Russellville grad revved up

BOB HOLT
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Mike Gailey is glad to be playing back in Little Rock tonight.
"I know what it feels like to win in War Memorial Stadium," he said. "I'd love to have that feeling again."
Gailey, who made the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas Team as a senior defensive back at Russellville, closed his high school career by playing in the All-Star game at War Memorial Stadium in 1997 and helping the West to a 19-14 victory.
Tonight Gailey is back as a junior free safety for Southwest Missouri State, an NCAA Division I-AA team which hopes to spoil Arkansas' season opener.
"I couldn't believe it last spring when they announced we were playing this game," Gailey said. "It's a dream come true. Ever since high school, I've wanted to play against Arkansas.
"I just want to go down there and show them what they let go."
Gailey drew some initial recruiting interest from Arkansas, but didn't get a scholarship offer.
"I guess they got some guys from other schools they were set on and I got overlooked," he said. "I understand the recruiting process is hard, but I still want to show them they made a mistake."
Gailey didn't meet NCAA eligibility requirements his senior year at Russellville, and was set to sign with Northwest Mississippi Community College.
Then Southwest Missouri State came through with a scholarship offer. After Gailey scored high enough on the ACT to qualify, he enrolled at Southwest Missouri State in January 1998.
Gailey, 6-0, 200, has become a leader of the Bears' secondary while starting 20 games the past two seasons. His career stats include 9 interceptions, 8 pass breakups and 110 tackles, and he has responsibility for calling checks in the secondary to make sure the other defensive backs are lined up correctly.
"Mike has a lot of savvy and knowledge of the game," Southwest Missouri State defensive backs coach Mike Foster said. "With his experience, he's like a coach on the field for us, and the other players look for him to make things happen."
Gailey made a lot of things happen at Russellville, where he played cornerback, wide receiver and returned kicks. Two of his brothers, Chappell Mitchell and Sean Mitchell, have played defensive back for Arkansas State. Chappell Mitchell now plays with the Arkansas Twisters of Arena Football 2 and Sean Mitchell is an ASU senior.
"We felt like Mike could play on the Division I level, but things just didn't work out," Russellville assistant coach Lewis Wray said. "It's good to see that things have worked out for him."
Gailey said he expects to have 50 or 60 family and friends attend tonight's game. Wray said he will be there cheering for the Razorbacks, but also hoping to see Gailey do well.
"On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say Mike's excitement level for this game is probably a 12," Wray said. "This is a tremendous opportunity for him to showcase his talent to everyone back in his home state."
Gailey said playing in his home state makes for "a special game" tonight.
"It's one to remember, win or lose," he said. "Hopefully, it will be a good memory."

This article was published on Saturday, September 2, 2000

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