Coach of Kam Mikell, 4-star Florida Gators target: Speed ‘is what separates him’

Kam Mikell will be one of the most interesting recruits at the Florida-Tennessee game on Saturday at The Swamp. He’s rated as a 4-star defensive back, but the Gators are recruiting him at receiver. And, he recently told Gators Online, that’s the position he wants to play.

At Statesboro High in Georgia, Mikell does a little bit of everything.

He has 12 catches for 133 yards on offense and plays multiple spots in the secondary. He even returns kickoffs.

“I think he can play both (receiver and defensive back),” Statesboro coach Matt Dobson said. “He plays safety and corner for us and plays receiver for us. I think he can do either one, I really do. Some schools like him at DB because of his length. He would be a pretty big corner. He runs really well — good enough to play receiver. And he runs good enough routes.”

Georgia was long considered the favorite to land Mikell, who at 6-foot, 180 pounds is the No. 8 prospect in Georgia and No. 53 overall recruit nationally for On3. But the Bulldogs have always recruited him at defensive back (to Dobson’s knowledge that hasn’t changed) and as we mentioned, Mikell would prefer to play receiver.

“He was kind of expressing that over the summer, and fairly recently he’s adamant that’s what he wants to do,” Dobson said. 

For Florida — and some others — that is welcome news. The Gators have three receivers committed but wouldn’t mind taking one more. And Mikell is very much on their radar.

“I just think the speed he has is what separates him,” Dobson said, “He can really create separation from a defender with that speed. Anything he touches it can go for a home run, whether it’s catching a slant or a vertical ball. And he’s physical, too. When you get the ball in his hands and as a blocker, he doesn’t shy away from contact.”

According to Dobson, special teams coordinator Chris Couch has been the coach’s main point of contact in Gainesville. Couch was a graduate assistant at Georgia Southern when Dobson played there.

“They like his ability to make plays with the ball in his hands and they think they can use him in a variety of ways,” Dobson said. “They definitely could see him returning kicks. He returns kickoffs for us, but nobody kicks it to him.”  

Mikell has spoken highly about the Gators to Dobson.

“When he went down there this summer they put together a highlight tape with the rich history of receivers that UF has put out,” Dobson said. “And that kind of explained to him how he could be one of the next guys. When we talked about it, he said Percy Harvin was mentioned. And Kadarius Toney. He said they went even further back. He thought that was really cool. And thought he could be a guy that fit in the offense and do some of the things they’re doing.”

What are the odds Kam Mikell ultimately lands at Florida? That remains to be seen. Meanwhile, he visited Colorado last weekend — and teams such as Tennessee, Georgia and Texas A&M remain in pursuit.

“Kam,” Dobson said, “is pretty open.”

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