From small-town Utah to big-time college football: How BYU’s Bruce Mitchell made the leap

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From small-town Utah to big-time college football: How BYU’s Bruce Mitchell made the leap

Quarterback Jake Retzlaff and offensive lineman Bruce Mitchell as they walk off the field as BYU holds their first fall football practice in Provo on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. With starting center Connor Pay sidelined with an injury, Mitchell filled in admirably in his absence. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Jay Drew · Deseret News

Wed, Oct 16, 2024 ·

7 min read

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After the No. 13 BYU Cougars waxed Arizona 41-19 at LaVell Edwards Stadium last Saturday afternoon, quarterback Jake Retzlaff jokingly suggested that four-year starting center Connor Pay — who is currently out with a left foot fracture — could stay sidelined for as long as he wants.

"He is a team-first guy. He will do whatever anybody out here asks him to do for this team. And he's done that from Day 1."

"I mean, Connor Pay, put your feet up, bro. Relax," Retzlaff said, drawing laughter in the postgame interview room.

Retzlaff could afford to cut it up a bit because he had played one of his best games in 10 starts in a BYU uniform, and because redshirt sophomore Bruce Mitchell had filled in admirably for Pay, despite making his first-ever start at center.

"Bruce played incredible, man," Retzlaff said.

Whether, or where, the 6-foot-4, 295-pound Mitchell, who was a defensive lineman his first two years in the BYU football program before switching to offensive line before spring ball last March, plays against Oklahoma State on Friday night (8:15 p.m. MDT, ESPN) remains to be seen.

The product of Kamas' South Summit High, who is from the tiny town of Oakley, was a third-string center and second-string guard when the season began. But when guards Sonny Makasini and Austin Leausa were both hurt a few weeks ago, Mitchell started at guard in the 38-9 win over Kansas State.

When Pay broke his foot early in the game against Baylor, Makasini played center. But he was injured again, so Mitchell got the nod for the Arizona game.

Offensive line coach TJ Woods said Makasini remains "questionable" for the Big 12 showdown with the Cowboys, so Mitchell very well could get his second-straight start at center. And that's OK.

"I think it pretty phenomenal, what he has been able to do, and it is a testament to Bruce, obviously, his character," Woods said Tuesday. "We got Bruce in the spring from the defensive line. He was willing and able and was all-in from the jump."

Woods said that Pay, who hopes to return for the Utah game Nov. 9 and has been seen at practices and games on the sidelines using a scooter to elevate his casted, fractured foot, has spent a lot of time working with Mitchell on the nuances of the craft.

"We call him 'Coach Pay' right now, because he is doing a heckuva job putting Bruce under his wing and helping him out," Woods said. "It was a tremendous performance last week for Bruce. We are excited about it."

Woods said Mitchell was able to make the transition because of his selflessness.

"He is a team-first guy. He will do whatever anybody out here asks him to do for this team. And he's done that from Day 1," Woods said. "Everything we have asked Bruce to do, he has done it, and (he) never said a word when he wasn't getting what he wanted when he wanted it. He just kept working, kept developing."

Woods said when the lights went on against Kansas State and Arizona, the moment wasn't too big for Mitchell, a jolly, good-natured giant who was also a serviceable basketball player for his high school hoops team.

"He is pretty even-keeled. He acts medium most of the time," Woods said. "I think that obviously helps him out in those settings. He wasn't nervous. He was ready to execute and go out there and play a good game."

Retzlaff said that Mitchell's playful nature surfaced before the game, when most players would have been nervous and uptight.

"Bruce is one of the most fun guys to be around in the locker room. I have the privilege of being a few lockers down from him. So we are good buddies," Retzlaff said. "… You thought for his first start at center in his career, he would be nervous, or trying to be too focused. That guy was making jokes more than I was tonight on the sidelines, which is saying something."

BYU center Bruce Mitchell prepares to snap the ball during the Cougars victory over Arizona Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo. | Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo

When it was time for Mitchell to make that all-important first snap, nobody on BYU's sideline was worried.

"I will be honest — there have been many times in my career when I have been holding my breath. I wasn't that way at all with Bruce. I don't think anybody was."

Woods said the game plan didn't change, before or during the contest, because a third-stringer was playing center.

"We just ran our offense," Woods said. "Again, that is a testament to him."

Making the move to offensive line

Playing for a small but accomplished high school football program at South Summit, Mitchell said he had only one scholarship offer from a Division I school — BYU.

"They offered me, and I didn't think I was going to do much better, so I committed," he said. "I felt pretty lucky. I was a BYU fan, definitely. I remember coming to games with my mom (Lisa) growing up. Now that I am here, it is so surreal to be playing in that stadium that I went to growing up. It is an awesome experience to be here."

Mitchell said the "small-town guys" on BYU's team, such as Beaver's Jake Eichorn and Levan's Blake Mangelson (Juab High), "try to stay together" and they take pride in making it from 2A schools in rural Utah to the Big 12.

After a two-year mission to Seattle for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mitchell married BYU distance runner Sadie Sargent in January 2022, then played in seven games his freshman season, four games his sophomore season, making a combined nine tackles.

After last season, he was called into defensive coordinator Jay Hill's office, and asked to move to the offensive side of the ball.

"To summarize the conversation, he told me I would make a better offensive lineman than defensive lineman, but they still loved me on the D line," Mitchell said. "This spring is when I made the transition to O line. It has helped that I played it in high school a little bit. There is a lot of carryover. The footwork is a little different. But being really strong has helped me transition to offensive line, for sure."

Mitchell said "no offense to all my defensive line teammates," but playing offensive line requires a lot more thinking.

"You gotta see blitzes and get in protections," he said. "It is definitely more mental of a game on the offensive line."

Then to get thrown it at center, which is the quarterback of the offensive line, pretty much, and Mitchell's assignment was daunting.

What Mitchell is doing "is super impressive," said right tackle Brayden Keim. "He has been up for the task. … Playing guard this year, but moving to center has just been really impressive. Watching his dedication and his attacking that opportunity and succeeding in it. I've been really impressed."

Hill said Mitchell's strength and intelligence made him a great candidate to make the switch.

"He plays with leverage," Hill said. "He can get his pads down. … He has the attributes that I thought related well to that side of the ball."

BYU center Bruce Mitchell prepares to snap the ball to quarterback Jake Retzlaff during the Cougars' victory over Arizona at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2024.

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