FOX16/VYPE Top 16 — No. 8: Heber Springs Running Back Braylon Mitchell

Heber Springs hasn’t enjoyed a rich football tradition. Until last season: It hadn’t advanced past the second round of the playoffs, produced a junior all-stater and more than 30 years had lapsed since the last Panther received a football scholarship from the University of Arkansas

Enter Braylon Mitchell. The running back piled up a school-record 1,784 rushing yards. He also collected 144 passing yards and 119 yards in kickoff returns. He earned all-state honors and a scholarship offer from the Razorbacks June 7.

“It’s a wonderful feeling,” Mitchell said. “It’s rewarding to see the hard work we are putting in is showing up on the field. Being coachable and being a team player helps.”

Mitchell (6-3, 225, 4.6 speed) ranks No. 8 in the Fox/VYPE Top 16 Central Arkansas senior football players’ countdown.

Mitchell made school history becoming just the third Panther (Lineman Frazier Blankenship signed with Army last year.) to receive a D-I scholarship. He de-committed from Arkansas State in favor of the Hogs. ASU recruited Mitchell as a running back, but he projects as a linebacker at UA.

“It’s a great honor to be the third Division I player at Heber Springs,” Mitchell said. “I’ve always wanted to be a big-time Division I athlete. Ever since I’ve moved to Heber Springs, the coaches and community have done everything to help fulfill my dreams.”

The hard-charging running back played a big role in the Panthers’ 2008 turnaround. Heber Springs began the season 1-4 and trailed at Marianna 30-0 at halftime. A fiery speech by coach Steve Janski ignited a 32-point rally and gave the Panthers their first conference win. They won seven straight games. Mitchell scored three touchdowns against DeWitt Week 10, including the game-winner late in the game to preserve a 28-24 win and keep the streak intact.

Heber Springs slipped past Prairie Grove 33-30 in the first round of the playoffs and upset West Fork 28-24 before losing to Newport 46-14.

“It was great being an underdog because it motivated us to keep laying harder each week,” Mitchell said. “We just kept going out there and playing hard and winning.”

With 12 starters returning, including record-setting senior quarterback Wes McMullen, the Panthers are ready to make an even deeper run.

“When Coach (Steve) Janski came through he turned things around,” Mitchell said. “He’s helped us build new facilities, and he made all of the young men on the team even better young men.”

As for Mitchell, he’s enjoyed meeting the lofty expectations of the coaches and community that greeted him when he moved from North Little Rock in junior high.

“It didn’t come as a total surprise because I knew what I could accomplish,” Mitchell said. “Ever since I moved to Heber Springs, Coach Janski has told me I can achieve whatever I put my mind to. He said there was no reason I couldn’t become a big-time Division I athlete.”