WRALSportsFan
ECU's former Heels Look Forward to Saturday
By WRAL Sep 5, 2007
Greenville, N.C. — Two East Carolina defensive linemen have plenty of incentive Saturday when the Pirates play North Carolina at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
Both Marcus Hands, who starts at right defensive end, and Khalif Mitchell, a backup at defensive tackle, originally signed with UNC.
Hands, from Wilmington, did not qualify out of high school and went to Hargrave Military Academy.
“At first I never thought I’d be very excited, the way I am, about playing for East Carolina,” said Hands, a junior.
The 6-foot-5, 272-pound Hands is an essential part of a Pirates defense that had a strong outing at Virginia Tech Saturday.
Mitchell enrolled at UNC and played regularly. It was his hit that jarred the ball loose from Wolfpack running back T.A. McLendon in UNC's victory in 2004.
But Carolina announced in July of 2006 that Mitchell would not be on the team in the fall. He later transferred to ECU.
Mitchell said that at Virginia Tech, he thanked Coach Skip Holtz for giving him another chance.
“I told Coach, ‘Thank you for this opportunity,’” said Mitchell, a 6-6, 307-pound junior. “He was like, ‘Thank you for being the person you said you’ll be.’”
Mitchell, like Hands, is especially looking forward to Saturday.
“Oh man, I’ve been getting ready from when I first came,” he said.
Copyright 2012 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Most Recent Comments
PACKFN17 and TruthBKnown...
I say Go HEELS(UNC 94) win or lose and by the way speaking of losing how did NC State do this past weekend...If the real truth b known hasn't Carolina beat NC State 3 years in a row now...in your own house and in Chapel Hill..you should be takin' care of your own backyard before getting into someone elses. Oh by the way..I was going to attend NC State but I already had one high school diploma...and I did not need another one...*smooches* Next time stay out of grown folks business...
PACKFN17, how can you say that?
There are positives and negatives for both teams winning. If Carolina ends up winning, I will find positives in that. But I can't ever formulate the words, "I will be pulling for Carolina, on this game."
I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.
I have to say, I will be pulling for Carolina, on this game.
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