“He’s the kid we want to throw the ball to on the goal-line…” ~ Head Coach Matt Kitchie, Lennard Longhorns.
Ruskin, February 8, 2019- Lennard’s own, 2020 wide receiver and linebacker put his body on the line to step out of his comfort zone and contribute on both sides of the ball; despite the Longhorn’s somewhat disheartening, negative record this past season. Let’s grasp a greater understanding of the BCP camper and workhorse athlete who personifies the meaning of a TEAM player in this Thursday’s quote-based piece.
“I’m working on my speed, strength, and coordination this offseason; training constantly and getting as much as possible out of the weight room. Along with staying in shape in order to handle the coming workload. My team and I are looking forward to a playoff run. I am looking forward to proving myself as a dominant two-way player while setting records on the back end,” Kourtland exclaims.
“The guys love him and he’s pretty popular in school; I find him a little quiet- he doesn’t complain and when he lines up at receiver every defensive back wants a piece of that challenge,” Head Coach Kitchie says unequivocally.
From the film available, it’s without question that Kourtland indeed delivers in his double-sided duties; of course, he willingly focused on his defensive tasks and various coverage schemes, but you quickly gather he’s an utter choir to bring down, aided by his nasty stiff-arm and sheer size. The bigger they are the harder they fall, sure, but there’s nothing stiff about his stride in the open-field- arm tackles simply won’t cut it when trying to corral this tank.
“Every home game I sit in the same corner in our gym with headphones on listening to GlokkNine, Polo G, Quezrockk and Foolio and just think about everything and how I’m going to give it all for this team while eating ‘Mambas’,” Mitchell states about his pre-game motivation and rituals.
According to MaxPreps, in 6 games played as a junior in the orange and white, Mitchell being the second-leading tackler, recorded 20 total tackles, 6 solo and snagged one reception for 59 yards.
“It’s great. We are always doing something to train and build chemistry- we’re basically always together; that’s a brother and we are usually working on our timing in routes,” the tweener talent remarks when asked about his on-field relationship with his QB.
“It was a different year for Kourtland, his sophomore year was my first year, and we ran into some quarterback problems as our starter got hurt and we put in our young guy. We needed help on defense, particularly a need at linebacker this year so, selflessly he agreed and was our second-leading tackler I believe. Kourtland has huge upside, his potential is truly limitless- plus, he’s got the body of a Greek god- ripped up like a champ and we’re hoping to utilize him most at receiver this year,” the Head Coach enlightens.
What you don’t see on paper is him being the first guy to the ball (if not, you can bet he’s assisting in tackling the ball carrier), coming down with a tipped interception (right place right time, thanks to his keen sense of where his responsibilities lie) a fumble recovery, blocked a field goal and WILL stop you dead in your tracks with his temple-like 6’2” 190-pound frame. He’s a yes man- something you should certainly not overlook, as that valuable and versatile trait of being a coachable player who will support a team at all costs shines above the numbers in many aspects.
Coach Kitchie wraps up whole-heartedly, “I think his potential is better as a wide receiver that plays tight end and not a tight end that plays wide receiver; he’s becoming more physical, matured and reading defenses instead of just running his routes. All pluses, no negatives from him in my eyes and he’s the kid we want to throw the ball to on the goal-line.”
“We’ve been building for this year the past two years- this group of kids have bought into what we’re aiming to accomplish, our offensive linemen are ridiculously good, and we are hoping to develop a good passing game with this young QB here for these receivers. Kourtland’s a big body that we hope to see a lot of first downs and touchdowns with this 2019 season.”
Vaughan Sixbury, BCP Contributor