He played college football for The Citadel and holds school records for rushing yards in a season (1,647) and career (4,062).

As a senior in 1980 he was the second leading rusher in NCAA Division I-A behind Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers and was named a Third-Team Associated Press All-American; he was named Southern Conference Player of the Year and the South Carolina Amateur Athlete of the Year.

running back, Mitchell played for the Cardinals from 1981 to 1989 and ended his NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1990; he made a brief comeback with the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League in 1993.

The next day Mitchell was reassigned to another position within the university, ending his tenure as Southern's head coach after only 24 games.

[6] On January 17, 2024, days after a loss to the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round, Browns' head coach Kevin Stefanski fired Mitchell.

[citation needed] His older brother called him "Stump", because he was never intimidated by playing with kids bigger than he was.