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Something had to change. Scott Mitchell knew it, and the audition seemed like the perfect opportunity to do something about it.
During the spring, the former Utah and NFL quarterback had heard NBC was looking for former athletes to join the latest cast of "The Biggest Loser," the network's prime-time weight loss show. For Mitchell, who played for four teams in an 11-year NFL career, 300 pounds had long been in his rear view. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know how much he weighed.
After Utah's spring game in May, the 46-year-old Mapleton resident drove down to KSL's studios to throw his hat in the ring … until he decided to leave early.
"I chickened out," he said. "I've been in the public spotlight, but I live a private life. I knew the shots I would take. I knew there would be criticism."
Fortunately for Mitchell, who is Utah's all-time leading passer in yardage and touchdowns, he had also submitted an online application that caught the eye of a casting director. After meeting with NBC officials, Mitchell finally listened to the nagging voice that had been bothering him for years: He needed to lose weight, and he couldn't do it alone.
The 16th season of "The Biggest Loser" debuts on Thursday night, and Mitchell is not yet able to reveal how far he's gone on the show, or how much weight he's lost. But from listening to him for even a few minutes, it's clear that the former quarterback is much happier than when he started as a 366-pound contestant.
"In sports, you can't show vulnerability, you can't show weakness, but that's just not real," Mitchell told The Salt Lake Tribune. "This is more than a game, this is my life. I'm not going to die. If I have to, I'm going on national television and facing this challenge and this obstacle in front of everyone."
At 6-foot-6, Mitchell has always been a big guy. He was listed at 240 pounds, perhaps a generously light figure, during his 12-year career with the Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions (where he was a four-year starter), Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals.
Accordingly, Mitchell thought of himself as a big guy. But "big" doesn't exactly cover it after going over three bills.
"The magic area is 300 pounds: Once you're over 300, you're not big, you're fat," he said. "I've yo-yoed a lot in the last 14 years. You put things off. You say, 'I really enjoy this meal,' or 'I'm not going to exercise.' … Once you get to a certain weight, you kind of throw in the towel."
Mitchell's obesity has led to health problems such as sleep apnea and high blood pressure. But he was forced to confront his own mortality this January, as his father, Bill Mitchell, died after a long struggle with obesity. His medical history ran a frightening gamut, Scott said: Diabetes, gangrene, amputation were just a few of the worst things.
It wasn't just his dad: Mitchell's father was one of eight siblings, six of whom ended up with diabetes. Mitchell is a father of five himself, and resolved he wouldn't end his life the way his father did.
"I watched my dad die a slow, painful death, and I saw my future," he said. "I told myself, 'This is what's going to happen to you unless things change.' I feel like I had a divine intervention coming on the show. It's been life-changing."
Mitchell knew how to work out from his foundation as an athlete, but the biggest revelation has been how to eat. He was shocked to realize that most mornings, he was consuming 1600 calories for breakfast, only 200 calories away from what he eats now in a whole day. During the show, Mitchell said the cast ate a holiday meal that "would blow your mind" but only took up 500 calories.
For one of the first times, he said, he's learned how to cook.
But under the surface, Mitchell said he's realized that his unhealthy eating habits stem from how he coped with his emotions.
Being on "The Biggest Loser" has forced him to reevaluate how he relates to people and why he used to register such an unhealthy diet when he knew it was bad for him. It relates to a negative outlook he had: He was focused on disappointments in his life, and he ate to indulge those feelings.
"They tell you when you get here: By this process you'll lose weight, but you'll gain it back unless you figure out why you're here," he said. "You're completely isolated — you don't have a phone, you don't have a computer, you can't talk to your family at all. … You get a lot of clarity. I've found who I am inside, and there's a lot more depth to me than I realize."
The former Ute said while he's nervous about what his former teammates and the players he coached at Springville High will think, he's excited to share his journey with them when the show premieres Thursday night.
Particularly when he was training, Mitchell said, sometimes his old coaching motivations came back to him.
"Absolutely, I hear myself and some of the things I said to my young men," he said. "I think of what I said then, and I want to show them I'm living by my words now."
About Scott Mitchell
A look at former quarterback Scott Mitchell's football career:
As a Ute • Three-year starter, 8,981 yards passing*, 69 touchdowns*, 135.20 passing efficiency
In the NFL • Played in 99 games over 11 seasons for the Dolphins, Lions, Ravens and Bengals, throwing for 15,692 yards, 95 touchdowns, 81 interceptions
As a coach • Led alma mater Springville High to a 30-17 record over four seasons, went to 4A state semifinals in 2010
*School's all-time record holder