USF Football Player Profile: #89 TE Mitchell Wilcox

#89 TE Mitchell Wilcox, Junior, 6’5”, 245 lbs.

2017: Mitchell was a preseason Mackey Award Watch Lister, ending the season with 17 catches for 158 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games. Nate wrote about how in Sterlin Gilbert’s offense in 2017, Wilcox along with former Bull TE Elkanah Dillon were used as blocking H-backs more than as receiving threats, a stark contrast from his role in Willie Taggart’s Gulf Coast Offense a year earlier.

2016: Wilcox joined a very exclusive club of USF players who scored a touchdown the first time they touched the ball* when he caught a 21-yard pass from Brett Kean to close out the scoring in the Bulls’ season-opening win over Towson. He finished with 12 catches for 278 yards and a pair of scores, the other coming on a fantastic catch against UConn where he ripped the ball out of Obi Melifonwu’s hands. (Melifonwu was only drafted in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft.)

Mitchell didn’t qualify for USF’s season yards per reception record because there’s a 20-catch minimum, but Wilcox’s 23.2 yard average was only one-tenth of a yard behind Clif Dell’s record from 1998.

2015: Wilcox redshirted.

How He Came to USF: Mitchell played both ways at Tarpon Springs High School. In his senior year, he caught 21 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns as a tight end. As a defensive lineman, Wilcox recorded 61 tackles, 17.5 for loss. Mitchell committed to USF early in the 2015 recruiting cycle and stuck with them all the way through.

Recruiting Rankings: 247, ESPN, and Rivals all gave Wilcox three stars.

Follow Him On... Mitchell's private Instagram feed is at mitch_w89, and his Twitter is @wilcox_mitchell.

* - Eventually we’ll figure out the complete list, but we know Brian Surcy is on it from USF’s first game ever.