The trademark has always been the hair. It's golden and flows to his shoulders.

Friends have not seen Brendan Mitchell without his golden locks since middle school. The hair is a staple for Edmond Memorial's 6-foot-5 star receiver. It highlights his personality.

But it's got to go.

“Oh man,” Mitchell said while anxiously laughing. “That's a tough one. I'm going to have to let it go slowly.”

On this July 4, Mitchell is preparing to give up the “surfer” look a few inches at a time to serve his country.

Ranked No. 23 on The Oklahoman's Super 30, he recently committed to Navy over offers from Air Force, BYU and several Ivy League universities with the idea of helping.

“I've always said that I didn't want to live my whole life here and not give back to my country in some way,” Mitchell said. “I knew that that would be probably the best way to do it.”

The son of a retired Oklahoma City fireman, Mitchell was raised on patriotism. His grandfather was a Marine. His great grandfathers served in World War II.

“He comes from a family that's public servants,” Mitchell's father, Robert, said.

That led to an abundance of civic pride.

Brendan Mitchell would insist on attaching a pole with an American flag on boats at the lake. His swim trunks always feature red, white and blue or the stars and stripes.

He loves military movies. He loves American history.

When Air Force offered early, his interest raised. BYU then became the leader. But Navy suddenly took control.

Mitchell visited Annapolis, Md., and loved everything. It didn't take long to make his commitment.

“To me, it's an honor just for them to want me on their football team,” Mitchell said. “Then the commitment afterwards of what I would be doing and how important it is. I felt like it was more than football.”

Edmond Memorial has a history of sending players to the service academies.

Coach Justin Merideth said four players have signed with Air Force during his tenure.

“I think it's an awesome deal,” Merideth said. “I've always been a huge fan of it, because it's great academics, you get to serve your country and it's a guaranteed job making good money.”

Still, Mitchell's decision shocked many.

It comes back to the hair.

Mitchell said most of his friends have been more worried about that change than anything else. He's prepared to make the change by cutting a few inches soon. Then he'll come back later and take some more off. He'll continue that until it's short.

“It's been part of who I am,” Mitchell said. “It's going to be a shocker because I haven't had short hair in forever.”

But he believes that he's doing it for the right reasons. That impresses his friends and family.

“He knows that college comes and it's time to grow up,” Robert Mitchell said. “On the scale of life, hair is such a small item.”
