Quinyon Mitchell Q&A: Eagles rookie weighs in on his nicknames, love of baseball, and more
The cornerback is known to do a little trash talking on the field. Some of the chatter is “censored,” Mitchell says.
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On the latest episode of The Inquirer’s Eagles podcast, unCovering the Birds, rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell joined host Jeff McLane ahead of Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals to talk about his nicknames, his favorite spots in Toledo, Ohio, and his baseball dreams.
Here’s McLane’s “Pick Six” with Mitchell, which went a few questions more than six …
Q: ‘Q’ is obviously self-explanatory, but Bill? Can you explain that one?
A: Yeah, that’s my dad’s nickname, so it just got handed down to me. Bill, President, stuff like that. That’s my [dad’s] nickname, that’s my granddad’s name, too, and then it just got handed down to me.
Q: Do you know why they had that nickname?
A: I don’t know, it just got handed down to me.
Q: Who calls you Bill?
A: People back home, some people up here, and some people back in Toledo.
Q: Another one that stood out to me was Speed Buggy.
A: Speed Buggy. That was my granddad’s nickname, so they just call me Buggy now. He’s super fast, so that’s why they call him that, and that’s why they call me that now.
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Q: How fast was he?
A: He ran like a 9.9 [seconds in] the 100 meters. That’s what I heard, so I guess he’s pretty fast.
Q: I know you’re close to your mother. Did you get your athleticism from her?
A: She was not. She wasn’t athletic at all. Super smart, book smart, but no sports at all.
Q: What about your dad?
A: My dad was super athletic. He played quarterback at Troy State for a little bit. He played baseball, too; I think he got drafted.
Q: Did you ever play quarterback?
A: No, not at all.
Q: Am I right that you have a pretty large family, you have a bunch of siblings?
A: I’ve got four sisters and one brother.
Q: Where do you fall in that line?
A: I’m in the middle.
Q: You’re known for being kind of quiet and mild-mannered. Is that because you fall in the middle of the family?
A: No, I would say, I’m quiet when I first meet people. I’ve got to break the ice and open up and just get comfortable. Now, I talk a lot and joke a lot with the guys. We’ve got that kind of relationship.
Q: Obviously, you have a lot of confidence on the field. A.J. [Brown] has talked about the trash talking, and I think I we saw it right off the bat when they went at you in that first game, Christian Watson, that deep ball. Can you tell us what you had to say to him in that moment?
A: I don’t really want to repeat it. I’ll just leave it there, because it’s kind of censored.
Q: This is a little bit of a reach, but you’re returning to Ohio. I know Toledo is far from Cincinnati. Toledo is a great town. People don’t know much about it beyond the fact it’s Glass City and Jeeps, but they have a lot more going on there. What were some of your favorite things to do?
A: Mostly just hung out with teammates, honestly, I’d go out to eat at restaurants, and we’d just kick it at a crib and play games. I probably went to the zoo one time. I’m kind of a homebody. I don’t really get out that much.
Q: Would you go to the Warehouse District or The Docks?
A: The Metroparks are big down there. They got a couple Metroparks. I think I went to three or four Metroparks in Toledo. Those are pretty nice.
Q: I don‘t want to end on this note, because Phillies fans are probably upset with the Phillies’ loss, their season’s over, but apparently if you had an ideal position to play and for what team, it’s pitching for the Phillies. What made you say that?
A: I always wanted to play baseball, but I was scared of the ball, so I never played. I was going to play my senior year, but I was just a manager for the team, so that got me into baseball. My teammate, Ethan Davis, one of my close friends back home, introduced me to the game. I like to watch.
Q: So you never played Little League?
A: No, no baseball.
Q: Did you ever throw a baseball?
A: A little bit, not really. I got into it my senior year when I was a manager for the team, and then Ethan, he showed me the ropes.
Q: Forrest Gump is one of your favorite movies. Is that right?
A: When I was little, it was one of my favorite movies, but I don’t really have one right now. I don’t know. I guess it’s just a good movie. I used to watch it all the time when I was a little kid, so I just really liked the movie.
Q: Did you have a favorite scene?
A: It’s a long movie. There’s a lot of good scenes in there. Probably when he was running forever, something like that. The ending was real sad. I didn’t like the ending.