Malcolm Mitchell, Georgia Bulldogs (Reader of the Month)

Malcolm Mitchell, Georgia Bulldogs

I absolutely love stories like this one about Georgia Bulldog wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell.  It seems that Mitchell, despite how severely injuries have limited his effectiveness during the 2013 and 2014 football seasons, still has his head screwed on straight.  Life is all about priorities and making the most of opportunity, something that young Mitchell already seems to understand.

From the September 12, 2014 edition of the CBS Evening News, comes this great piece on Mitchell's love of reading and willingness to go the extra mile to surround himself with fellow readers:

Fact is, Rackley may have been the only one in Athens who didn't know the name Malcolm Mitchell. Number 26 for the University of Georgia Bulldogs was one of the top recruits in the country a few years ago. He's Georgia royalty. 

And presumably, if Rackley had known that, she wouldn't have stood in that Barnes & Noble talking his ear off about the book club she had just joined. 

"I mean he like stepped back and he said 'You did? You did?' and he said, 'Can I join your book club?'" Rackley recalled. 

"And I said, 'I don't know if you want to join mine. We're all 40-, 50-, and 60-year-old women.'"

But Mitchell was undeterred. So now, one of the top wide-receivers in the country has been meeting monthly with his book club lady friends.

So picture it: one of the most talented college football players in the country surrounded by a bunch of middle-aged women who meet once a month to discuss the book they've just read with their book club.  

That's what Malcolm Mitchell does despite what has to be the tremendous pressure of getting himself back at full speed to take the field for his Georgia Bulldogs.  (Mitchell had the unfortunate experience in the first game of the 2013 season of tearing his ACL during the celebration of another player's touchdown and missed the rest of the season.  Then he suffered a knee injury just as the 2014 season was about to begin.)

And then, there's this:

After everything he's accomplished, what's he most proud of?

"I finished the 'Hunger Games' series in about two days," Mitchell said. 

Wait, but what about the touchdowns?

"That came natural," Mitchell said. "That's a gift. I had to work to read."

Malcolm Mitchell may be only 22 years old, but he is wise beyond his years.  He is my "Reader of the Month."

(Be sure to click on this CBS link and watch their broadcast replay of the story; you will be impressed.)

(Hat Tip to JandaAnne Sample of VA for making me aware of Mitchell's story)