of college football, there's still untapped potential left in his game.

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