Adonai Mitchell has never not been nervous to play a football game.
He could be starting his third season of college football or about to make his NFL debut. No matter the situation, the wide receiver always has some nerves. It's just the way he's wired.
"I'm gonna be nervous year 10," the Colts rookie said the Friday before his NFL debut.
Even then, as Mitchell stood in the locker room joking with the media and messing around with his teammates, he was nervous for Sunday. But he acted like he didn't have a worry in the world because, even though he was nervous, he was confident.
"You never know what could happen on that field," Mitchell explained. "It's not really a predictable sport. So, you know, just the confidence really comes from preparation. But I could prepare all day, I could go out there, watch as much film, catch all the jugs in the world, and I'm going to still go out there and have to perform. So it's really just that part of it is the nervousness."
And even with an NFL debut in which he had one reception on six targets, Mitchell is just as confident in himself, and his connection with Anthony Richardson, going forward. Two times during Sunday's game against the Houston Texans, Mitchell flashed open for what could have been touchdowns if Richardson's passes had been on target.
That sort of unpredictability comes with being a receiver, though. It's something Mitchell was prepared for and takes in stride.
"We depend on so many things to go right, just so we can get our opportunity," Mitchell said. "But it wasn't as if I was the only person who could have made a play...I'm not in no type of pressure situation to where I have to make the play or nothing will happen."
Even though Mitchell wasn't the recipient of Richardson's "alien" abilities on Sunday, his fellow wide receivers were. He saw Richardson hurl deep passes with ease to Alec Pierce and Ashton Dulin and had one major takeaway: the Colts' offense is in good hands.
"Every time I sit there and think, I'm like, 'This dude is four months older than me,'" Mitchell said. "The youngest quarterback in the NFL right now, and making the plays that he's making in only game one. It's like, man we are in pretty good shape here."
"It's truly only a matter of time with him, honestly," Mitchell added. "It's only a matter of time before he – man just wait on it, just wait on it."
Mitchell knows it's only a matter of time before he starts making plays, too.
"Just trusting and making sure I do my job," Mitchell said. "As long as I do my job, you know, that's all I can do is do what's asked of me. And I feel like everything else will take care of itself."
"You keep working, keep grinding – like, who knows whose week it's going to be this week?" head coach Shane Steichen said. "You never know. But he's got a great mindset about himself early on as a rookie, and we've got to continue that growth for sure."
At the core of Mitchell's mindset is his belief in himself. The 21-year-old is the youngest player on the Colts' roster, and he brings an infectious kind of confidence and swagger to any room he walks into.
"You want some swag, right?" wide receivers coach Reggie Wayne said. "You want guys to be out there, feel like no one can cover you one-on-one...(AD) comes in and, I mean, that dude there, that's something he definitely doesn't lack."
Wayne was quick to praise Mitchell's ability to keep things light in the locker room, but also commended the rookie's impressive level of maturity.
"He's been way more than I expected," Wayne said. "And that's on the good side, you know? I mean, he's come in and he's been a professional."
When Josh Downs sustained an ankle injury in training camp, all eyes turned to Mitchell as his replacement in the slot – even though Mitchell had never played in the slot before. He embraced the challenge and has since turned into someone who Wayne says can play in any spot on the field.
"I think what the biggest thing is, is his learning – he's been able to pick up super fast, not just his position, but others," Wayne said. "We (are) to the point now where we can put him all over the room, at all the positions, (and he) don't miss a beat. So that's great, because the more you know, the better chances you can get out there even more, right?"
Ask any Colts wide receiver or coach about the depth and potential of that room, and they'll all say the same thing; there's only one football. It really does all come down to making a play when you get the chance. It's a "pick your poison" situation for opponents, Wayne said, because every one of his wide receivers can make a play when they're called upon.
Mitchell has worked hard to gain that type of trust from his coaches ever since he decided he wanted to play in the NFL. He's worked hard to get to where he is, and he's not going to slow down now.
"It's really just a 'Why stop now' thing, just never taking the foot off the gas," Mitchell said. "I know the potential that I have. And if I don't reach my potential, then I can't blame nobody else but me."
