Every morning, Damian Mitchell ’18 sets his alarm for 4:27 a.m.

“A lot of people would just round up and set their alarm to 4:30,” Mitchell says, “but I want to be somewhere between good and great. Good people wake up at 4:30, and great people wake up at 4:25. I’m not great just yet, but I’ll try to get somewhere in the middle.”

As a producer and radio host at WJOX 94.5 in Birmingham, Mitchell begins the day by lining up commercials and reviewing game-day cuts and press conferences for his 6 a.m. radio shows – Jox Morning every weekday, and Jox Game Day every Saturday. To Mitchell, the early mornings never feel like work because he’s talking about the sports news on air that he’s always watched, discussed, and argued over with friends.

Mitchell joined the station in 2019, focusing on production. He soon gained his first on-air opportunity in 20-second traffic updates for the Birmingham area, which led to bigger roles in front of the microphone.

Mitchell is involved in almost every aspect of several WJOX shows – collecting daily scores and stats, managing sound, and starring as the on-air personality. Every day, he combines his degree in media and film studies with his love for sports and his past as a BSC football player – and he brings BSC into the Jox Morning conversation whenever possible.

“I got the chance to put my personality out there,” he says. “People often want my perspective because I’m the youngest person in the building, and I have playing experience.”

Just as he did as a football player, he analyzes his performance, listening to each show after it airs to study what he did right and how he can improve.

“You can’t focus on just one thing in radio, and I want to be the most prepared person in the room,” Mitchell says. “I look at every show I do as a game. I want to get better with every show.”

He follows advice from Head Football Coach Tony Joe White – to balance seeking perfection and knowing that you can’t be perfect – and from Associate Lecturer of English Melinda Rainey Thompson – to find a clear and genuine voice with his own humor and personality at the core.

“I always knew I wanted to stick around the game, and sports radio has given me that chance,” Mitchell says. “It’s just me speaking my mind because I know what these guys are going through. I’m living my dream – I’m getting paid to talk about sports.”

This story was published in the Fall/Winter 2021 issue of ’Southern, BSC’s alumni magazine.

If you have ideas for our next issue of ’Southern, please email [email protected]. We always welcome stories about outstanding people from the BSC community.

Mitchell is currently listening to Florida Georgia Line.