Quarterback Brandon Mitchell looked sharp in his brief debut for North Carolina State leading the Wolfpack to a 14-0 lead over Louisian Tech before suffering a broken left foot on the third series of the game.
Mitchell watched much of the rest of the game on the sidelines using a pair of crutches as NC State won 40-14 in Dave Doeren's first game as coach. Multiple outlets have since reported he will require surgery on his foot and is expected to miss up to half the season.
Mitchell, a graduate transfer from Arkansas who played both quarterback and wide receiver for the Razorbacks and also moonlighted with the basketball team, went 3-for-3 for 67 yards and ran for 19 yards before the injury.
Backup Pete Thomas came in and completed 15 of 27 passes for 212 yards in place of Mitchell. Thomas has played a lot of football. He was the starter for two seasons (2010 and 2011) at Colorado State where he threw for 4,269 yards and 18 touchdowns.
The Wolfpack isn't exactly forced to go with a greenhorn to replace Mitchell.
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