In his first two years at the University of Utah, Scott Mitchell has become one of the premier quarterbacks in college football.
But the talented 6-foot-6 athlete will be the first to say there's more to Scott Mitchell than just football. And events occurring off the field at the same time as he was achieving success on the field have given him a unique perspective on "what's really important in life."During the 1988 season, he led the University of Utah football team to a 6-5 record, including a resounding 57-28 victory over BYU. He finished No. 1 in the nation in total offense by accounting for 4,299 yards. He set two NCAA records for the most passing attempts in a season, 533, and the most passing yards-per-game average in a season, 392.9. The football writers voted him Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year.
When he talked to the Church News, however, the first thing he talked about wasn't football; it was his marriage on Dec. 3 to Kim Nifong in the Salt Lake Temple. Mitchell had helped introduce her to the Church more than a year earlier when he was at a spiritual crossroads in his life. He felt he had to make a decision to "go off the deep end or do what I knew was right."
He hadn't confronted this kind of challenge while growing up in Springville, Utah. As a member of an active LDS family, he had lived the idyllic, small-town LDS childhood.
"All my life I had lived in a predominantly LDS society, where everyone thinks and believes the same way I did," Mitchell recalled. "It wasn't real hard to believe in the Church."
As a stellar high school athlete, several universities sought after his abilities in late 1985 and early 1986. He narrowed his choices to three - BYU, Stanford and Utah. Having lived within 10 miles of BYU, he had dreamed of playing quarterback for the Cougars. However, his visits to Utah had left strong, positive impressions.
For nearly three months, he was the focus of an intensive recruiting competition. One time he watched his food get cold while he handled three phone calls from people trying to sway him to choose their particular school. On Feb. 10, 1986, two days before he was to sign a letter of intent to attend a university, he entered his room and prayed.
"I said, `I've looked at all my options, and I'm really lost. I need an answer,' " he recalled. "At that time I didn't know where I was going. I needed help."
The phone rang and it was Jim Fassel, head football coach at the University of Utah. "I thought, oh brother, here goes another one," he said. But as he sat at the top of the stairs listening to the coach on the phone and looking down into bright TV lights - a television station was interviewing his parents - the answer came.
"All of a sudden, in my heart, I knew someone was helping me out," he said. "I knew my prayer was answered. It's hard to tell in words. I just felt it. I'm going to the University of Utah, and I could be a success."
He went against a loyalty he had felt for BYU most of his life. People would later call him and say he was making a mistake. Fans would boo him at high school basketball games. He knew he was going to the University of Utah for a reason; he just didn't know what it was.
During his first year at Utah, Mitchell experienced a culture shock. Although he was only 50 miles from Springville, most of the people he now associated with were non-members.
"They were constantly testing me," he said. " Hey, Mitchell, why don't you take a drink?' I didn't know how to deal with it. No one had ever tried my faith before. All of a sudden I was asking myself:What do I believe?' "
The fall 1987 marked the beginning of his sophomore year of school, but only his freshman year of eligibility as a football player. He met Kim early in the season. She had a strong religious background and maintained high standards. Mitchell felt she was "prime for the gospel." On their first date, he asked her if she would like to know more about the Church. She said yes.
Another football player was taking the discussions at that time, so she joined in one of the meetings where the missionaries showed the film, The First Vision.
"I sat there watching the film, then I would look at her, then watch the film and then look at her," Mitchell recalled. "She was just fixed on it the filmT."
As she took the missionary discussions, her testimony grew.
"I thought this is really neat to see how a testimony develops," he remembered. "Her growing testimony was as much a strength to me as it was to her."
He still wasn't attending Church. But a timely phone call changed that. A bishop called and asked him to speak in a sacrament meeting. By then Mitchell was chalking up impressive statistics as a freshman quarterback, splitting time with senior Chris Mendoca. He accepted the invitation and talked to the group about missionary work, being an example and his decision to attend the University of Utah. After the meeting, someone asked him where he lived. When Mitchell answered, the person said they were in the same ward.
Mitchell and Kim began attending the ward together, and, on Nov. 28, 1987, he baptized her.
"It was a choice experience having all those wonderful things happening athletically and having even more lasting things happening spiritually," he said. "There's no comparison to the feeling of baptizing someone you love."
Mitchell has become a complete young man - spiritually, athletically, socially and academically - said Wayne McQuivey, an assistant coach at Utah and a home teacher in the Colonial Hills 2nd Ward in Salt Lake City.
"A young man like Scott comes around once in about 10 years," McQuivey said. "He represents us well as a football player, and he also represents the Church."
McQuivey said Mitchell commands a lot of respect among his teammates and because of the way he lives, he has a great influence on those around him.
Mitchell is one of a growing number of LDS players on the team. Utah now has 19 returned missionaries playing football and another six in the mission field.
The future looks bright for Mitchell in football. But he's realistic. He said football is just a game, and "that's all it ever will be."
"Football provides a tremendous opportunity to learn about who I am," he said. "I don't think football makes me. Football brings out whether you have character or you don't. There were times this year when I was scared and times when I felt I could jump up and reach the moon and just tear it right out of the sky."
