Mitchell pleased with first game back with Mercer football team

Tee Mitchell had nine carries for 13 yards Thursday against Jacksonville, but his production wasn’t what was important.

The junior running back was just happy to be back on the field with his Mercer teammates. The Bears’ leading rusher in 2015, Mitchell was suspended for the 2016 season.

His return came in the Bears’ 48-7 season-opening win.

“I usually don’t get nervous, but I was more anxious to get that first play, kind of get flowing, get hit again by somebody else other than the boys,” Mitchell said Tuesday. “So it felt good. Got a strong half of play, shake off the rust. We had a game plan that we prepared for, and they kind of threw us off guard. So we had to kind of change things on the fly, so I didn’t quite get the big splash that I wanted to do in my first game back, but it felt great getting back out there.”

Mitchell is just one of the many talented running backs for the Bears this season. Alex Lakes, a senior and the program’s all-time leading rusher, had seven carries for 54 yards against Jacksonville. CJ Leggett, a transfer playing his first game, added 12 carries for 37 yards. Mercer finished with 49 rushes for 177 yards.

The Bears return to action Saturday at Five Star Stadium against Wofford. It will be the Bears’ Southern Conference opener, while the Terriers beat Furman 24-23 last week. Wofford is ranked 10th in the FCS Coaches Poll and the STATS FCS Poll.

The Terriers are 3-0 against the Bears since Mercer joined the Southern Conference in 2014, winning 34-6, 34-33 and 31-21.

“Obviously, you look at our first conference game, and it’s against the No. 10 team in the country,” Mercer head coach Bobby Lamb said. “We’ve played with Wofford the last two years. We’ve been right there. It’s obviously a big game; it’s the first conference game.”

The other state games Saturday are New Hampshire at Georgia Southern, Fort Valley State vs. Valdosta State in Waycross, Albany State vs. Tuskegee in Phenix City, Alabama, Savannah State at Appalachian State, Miles at West Georgia, Shorter at Tusculum and Tennessee Tech at Kennesaw State.

This story was originally published September 5, 2017 at 4:25 PM with the headline "Mitchell pleased with first game back with Mercer football team."