ATHENS —
Comfortable. That is how Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray looked last season when he was throwing the ball to then-freshman wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell. Likewise, Mitchell looked just as comfortable serving as one of the Bulldogs’ top receivers, en route to Freshman All-SEC honors.
Then during spring practice, Mitchell lost that comfortable feeling when he started spending more time on the defensive side of the football due to various off the field suspensions of key players, which left the Bulldog secondary thin and lacking depth.
A duel-threat at Valdosta High School, Mitchell was the obvious choice by Georgia coaches to move over to defense and provide depth in the secondary, thus taking away his offensive reps at practice and in games.
When the season began in September, Mitchell was used as a cornerback — a position he played at Valdosta — and a kick returner. He made an impact, too, recording five tackles against Vanderbilt and recovering a fumble against Florida Atlantic.
Then, as players started to return from various suspensions, Mitchell started his transition back to the offense, something that hasn’t been easy.
“A lot of people don’t understand how difficult that shift can be — just getting your feet back right and being able to do stuff,” Mitchell said.
While it hasn’t been easy switching back to the offensive side of the football, Mitchell said the time he spent on the Bulldog defense made him a better receiver.
That was evident in Saturday’s win over Ole Miss when Mitchell made a move to get by a defender and get wide open for Murray to loft a 42-yard touchdown pass on UGA’s first drive of the third quarter. The Bulldogs won 37-10 and inched closer to securing the SEC East Division title.
“If you go back and look at the route, you’ll see I made a move way before I started running vertical,” Mitchell said. “It helps you recognize coverage.”
Saturday’s touchdown catch was Mitchell’s second in as many weeks; he hauled in a 45-yard TD strike from Murray that secured the Bulldogs’ 17-9 win over rival Florida.
While the touchdown was the first of the year for Mitchell, his production on the offensive side of the ball started a few weeks ago when he tied a career-high in receptions with nine for 103 yards in a winning effort over Kentucky.
Despite the recent success, head coach Mark Richt said he can tell Mitchell isn’t as sharp as he once was for the Bulldogs.
“He is practicing better as a receiver,” Richt said. “He’s still maybe not as sharp at getting the hand signals and the little things like splits, who is on the line, off the line, things like that. He is still a little bit rusty; it is nothing at all. He is playing very well.”
Rusty or not, Mitchell will surely be relied on for the remainder of the season after it was announced Sunday night that senior Marlon Brown would sit out the remainder of the season with a knee injury.
Brown’s injury is the second for a Georgia receiver this season; junior Michael Bennett tore his ACL earlier this season.
Brown and Bennett will be missed after they combined for 51 catches for 814 yards with eight touchdowns.
Local Sports
Related Photos
-
After spending time on defense earlier this season, former Valdosta Wildcat Malcolm Mitchell is once again making an impact on the Georgia offense. David Retterbush
Discussion
Comfortable again
Former Wildcat Mitchell back in offensive mix at UGA
- Local Sports
-
-
VSU softball wins South Region, headed to nationals
For the third time in four years, and second in a row, Valdosta State’s softball team will play in the national championship tournament.
The Blazers won their third South Region championship Saturday, beating Alabama-Huntsville 8-3 in game three of the best-of-three series at Steel’s Diamond at Blazer Park. -
VSU baseball season comes to an end
Delta State scored seven unanswered runs to defeat Valdosta State 7-2 in an elimination game of the NCAA South Region Tournament at the UT Baseball Field Saturday afternoon.
-
Blazers take 1-0 series lead
Angela O’Connor launched a pinch-hit two-run home run over the left-field fence, tying the game against Alabama-Huntsville in the bottom of the sixth inning, and sparking the Blazers and their fans along the way.
-
Blazer baseball stays alive, beats Stillman
Valdosta State scored five runs in the first inning to defeat Stillman 6-2 in an elimination game of the NCAA South Region Tournament at UT Baseball Field Friday morning.
-
Lowndes’ Harwell, Wortham sign with Valdosta State
Lowndes’ Ty Harwell and David Wortham won’t have to go far to play college baseball.
-
Blazers host respected rival UAH in Super Regional
One would expect a matchup featuring two of the top softball programs in Division II to come in the national championship game.
Unfortunately for Valdosta State and Alabama-Huntsville, who have combined to appear in four straight national championship games, they won’t be meeting in title game on Memorial Day in Salem, Va. -
Pop Warner Football coming to Valdosta
Pop Warner Football is coming to Valdosta.
The nationally known organization that puts an emphasis on education and developing American youth has been established in the Valdosta area and will begin playing football this August. -
Blazers lose to Delta State, fall to loser’s bracket
If the Valdosta State baseball team is going to win the South Region Tournament, the Blazers going to have to do it from the loser’s bracket.
The Blazers (33-17) dropped their first game of the tournament Thursday, falling to Delta State 4-2 at UT Baseball Stadium.
VSU will face Stillman College, which lost to No. 1 seed and tournament host Tampa Thursday, Friday at 11 a.m. to advance to the weekend portion of the tournament. The loser will be eliminated. -
Lowndes’ Willis, Breit named Region 1 Coaches of the Year
The All-Region 1-AAAAAA soccer teams were announced Wednesday and Lowndes was well represented.
Lowndes coaches Chris Willis (girls) and Jordan Breit (boys) were named the Region Coaches of the Year, after leading the Lowndes teams to region championships and going undefeated in region play. -
Vikings commit 4 errors, fall to Roswell, 5-2
The small things matter in baseball, especially in a winner-take-all game three.
On Wednesday, Lowndes’ baseball team made too many mistakes on the little things. The Vikings committed four errors that led to five Roswell runs and were eliminated in the Class AAAAAA state playoffs with a 5-2 loss to the Hornets. - More Local Sports Headlines
-
