ALBANY — Seeking to build a winning football program, Albany High has turned to a former Valdosta Wildcat.

Reginald Mitchell, who played for Valdosta in the early 1990’s and was a member of the Wildcats’ 1992 state and national championship team, was recently hired as Albany’s head coach.

Mitchell will replace interim coach Glenn Davis, a longtime Albany assistant who took over after the resignation of Scott Horton, who had coached the Indians for over a decade. Horton had become an assistant principal at the school.

Last year, Mitchell was the defensive coordinator for Dougherty High. His defense was a big reason the Trojans went 13-2, were Region 1-AAA champions, and made it all the way to the state finals. Dougherty did not give up more than 14 points in a game until its 35-14 loss to Peach County in the AAA state championship game.

“He did a tremendous job (at Dougherty),” Dougherty County Athletics Director Johnny Seabrooks told The Albany Herald. “As a defensive coordinator, you always want to see people fly to the ball. That’s the thing you look for. If they can’t score, they can’t win. And I think the intensity of the defense, a lot of times turnovers and making big plays, can stop offenses, and that’s one of the things he’s done.”

Mitchell played college football at Fort Valley State. After graduating, he was an intern for the Baltimore Ravens in 2000, when they won the Super Bowl.

Last year, Albany, which plays in the same region as Brooks County, Cook and Berrien, went 3-7 and missed the playoffs.