This time a year ago, Malcolm Mitchell waited nervously to hear his name called in the 2016 NFL Draft and begin his professional football career.

Fast forward a year, instead of running a gauntlet of pre-draft workouts, the Valdosta, Georgia, native and former high school star has spent the off-season basking in the glow of winning the Super Bowl in his rookie season with the New England Patriots.

“Honestly, just blessed,” he said. “Because, how many people get that opportunity? I work and try to prepare for opportunities like that, and we all do as athletes our entire lives, but to be granted that, it’s something that athletes pray for.”

Even now, as a professional football player in one of the premier organizations in the NFL, Mitchell prioritizes spending his time to champion literacy, mainly through his youth literacy initiative, Read With Malcolm.

“I truly believe in order for everyone to reach their full potential, they have to read to expand their mind and to grow,” Mitchell said. “If a kid can grasp that concept at the age they are, the possibilities are endless.”

It was the dedication to promoting the benefits of reading that brought Mitchell back last month to Valdosta’s Pinevale Elementary School, where he handed out copies of the children’s book he’d authored and connected with the kids seated the same place he once sat.

“It makes me happy,” Mitchell said. “It makes me very proud of where I’m from, the things that I’ve been through, the things my family has been through, the friends that I’ve made.”

In front of an audience of elementary students clutching copies of “The Magician’s Hat,” Mitchell spoke about the impact reading has had in his life, and he encouraged them to invite books into their lives earlier than he did his.

“(It’s) very humbling just to walk into an environment where I grew up and just be able to interact, and hopefully inspire, kids.”

The Patriots selected Mitchell out of the University of Georgia with the 112th pick in the draft, and he provided an immediate return on their investment with 32 receptions for 401 yards and four touchdowns in 14 games, including six starts.

It wasn’t completely smooth sailing, however, for Mitchell through his rookie season.

During a blistering preseason debut, Mitchell suffered what appeared to be a gruesome injury to his elbow. Mitchell wouldn’t play for the remainder of the preseason, but he prepared himself to be available for the start of the regular season.

During the regular season, Mitchell was hit by another setback — a knee injury against the New York Jets that would hold him out of New England’s regular-season finale against the Miami Dolphins and the team’s divisional-round playoff game against the Houston Texans.

A Super Bowl title capped the year for Mitchell, who, aside from the success in his own career, was able to watch his high school alma matter capture its first state championship since 1998 — when Mitchell was just a 5-year-old child who didn’t like to read.

“I’m from this place, and seeing the impact the win had on the community, it’s powerful,” he said.

The hype surrounding the Super Bowl can be deafening, with media days, interview requests and floods of well-wishes pouring in from family and friends.

Although a rookie, the national recognition Mitchell received from his children’s book, “The Magician’s Hat,” further thrust him into the spotlight before the big game, acquainting millions with the story of how Mitchell fell in love with reading, joined a women’s book club in Athens, Georgia, and went on to become an author.

The 2017 NFL Draft begins Thursday, and Mitchell said he wouldn’t be surprised to see some fellow hometown talent in the NFL sooner rather than later. It’s a spotlight he’s more than happy to share.

But Mitchell doesn’t want professional football to be the only end goal for the city’s youth.

“My lesson is just to encourage them to not only be athletes, but to be more,” Mitchell said. “If you’re just an athlete, you won’t make it as far, and it’s been proven.”

“So I come back here to encourage them to play the sport, but they have enough influence from the community on that,” he said. “I want to encourage them to be beyond that and to grow, to learn, so they can get to college and expand and be whatever they want to be.”

Davis is the sports editor at the Valdosta, Georgia Daily Times.