He was the hero of his high school team at Springville. He went on to play at the University of Utah and set 10 NCAA records after three seasons. After college, he was picked in the fourth round of the 1990 NFL draft, the beginning of what would be a 12-year pro career.

But his fondest memory of football is from Springville High. He remembers walking out of the locker room onto the field at then Rice Stadium with his Springville teammates, getting ready to take on Bear River for the Class 3A state title. There was dew on the turf and a light fog was lifting as the Red Devils took the field.

"It was a surreal moment. I went and lived my dream. I played in the NFL, played in the playoffs, threw touchdown passes in big games and played in front of national audiences,"

Mitchell said. "And there are whole parts of seasons I don't remember, but I'll always remember that."

Springville struggled early on that day in November in 1985. Mitchell threw two interceptions in the first quarter. He kicked poorly when the Red Devils were forced to punt.

But Springville rallied. The team found a way to beat Bear River 30-23 for the school's first football state title. Because of that, Nov. 22, 1985, will forever be etched in Mitchell's memory as the perfect day.

Mitchell and his teammates were hometown heroes. All of Springville shut down to give the team a parade. The players rode through the town on fire trucks.

"That was really special. The community was behind you and that's just how I grew up," Mitchell said. "[High school football] was the greatest experience of my life."

And now Mitchell will try to provide that for a new generation of Springville football players.

In April, he moved his young family more than 2,300 miles from right across the street from Walt Disney World to settle in a small town 50 miles south of the biggest city in Utah. He left a lucrative real-estate and land-development venture in Florida to basically volunteer to be a high school coach. He has risen at 6 a.m. and stayed at the school until 10 p.m. some days. He has jump-started the youth football programs in Springville. And the town has taken notice.

"The enthusiasm [for football] in Springville has grown leaps and bounds and that's because of Scott's presence," said Brian Smith, a commissioner of Springville's youth football program. "It's definitely on the rise. Scott's vision is not just with the varsity. He's helping to develop the youth programs."

The town has always had a youth program but Mitchell has helped boost numbers. Last year, there were 120 kids. This year, there are 230. Sixth-grade teams have been added. There are three teams for every level. Mitchell evaluated the younger players and handpicked some of the teams. He has employed parents as coaches and given them guidelines - the same playbook the varsity has, so all levels will be on the same page. Mitchell knows getting Springville back on top will be a huge joint effort.

That's why Mitchell has called on his past coaches to be on his staff. Doug Bills was an assistant coach when Springville won a state championship and he is this year's defensive coordinator. Former Provo coach Ed Larsen serves as the offensive coordinator and ex-NFL lineman Junior Ioane is the line coach.

"I'm proud of what he's accomplished, and then coming back and helping the community," Bills said. "He's doing a real good job of revitalizing the community. There's just a mystique about him; he's got that lore that he's been somewhere not a lot of people get to go. Everybody is excited to see what he can do."

So far, he's done plenty. Though the season has just started, Mitchell has spent the last 3 1/2 months getting his team ready for the season - everything from getting physicals to holding meetings to watching the recorded practice from the day before.

Mitchell has implemented a new routine to prepare for games. The team meets for an hour before practice to discuss what will be worked on. The players do a walk-through and go through the practice. Coaches record the practice and later, along with the players, dissect the tape.

The all-encompassing approach has been well-received by the players.

Being a coach isn't glamorous. Daily responsibilities include setting up the field and then cleaning up afterward. There's the paperwork and making sure kids are doing what they need to do academically. He has to set up transportation and deal with fundraising. Springville is where his love for football was sparked. It's the place where, as a boy, he would watch through the chain-link fence at the school, watch the high school players practice and say to himself, "I want to be a Red Devil."

This is the place where he wants to raise a family - not just his wife and kids, but his players, too. This is the place where he wants to bring back a state championship. His life back in Utah hasn't gone far from the Springville football field. Mitchell wouldn't have it any other way.

"There's a lot of work, so much that goes into it. But he loves it. He loves being here," his wife, Wendy, said. "There's little incentive but this community is so close. People just live and die for this stuff and it's meant so much. I could see this being our life."

mthach@sltrib.com