When Davon Mitchell first started playing football in Alabama, he was a defensive end.

When he made the transition to Texas high school football before his freshman season, wanting to play football and be seen as the next great player to come out of Allen High School, he soon found that defensive end wasn’t going to be an option for him anymore, seeing a roster filled with good defensive linemen.

“I didn’t want to wait behind anyone,” Mitchell said.

The transition between defensive end and tight end wasn’t too hard, Mitchell said. The biggest adjustment he had to make was between a traditional three-point stance compared to how he lined up as a defensive end.

But after his freshman season at Allen, the attention came, accumulating offers from major Texas schools like Texas and Texas A&M, while branching out for offers from Virginia Tech, LSU, Florida State and Alabama.

And that’s when Ohio State began to take notice, offering Mitchell as one of a handful of tight ends the Buckeyes handed out offers to Tuesday including 2024 four-star Walter Mathews, 2025 prospect Emaree Winston and 2025 prospect Ryan Ghea.

Ohio State offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Kevin Wilson relayed that message of potential to Mitchell when he first contacted the 2025 prospect April 19, with the prospect continuing conversations with senior advisor to the head coach Keenan Bailey.

They saw how Mitchell described himself as a tight end: hard working, committed and a “straight beast.”

But Ohio State didn’t have to do much pitching. Mitchell already had an idea of what the Buckeyes were all about even before Wilson came calling and already rates as one of the top schools that have offered him.

“They are definitely my favorite team,” Mitchell said, growing up watching the Buckeyes and remembering the atmosphere of Ohio Stadium from his TV screen. “Yeah, they was on my radar. I was actually hoping for that offer.”

Mitchell sees himself more as a passing tight end, coming into the 2022 season with the expectation of lining up primarily in the slot and sometimes in the backfield, spending the offseason working on his stance, get offs, route running and catching ability.

But in terms of the program the 2025 tight end plans to join, he doesn’t really care about what the role his position has currently. He plans to make a difference no matter what.

“I most definitely want to be a part of the passing game,” Mitchell said. “I don’t want to just hit and block all the time.”