The Indianapolis Colts can give partial thanks to a ghost for paving the way for the organization to draft potentially the organization’s best No. 2 wideout since Marvin Harrison’s partner in crime Reggie Wayne. Texas ex Adonai Mitchell has the talent to be a Pro Bowler for years to come even if he didn’t receive the most glowing of reports from an anonymous source before the NFL draft.

Mitchell, who had been projected as a first-round pick, fell to No. 52 overall but landed in a great situation with the Colts, who have a talented young quarterback in Anthony Richardson, a play-making wideout in Michael Pittman Jr. and 2021 NFL rushing champion Jonathan Taylor.

Mitchell was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 16 and one pre-draft report pointed to issues with his behavior due to not managing his disease well. Anonymous scouts who spoke to GoLongTD.com's Bob McGinn — a former Green Bay Packers beat writer at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — gave a less than glowing report on Mitchell.

“He’s a little bit of a wild horse,” the first scout said. “You’ve got to see if you can harness him in, then once you do that, he doesn’t address the diabetic stuff in a mature way. He’s very much a boom-or-bust guy.”

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A second anonymous scout said, “When his blood sugar is off, he’s rude and abrasive, he doesn’t pay attention in meetings. It’s why you get really (poor) character reports coming out of Georgia and Texas.”

When Mitchell arrived from Georgia, he came with the reputation of a big-play receiver with great hands, having caught touchdown passes in each of the Bulldogs’ CFP games in 2022. He didn’t disappoint in either area in Austin with 55 catches for 845 yards and 11 touchdowns and zero drops in 86 targets. After running a 4.34 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound speedster seemingly did nothing to hurt projections of his first-round projections in several mock drafts.

The reports could not have helped, but a seasoned reporter like McGinn undoubtedly vetted any scouts he interviewed. With that said, Texas coach Sarkisian was not happy with how it all went down.

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“From an anonymous source to say those things, I give (Colts GM) Chris Ballard and the Colts a lot of credit for trusting their research and talking to us and talking to those guys,” Sarkisian told us on the latest episode of "On Second Thought."

Adonai Mitchell has a bright future

Personally, I was fine with Mitchell from a media standpoint, aside from him declining to speak with us after his pro timing day workout. He's a good quote, a family man — he's in love with his young daughter Icylinn — and lives to give her everything she needs growing up.

The guess here is Mitchell will be a win for the Colts. He can run, catch and block, plus he has a history of showing up big when the lights are the brightest.

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Back to Sarkisian’s remark about the Colts’ brass listening to the Texas coaches. Wayne was in Austin for Mitchell’s workout and met with him that week. He’s Indy’s receivers' coach. Pittman will definitely benefit from another dependable pass catcher on the other side. Josh Downs is another Colts wideout who, like Mitchell, is known for his sticky hands. These days, the scariest offenses have three dangerous pass catchers.

Mitchell is easily one of the most competitive players to come through here in recent years and that fire was evident in his first media availability after being drafted. He was clearly not happy that 10 receivers were picked ahead of him, seven of them in the first round and two in the second.

“I”m just ready to work,” Mitchell added. “I understand. It’s just the way things go. At the end of the day, people were chosen before me. That’s just the reality of it. My job now is to make them pay and bring the best version of me every day to the Indianapolis Colts.”

He won’t be lacking for motivation on the game’s highest level. When asked about his skill set, he paused and uttered two words: “The best.”

More important, Mitchell has more responsibilities with his health that most other receivers don’t have to worry about. To that end, ESPN’s Stephen Holder, a longtime Colts beat writer, reported that Mitchell has hired a private chef to aid in his diet which should help manage his disease.

He made it all work at Georgia and Texas.

I’m sure it will work in Indy.

Derrick Johnson spreads message of service to UT graduates

Former Texas football star and community activist Derrick Johnson has always lived his purpose, and Saturday he shared his inspirational message with the Texas Class of Education graduating class of 2024. There are 108 current and former UT athletes who will graduate. Johnson earned his bachelor's degree in 2020.

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“If the purpose is real, it’s bigger than the individual,” Johnson, the son of an educator, said in his address. “Let your passion and heart show through the peaks and valleys of life.”

It turns out that football wasn’t Johnson’s biggest calling. After an All-America career, the 2004 Butkus and Nagurski award winner played 13 seasons in the NFL, and along with wife Brittni established his Defend the Dream Foundation with the goal of combatting illiteracy among youth in inner city schools.

His 12-year-old charity has built reading rooms called Discovery Dens in libraries in Kansas City, Waco and Austin complete with books that cater to children in those communities. The latest will happen Friday at Austin’s Barbara Jordan Elementary. It will be the third Austin elementary to receive a Discovery Den — joining Langford (2022) and Oak Springs (2023) — and the foundation's 20th overall.

After being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in December, Johnson has emerged as a Hall of Fame activist whose passion is living a life of service.

“To the graduating class of 2024, keep serving, keep helping and keep inspiring change,” he told the graduates in closing. “I’ll see you at work. Hook ’em.”

DJ never stopped working at football and with that part of his life over, he has kept going, albeit in a much more impactful endeavor.

To learn more about Defend the Dream's efforts, go to derrickjohnsonfoundation.org.

Texas baseball is winning when it counts

Texas baseball won’t start playing in the SEC until next spring, but there’s a chance the Horns could wind up in enemy territory sooner rather than later.

More: Series win over UCF helps Texas remain in tight race for Big 12 tournament's No. 2 seed

Before taking two of three at Central Florida — Friday's 5-4 loss in the opener coupled with a pair of Oklahoma wins eliminated them from Big 12 title contention — the Horns, who close out Big 12 play with three home games against Kansas starting Thursday, improved their NCAA tourney standing and could be traveling to Arkansas as a No. 2 seed in the Fayetteville Regional, according to the latest projections from D1Baseball.

Baum-Walker Stadium is one of the nation’s biggest baseball beehives and will provide a preview of baseball seasons to come if the projections come to pass. Texas (32-20, 17-10) has won eight of nine Big 12 series. The Longhorns have figured out how to win despite less than stellar pitching.

Arkansas would be an interesting regional. For your information, the last time Texas played the Razorbacks in a postseason was 2005 at the Austin Regional. The Hogs won 9-2 in the second round before the Horns rallied to beat Miami in an elimination game and then defeated Arkansas twice for the regional crown. The Horns took two of three at Ole Miss in the super regional before going 5-0 to win its sixth national title, its second under legendary coach Augie Garrido.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Golden: Motivated Texas ex Adonai Mitchell rails against draft drop