Georgia’s Malcolm Mitchell is ready for a memorable — and healthy — senior season

ATHENS -- Malcolm Mitchell is ready to wipe his injury slate clean.

Entering his fifth and final year on campus, Mitchell’s goal is to avoid the injury plague. After all, minor and severe injuries have taken their toll on the senior receiver throughout his playing days.

As a freshman, he saw success as a receiver but pulled his hamstring against Tennessee in a game in which he amassed 126 yards.

He dealt with minor issues in 2012, including an ankle injury, before tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in the season opener against Clemson in 2013. The rehab lasted well into the 2014 season, with Mitchell slow to recover.

Now at full strength, the last thing Mitchell is trying to do is worry about whether he’ll make it through a full season.

“Don’t jinx me, man,” he said with a laugh when asked if the risk of injury still crosses his mind.

When healthy, Mitchell has the potential to be one of the best receivers in the SEC. He was named a preseason coaches second-team All-SEC and a preseason media third-team All-SEC selection, despite totaling only 248 yards and three touchdowns in 2014.

Evidently, he has done enough throughout his career to prove he’s still among the best players in the conference.

It’s now a matter of Mitchell reaching that status again, which is something he’s confident he can do. Mitchell’s teammates have noticed it, too, specifically with how he has performed during practice.

“I feel that he’s more confident in himself,” junior receiver Reggie Davis said. “He’s playing like the old Malcolm in my eyes.”

“I expect great things, the best season he’s ever had,” junior receiver Kenneth Towns said.

By all accounts, Mitchell has looked the part of a true No. 1 receiver this preseason. He has been a go-to source for the younger receivers, as well, with two freshmen (Terry Godwin and Michael Chigbu) and a sophomore (Isaiah McKenzie) expected to see big roles this year.

With Mitchell assuming more of a leadership position, he said his group is “talented, electrifying, exciting,” although the view from the outside would indicate that the receivers are in a rebuilding mode after losing Chris Conley and Michael Bennett to graduation.

“I hope they keep thinking that way,” Mitchell said. “That way, we’ll get single-high coverage. One on one. We’ll take it.”

Mitchell will be the top target for whoever winds up winning the starting quarterback job. Before the ACL injury in 2013, Mitchell was coming off a 665-yard freshman season and a 572-yard sophomore campaign.

Assuming Mitchell’s speed, explosion and strength are all back, he’ll be quite the weapon for Georgia on the outside.

“There’s so many things that go into it, but when you do get the ball in the hands of somebody that can make a guy miss or have the speed to take it to the house, that’s very valuable,” Georgia head coach Mark Richt said. “When you have a guy with some experience to go along with it, it’s important. So we want him to stay healthy. We want everybody to stay healthy. I’m glad he’s doing well right now.”

The other receivers believe the old Mitchell, the player known for his big-play potential, is finally back.

But Mitchell isn’t settling for his old self. With his final year less than two weeks away from beginning, Mitchell wants to prove he has been able to improve his game to where he was before the devastating injury.

“I hope I look better,” Mitchell said. “My goal is to be a better receiver, a better football player, a better teammate than I have been ever before.”

This story was originally published August 26, 2015 at 8:48 PM with the headline "Georgia’s Malcolm Mitchell is ready for a memorable — and healthy — senior season ."