Adonai Mitchell explains his rise to starter, historic catch: ‘You’ve just got to want it’

ATHENS — Georgia receiver Adonai Mitchell smiled as he approached the mic stand in the NFL-themed lobby of Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall on Tuesday night.

“It’s more of a nervous smile,” Mitchell admitted. “It’s my first rodeo, so I”m kind of nervous about that.”

Kirby Smart’s policy has been that freshmen are not allowed to do UGA-sanctioned interviews, so standing in the middle of some 30 reporters firing rapid-fire questions was a new experience.

But, just as he has already shown he can do in football game situations, Mitchell responded in the spotlight, pulling off a fun and insightful interview.

Mitchell laughed when discussing how many times Smart singles him out with his infamous microphone during practices.

The head coach sees an explosive wideout with big-play potential in Mitchell, and, as he does with other rising stars, makes it a point to push him.

Mitchell admitted it took some getting used to, but he shared that hearing Smart’s sharp tongue over the loudspeakers “definitely” has helped him improve and grow as a player.

“Any time you slack, there’s Kirby on the microphone, and it’s getting played through the whole neighborhood so everyone knows what you’ve done wrong,” Mitchell said.

“My high school we didn’t have that, it was more of a one-on-one personal thing, but now everybody knows.”

Mitchell arrived at UGA relatively unheralded, a 3-star prospect who played his senior season in Middle Tennessee in 2019.

Mitchell didn’t play football in the fall of 2020, but he did flip his commitment from Ole Miss to Georgia in the 2021 signing class.

No one could have guessed that Mitchell would impress so quickly at Tennessee, first with JT Daniels in spring drills, and then even more as the season progressed with Stetson Bennett.

The door opened at the featured “X” position when returning star George Pickens suffered a torn ACL and Mitchell proved the most explosive healthy playmaker out of the remainder of the receiving corps.

Mitchell started 12 of 15 games for the Bulldogs as a true freshman, playing more snaps than any of the other UGA receivers.

It was Mitchell who pulled in a touchdown pass that many fans considered the most important play in UGA’s 33-18 win over Alabama in the CFP Championship Game.

Georgia was trailing Alabama 18-13 with 8 1/2 minutes left and facing second-and-18 at the 40 after the Tide sacked Bennett on first down.

Bennett used a hard count to draw the Tide offsides before launching a deep ball that Mitchell leaped high to catch in the end zone, providing what proved to be the game-winning points.

Mitchell said at the time it was just another catch in the game.

“Everyone was just doing everything we could to come out with the W,” Mitchell said. “I was playing my role, and my number ended up being called. It was a great ball by Stetson and I was fortunate to make the catch.”

Mitchell indicated the importance of his play and the recognition that would come from it was not clear to him until later.

“When I got to my phone, that’s when I realized,” Mitchell said. “It was crazy, it was like a dream come true.

“Every kid that wants to play football dreams of being on a stage like that.”

Mitchell had gotten a taste of postseason glory in the Orange Bowl CFP Semifinal against Michigan, the recipient of an 18-yard touchdown pass from Kenny McIntosh off a trick play that put the Bulldogs up 14-0 en route to the 34-11 win.

Mitchell had put in the time and work to make those opportunities happen, becoming the sort of program player coaches count on.

“We have a great coach who gives us the tools to win, and all the receivers buy into it, and like I said, play our role,” Mitchell said. “You’ve just got to want it”

Mitchell left the interview smiling, the nerves behind him, his place in Georgia football history secure.