Sports tell a story, being able to play those sports is the challenge, and being able to move up in those sports is an opportunity. Former Louisiana running back, Elijah Mitchell, took that opportunity.
Mitchell started off his season as a Ragin’ Cajun in 2017. His freshman year he appeared in five games but missed the second half of the season due to injury. He finished fifth on the team in rushing yards (273), second in average yards per carry (6.1) and tied third in rushing touchdowns (4).
He caught three passes for 25 yards and one receiving touchdown, racked up 56 yards rushing on 11 attempts, scoring first career touchdown in first career appearance during the season opener against Southeastern.
He made his first career touchdown reception (19 yards), while gaining 84 yards on eight carries, scoring a rushing touchdown, to finish with 103 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns at Tulsa.
In 2018, he started in 13 games and ended the year with 1334 yards from scrimmage and 16 touchdowns. His 16 touchdowns were the most on the team and total yards from scrimmage were the second highest. To finish out, he was also the only person in the conference who had one 100-yard rushing and one 100-yard receiving game.
Fast forward to his senior year, 2020, where Mitchell appeared in 10 games and starred in nine contests. He earned First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors and led Louisiana in rushing, toting the ball 141 times for 878 yards and eight touchdowns.
His yardage total was third in the conference and ranked 23rd nationally. His eight rushing scores were the fifth most in the Sunbelt and tied for 41st nationally.
With his 41 rushing scores, he is now one of five Ragin’ Cajuns in program history with more than 40 rushing touchdowns.
Mitchell finished his career ranked the MVP of the 2020 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl. He opened his 2020 against Iowa State with 46-yards on eight carries and had a monster game against Georgia State (Sep. 19).
His 164 rushing yards against Georgia State was the second highest rushing output of his career. He has now gone over the century mark 11 times in his career.
Following his stellar performance, he was named the Sunbelt Offensive Player of the Week for the third time in his career.
When they played Coastal Carolina (Oct. 14), Mitchell’s 59-yard touchdown run was the second 50+ yard touchdown of his career since his longest rush, a 65-yard touchdown run against Arkansas State in 2018. He also rushed for 39 yards on nine carries and scored twice against Carolina.
The Senior running back led Louisiana in rushing against UAB, carrying the ball 21 times for 67 yards, while totaling two catches for 18 yards, and carried the ball 17 times for 96 yards in the team’s win at Texas State (Oct. 31).
Elijah Mitchell finished his Senior Year as a Cajun by finishing off in the team’s bowl game against UTSA, carrying the ball 19 times for 127 yards and a touchdown. His 127 yards were the most by a Ragin’ Cajun in a bowl game in program history.
One thing he is most proud of is when he led his team to a win in the final game of the 2020 season. He dedicated the game to the late Coach Looney, their offensive line coach, who passed away of a heart attack in August at a team workout.
Elijah then went on to play professionally and got drafted to the 49ers in 2021. Currently, in the past 2023 season, he has a record of 281 yards, 2 touchdowns, 75 carries and an average of 3.75. The 49ers made it to the Super Bowl 2024, and our very own Elijah Mitchell was a part of that. Cannot wait to see where the rest of his career takes him.