Top recruit Kamron Mikell out to prove that 'change is coming to Colorado' football in 2024

Kamron Mikell pulled his head coach, Matthew Dobson, to the side before Statesboro (Georgia) High School's 2023 regular-season finale.

If the Blue Devils won, they were headed to the playoffs. A loss would not only end their season, but it'd cut Mikell's incredible high school career short.

"That last regular-season game was a win or not-make-the-playoffs game, and he (Mikell) told me before the game, he said, 'Coach, we're not going to lose tonight,' " Dobson recalled. "On the second drive of the game, he went for a 76-yard touchdown and ended up rushing for over 200 yards.

"He really was able to take over at the end of the year for us."

Mikell led Statesboro to a 35-0 win that night to punch the Blue Devils' ticket to the playoffs. The following week, the Colorado football commit once again rushed for more than 200 yards and scored four total touchdowns during a first-round victory.

Performances like those have made Mikell one of the most sought-after athletes in the country. The four-star prospect earned offers from perennial powerhouses such as Alabama, Georgia, Michigan and others but committed to Colorado coach Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes on Thanksgiving Day.

Why? The opportunity to play for "Coach Prime" was too good to turn down.

"I wanted to be different, a different scenery," Mikell said when asked why he chose Colorado over the likes of Alabama, Georgia and others. "Also, you can't pass up the chance for Deion Sanders to be your head coach. He (Sanders) has done it on every level. He is a cool, laid-back guy. It caught me by surprise the way he was.

"If I got drafted to somewhere it was cold, I can be ready for whatever is coming."

It might be a bit premature for Mikell to be talking about the NFL draft, but his unique combination of speed, athleticism and football IQ gives him a good chance to reach his ultimate goals.

Mikell played all over the field at Statesboro — quarterback, running back, wide receiver, kick returner, corner, safety — and found success at each position in 2023.

He threw for 761 yards and six touchdowns, rushed for 793 yards and eight scores, and caught 19 passes for 414 yards and found paydirt twice more. On defense, he intercepted two passes and recovered a pair of fumbles.

"He (Mikell) did a little bit of everything," Dobson said. "He has elite speed. Anytime he gets into open space with the ball in his hands, nobody is going to catch him, and if he's trying to run somebody down, he's normally going to get there.

"He's a pretty physical player, doesn't shy away from contact when he has the ball. He's a little bit bigger and more physical than most people think."

Although Mikell could probably play any skill position on the football field, the 6-foot-1, 180-pound athlete said he sees himself playing wide receiver and defensive back in Boulder, much like Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter, while also making an impact as a returner.

More importantly, Mikell envisions a new era of Colorado football beginning in 2024.

"I want to prove that a change is coming to Colorado," Mikell said. "I'm ready to shock the world and put the haters in a box."

"That's one thing that I admire about Kam; he doesn't get caught up in what people have done in the past," Dobson said. "He wanted to go somewhere where he could make an impact and build something."

Mikell will be joined by a familiar face in Boulder: his cousin, three-star edge Amontrae Bradford, who committed to Colorado in October. The duo has been playing together since peewee football, including at Statesboro, and are two of five Colorado commits from Georgia in the Class of 2024.

"Our relationship (with Bradford) is like no other," Mikell said. "We've been playing together since we were 7, 8 years old and it is a God-blessed opportunity to play with him again."

Mikell could've easily committed to one of the 11 SEC schools that offered him. No one would've batted an eye if he was headed to the back-to-back national champion Georgia Bulldogs, who play football less than 150 miles from his hometown of Statesboro, but Mikell wants to shock the world.

Boulder, Colorado, will be his stage to do that.

"A lot of people thought he was going to Georgia," Dobson said. "But I think he wanted to build something and he thinks that coach Sanders is going to be able to do that there in Colorado."

Follow Colorado Buffaloes sports reporter Scott Procter on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Kamron Mikell, a four-star athlete, is Colorado's top 2024 commit