Mitchell Named to the Capital One Academic All-America First Team
12/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
MACON, Ga. – Mercer University sophomore Tee Mitchell has been named to the 2015 Capital One Academic All-America First Team, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) this afternoon.
"Our entire program is very proud of Tee for receiving such an incredible honor," said head coach Bobby Lamb. "I can't say enough about what he has accomplished both on and off the field. He has set the standard for our program going forward."
Mitchell was one of two Southern Conference student-athletes to be named to the first team for the prestigious award, while joining Georgia Southern's Matt Dobson as the only representatives from Georgia's seven NCAA Division I institutions. He is just the eighth sophomore since 2002 to attain first-team status, joining Pittsburgh defensive lineman Vince Crochunis (2002); Florida's Tim Tebow (2007); South Dakota State's Kyle Minett (2008); Notre Dame's Christian Robinson (2014); Stanford's Christian McCaffery (2015) and North Dakota State's Greg Manard (2015).
He becomes the first Mercer football player to receive Academic All-America honors, while marking the 11th time that a Mercer student-athlete has been honored since 2005 and the fifth in the past three years. Mitchell is also the seventh member of the Bears' athletics program to garner first team accolades.
The national recognition adds to a growing list of honors this postseason for Mitchell, as he was named a unanimous All-SoCon Second Team selection by the league's coaches and media after a break-out season.
He emerged as the Bears' explosive back as a part of the league's top running back tandem with Alex Lakes. The running back fell just shy of becoming the program's second 1,000-yard rusher, posting a team-high 946 yards on the ground to go along with six rushing touchdowns. Mitchell also added 14 receptions for 189 yards and two scores en route to 103.2 all-purpose yards per game, which ranked fourth in the SoCon.
A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Mitchell is pursuing a bachelor's degree in management, while maintaining a 3.81 grade-point average. He was selected to the 2014-15 Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll.
To be eligible for Capital One Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic status at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.
Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 16,000 student-athletes in Division I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
Mercer CoSIDA Academic All-America Honorees
Will Emerson, Men's Basketball (2004-05)
Will Emerson, Men's Basketball (2005-06)
Mike Armstrong, Baseball (2005-06)
Billy Burns, Baseball (2010-11)
Will Betts, Men's Soccer (2012-13)
Derrick Workman, Baseball (2012-13)
Michael Massi, Baseball (2013-14)
Derrick Workman, Baseball (2013-14)
Ashani Samuels, Men's Soccer (2014-15)
Natalie Shiver, Softball (2014-15)
Tee Mitchell, Football (2015-16)
