University of Georgia Athletics
A Quick Chat With ... Malcolm Mitchell
October 28, 2015 | Football
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Accomplished wide receiver, children's book author and literacy advocate, team leader both in word and deed, Georgia senior Malcolm Mitchell is just about everything you could want in a student-athlete. And if you've watched the Bulldogs play this season, you know that nobody is playing harder than the 6-foot-1, 195-pounder from Valdosta.
Through seven games Mitchell has 35 receptions, more than double any other Dog's total, for 505 yards and four touchdowns. And filling in on a punt coverage team, it was Mitchell that forced a critical turnover in Georgia's last game, a 9-6 win over Missouri on Oct. 17.
On Tuesday, Mitchell sat down for a quick chat about books, healthy eating, memorable moments and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: What's the funniest thing you've ever seen or heard in a game or practice?
Mitchell: There was a video that went viral, I don't know if it was this year or last year, I think it was last year, where the ball was snapped and the receiver stood still and then fell backward. That's by far the funniest play I've ever seen.
(Editor's note: Arkansas State ran the "fainting goat" play on a fake punt last season against Miami and you can watch it here: Arkansas State fake punt.)
Frierson: What would your reaction be when a coach drew up a play like that?
Mitchell: I doubt the coach did that.
Frierson: You think the player did that on his own?
Mitchell: He had to. If I did that, my coach would be all over me.
Frierson: I don't think a player would have the nerve to come up with that on his own.
(Editor's note 2: I looked it up and according to reports, it was a designed play. Malcolm knows football way better than me, but I've covered it for more than 15 years and I've yet to encounter a head coach that wouldn't erupt like Krakatoa if a player decided on his own to pretend to faint on a play.)
Frierson: If you could play with or against anybody in history, who would it be?
Mitchell: In history? Probably Champ Bailey.
Frierson: With or against him?
Mitchell: With him, for sure. I don't want to play against him — I wouldn't mind, though. He was a legendary guy at Georgia, legendary guy in the NFL and I'd love to play alongside him.
Frierson: Do you remember the moment in high school, I assume it was in high school, when you realized it was time to make a real commitment to football and began putting in the work that eventually got you to where you are today?
Mitchell: It was probably right after my senior season (at Valdosta High School). After my junior year I started getting highly recruited and I really didn't understand the opportunity until I got a little older.
Frierson: In terms of books you've read, do you remember the one that first blew you away or first grabbed you?
Mitchell: "The Hunger Games" was the first book that took me out of reality and placed me in an aura of creativity, to be completely honest. That's the first time I can remember reading something and as long as I was reading, reality was irrelevant. I was like, OK, I want that feeling all the time.
Frierson: I love that feeling. Whether I'm reading Stephen King or a political thriller or whatever, I love when I'm reading in bed and I look up and it's 1:30 in the morning and I've been reading for two hours. That's a gift.
Mitchell: I hope to deliver stories like that to the world one day, because it is truly a skill that, quite frankly, is not easy to master.
Frierson: Has there been a class in college that's blown you away?
Mitchell: It was a rhetoric class that I took. It was the first time that I encountered the idea of rhetoric and the philosophy of it. I took more from that class than probably any other because it kind of impacted the things I was trying to do, as far as reading and analyzing stories and different writing types, different tropes you can use — just all of the above.
Frierson: If you could play any other sport for the Bulldogs, what would it be?
Mitchell: Golf or tennis. I really enjoy watching tennis. There was actually a tennis player who took me out there for a couple of days and taught me how to play. I at least hit the ball back and forth.
Frierson: When you think back to your high school days, is there a moment that stands out as just one of those pure, blissful moments that you'll carry with you forever?
Mitchell: Probably just traveling to those away games and spending time with your close friends on the bus on the way up. And on the way back, as long as you win. Those moments are something I'll forever cherish.
Frierson: Who's someone on the team that doesn't get enough credit or attention, whether it's for being really good or funny or whatever?
Mitchell: I don't know if Dominick Sanders gets the credit he deserves, because I believe he's an All-American safety. Sometimes he can be overshadowed over Leonard Floyd, who in my eyes is a first-round draft pick, or Jordan Jenkins, first-round draft pick, and then someone like Sterling Bailey, who's a senior that's been here two or three years.
Sometimes some players can be overlooked, but he's just a sophomore and he'll have his time. Right now I think he's doing an extraordinary job.
Frierson: Say it's the night after a game and you can pig out on anything, what are you ordering?
Mitchell: You know, I don't — I eat healthy. I don't know if I'd pig out. I'd probably go to Jason's Deli or Panera Bread or something like that. I don't pig out much.
Frierson: You're the first person to give that answer. Everyone else goes to the wings or barbecue or a steak. Jeb Blazevich went on and on about some shrimp dish last week.
Mitchell: I do eat at places like that, but it's not often.
Frierson: It's not a pig out. Part of that I guess is that you're a wide receiver and you've got to be lean. If you're Sterling Bailey, you can maybe pig out better.
Mitchell: I don't know, Reggie Davis, he's a receiver and he's lean, leaner than I am, and he pigs out; he'll eat whatever. I can't do that.
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
