OAKLEY, Calif. — The nation's No. 12 football recruit and
arguably No. 1 tweeter announced his five college finalists on Monday — Cal, Oregon, Oklahoma, Florida and Wisconsin.
That was noteworthy to many college football fans.
Which college Joe Mixon is leaning
toward is anyone's guess, but there's
no questioning his loyalty to Freedom.
File photo by Ernie Abrea
But it was what
Freedom (Oakley) senior running back
Joe Mixon was screaming about Friday that has his coach screaming his praises.
During a four-way scrimmage in Danville, the 6-foot-2, 207-pound senior, normally composed and emotionally tame on the field, flailed his fists, exalted teammates and all but lifted 5-6, 133-pound
Sebastian Correria off the ground.
According to Freedom coach Kevin Hartwig, Correria, affectionately known as "Sea Bass," ripped off a couple of nifty runs, setting off a huge roar from Mixon and the rest of the Falcons. Sea Bass is third on the depth chart.
"It was good for people to see," Hartwig said. "Everyone knows what kind of player
Joe is and that he's a big national recruit. But he's such a good teammate and team leader. That's big."
It's big because Mixon is such a big-time recruit. Huge.
The No. 1 recruit in California
according to 247sports.com, in fact, and No. 12 in the nation overall. Rivals ranks him 10th overall nationally.
The Bay Area region hasn't claimed the state's top recruit since
Monte Vista (Danville) quarterback Kyle Wright in 2002, when he earned the Gatorade National Player of the Year award. Three years before that,
De La Salle (Concord) linebacker and running back D.J. Williams was No. 1 in the state and though known for his bone-crushing hits, even rushed for 1,974 yards and 33 touchdowns.
The region has boasted other top running backs as well, like
Oakland Tech's Marshawn Lynch, who was the state's top recruit in 2003, but it was also because he was such a defensive presence. A year before that De Le Salle's Maurice Jones-Drew was an All-American but some recruiters stayed away because of his lack of height.
In 2006, the greatest rushing season in Northern California history to that point was put up by Jahvid Best, a two-time state champion sprinter from
Salesian (Richmond). He went for 3,325 rushing yards and 48 touchdowns his senior season. Though a blue-chip recruit for certain who eventually ended up at Cal and the NFL, some also questioned Best's lack of size and small-school competition.
As a sheer recruitable running back, the Bay Area perhaps hasn't seen any more acclaimed than Mixon, who has run the 100 meters in 10.96 seconds. He's durable, shifty, strong and perhaps best of all, blessed with superb hands. He's an every-down back who does it all.
"If there's anything he needs to work on it's his pass blocking," Hartwig said. "But he knows it, has worked on it and is getting considerably better."
A San Francisco native, Mixon wanted to be Michael Vick as a youth, but when a kid on the team had a better arm, he moved to running back. "The first scrimmage, I think the first five times I touched the ball I scored a touchdown," he told Sports Stars magazine editor Chace Bryson. "After that, it was a wrap."
Known for his activity on twitter, Mixon's recruiting process has gained national attention. He recently tweeted that he was canceling a recruiting trip to Texas A&M and visiting Cal instead. He likes the fast-paced offense implemented by new Cal coach Sonny Dykes and how he might be utilized.
The new facilities and staying near a support system that features his mom Alise, Hartwig, assistant and former NFL back Ron Rivers and his dad John, a former running back for Jefferson-Daily City and Troy University in Alabama.
Joe Mixon, Freedom
Courtesy of 247sports
With more than 50 offers, Mixon finally narrowed his choices to five on Monday. He has officials trips planned for all five except Oregon and he plans to make his announcement at the Army All-American Game in January. Where is he leaning? A pair of
247sports.com recruiting experts differ, Justin Hopkins thinks Oklahoma and J.C. Shurburtt says Cal.
I side with Shurburtt here, but so much can change in four months — especially at with recruiting trips.
For now, he's just focused on leading a youthful Freedom team, which hosts
Amador Valley (Pleasanton) on Friday and is ranked
fifth in the North Coast Section.
Mixon told a
Preps2Preps.com reporter Saturday his goals are to rush for 3,000 yards and score 50 touchdowns this season, which are well off his numbers of 1,483 and 28 last year. He also wants his team to go 10-0 in the regular season and make a deep playoff push. (Note: De La Salle is in Freedom's division and hasn't been beaten in Northern California play since 1991).
Mixon has a young but talented offense — a sophomore, three juniors and a senior — a first-year, but again talented quarterback in
Joe Sweeney, and other skill threats such as
Nick Garcia and
Aaron Mullins.
With Division I standouts Darrell Daniels (Washington) and
Colin Kaepernick look-a-like Dante Mayes (Nevada) gone, Mixon might get 30 touches a game this season.
Or he might just be the ultimate decoy, coach and cheerleaders for guys like Sea Bass.
"We definitely have four or five other legitimate weapons on the team" Hartwig said. "But we'll use Joe any and every way we can."
E-mail MaxPreps senior writer and columnist Mitch Stephens at mstephens@maxpreps.com or follow him on Twitter @MitchMashMax.
