Every time Malcolm Mitchell got the ball in his hands this season, there was the potential for a big play.

Mitchell got the ball in his hands a lot in 2010. And he made a lot of big plays.

Mitchell, Valdosta High’s star wide receiver, caught a school-record 77 passes this season, for 1,419 yards and 13 touchdowns. He was one of the state’s most prolific receivers, and helped the Wildcats go 11-2, make it to the state quarterfinals and finish No. 8 in Class AAAAA.

For his performance this season, Mitchell has been chosen The Valdosta Daily Times’ Offensive Player of the Year.

“Malcolm has great work habits, and has made the transition to receiver,” Valdosta head coach Rance Gillespie told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution earlier this season. “He’s got good ball skills. He can run. We want to try to score points. He’s a threat anytime you get the ball in his hands.”

Mitchell thrived in the West Coast offense that Gillespie implemented this season. He had seven 100-yard receiving games, and caught at least one touchdown pass in nine different games.

In 2009, Mitchell had given Wildcat fans an idea of how dangerous a playmaker he could be, when he scored touchdowns six different ways (rushing, receiving, kickoff return, punt return, fumble return and interception return). He scored nine touchdowns that season. But he was only used part-time on offense, because he was starting at free safety, and only caught seven passes. Those seven catches went for 210 yards and three touchdowns.

But when Gillespie became the head coach, he believed that Mitchell could be a major threat on offense, so he moved him to receiver full-time. Mitchell responded with a huge season.

In Valdosta’s season opener against Brooks County, Mitchell caught three passes for 105 yards in the Wildcats’ 35-0 win. He caught touchdown passes of 45 and 48 yards from quarterback Ryan Whilden (who passed for 3,019 yards and 30 touchdowns this year).

The next two games, Mitchell had a combined nine catches for 126 yards and a touchdown in victories over Hardaway and Lincoln.

Then came Valdosta’s epic battle with Brunswick. The Wildcats and the Pirates traded touchdowns for four quarters and one overtime period, before Valdosta came away with a 64-62 win. The game set a record for the most points scored in a GHSA regular season game. Mitchell was one of the best players on the field that night, catching five passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught a two-point conversion pass.

Four of the five catches that Mitchell made in that game either scored a touchdown or led to one. Mitchell’s 33-yard catch was a huge play on the Wildcats’ first scoring drive. His 26-yard touchdown catch on the opening possession of the third quarter gave Valdosta a 29-24 lead. On the Wildcats’ next possession, Mitchell made a leaping catch, then got by the defender and raced into the end zone for a 54-yard touchdown reception, which made it 35-24. After Brunswick rallied to take a 48-40 lead, Mitchell’s 67-yard catch led to another Wildcat touchdown, which enabled Valdosta to tie the score at 48-48. The Wildcats wound up winning the game in overtime.

“I think I played pretty good,” Mitchell said a few days later. “I enjoyed it. I had fun doing what I was doing. I’m glad I could help the team win.”

Mitchell had five catches for 32 yards in a 19-0 win over Robert E. Lee in his team’s next game. But the following week, Mitchell had another big game in the Wildcats’ 43-28 win over M.L. King. He caught eight passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown catch, a 54-yarder in the second quarter, gave the Wildcats a 15-14 lead. His second touchdown catch went for 32 yards early in the third quarter.

Fans at the Valdosta-M.L. King game got to see both M.L. King’s Demarco Robinson, who set a state record with 1,655 receiving yards this season (and had 100 yards and a touchdown against Valdosta), and Mitchell, who finished second in receiving yards in Class AAAAA.

In the Winnersville Classic, Mitchell caught 12 passes for 143 yards, but Valdosta suffered its only loss of the regular season, 24-17 to Lowndes. But a week later, he caught eight passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns, and helped the Wildcats defeat Coffee 42-24.

Mitchell’s next big game came in the Wildcats’ 21-7 win over Tift County. He caught five passes for 194 yards and a touchdown. He gave the Wildcats a 14-7 lead on the first play of the second quarter, when he got behind a defensive back, hauled in a long pass from Whilden and raced untouched into the end zone for a 95-yard touchdown catch. Mitchell also had another long catch in the third quarter, which set up Valdosta’s final touchdown of the night.

After a week off, Mitchell had another big game, and helped the Wildcats beat eventual state runner-up Colquitt County 36-29 in Moultrie. He caught seven passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Just like he had against Tift County, Mitchell gave the Wildcats a lead they would not relinquish with a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter. This time, he caught a screen pass on fourth-and-1 and sprinted 42 yards for a touchdown, giving Valdosta a 14-7 lead. His second touchdown of the game came on the first possession of the second half, when he outjumped a defender, hauled in a pass and raced 72 yards for the score, which made it 29-7.

In the Wildcats’ first-round playoff game, against Windsor Forest, Mitchell only played one half, but still caught seven passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns. Valdosta built a 34-0 halftime lead, then let its starters rest in the second half, and wound up winning the game 34-13.

A week later, Mitchell helped then-No. 5 Valdosta upset then-No. 3 McEachern 31-28 in Powder Springs in the second round of the playoffs. Mitchell caught five passes for 74 yards and a touchdown. Valdosta fell behind 14-0, but Mitchell’s 7-yard touchdown catch helped cut the Wildcats’ deficit in half. Then, three plays later, a McEachern fumble went right into the hands of Mitchell, who took off with it, and carried a would-be tackler over 30 yards down the field before he was finally hauled down at the Indians’ 4-yard line. That set up the tying touchdown. The Wildcats eventually won a back-and-forth battle, 31-28.

Unfortunately, Mitchell was injured in the fourth quarter of the McEachern game. He was questionable leading up to Valdosta’s quarterfinal game against Grayson. He wound up playing, but was far from being 100 percent. Valdosta committed six turnovers that night, and lost 22-0. Mitchell had three catches for 54 yards.

Now there are a ton of major college football programs that are trying to get Mitchell to play for them. He has offers from basically every Division I school in the Southeast. This week, both Florida head coach Will Muschamp and Georgia head coach Mark Richt have come to Valdosta to visit with him. Mitchell has not decided which school he will sign with, but Georgia, Florida and Alabama have been his three favorites for a while.

Mitchell is rated the No. 5 cornerback in the nation by scout.com, and a four-star recruit. Schools have expressed interest in him both as a cornerback and a wide receiver.

Mitchell and Valdosta teammate Jay Rome have been chosen to play in the Under Armour All-America Game on Jan. 5 in St. Petersburg, Fla.