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CHAPEL HILL With telephone area code 252 etched on his eye shadow patches, Erik Highsmith's original intention Saturday was to make a statement to East Carolina's football program.
That idea worked so well for North Carolina's freshman receiver that he went ahead and hit the Pirates with a 60-minute dissertation in Kenan Stadium.
As a high school player at Vanceboro's West Craven -- backyard recruiting territory for ECU -- the guy they call "Mookie" never got a scholarship offer from the Pirates.
"They recruited me all along; they just never offered me," Highsmith said. "I wanted to make sure I didn't forget that."
After catching six passes for 113 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown pass from T.J. Yates, Highsmith made sure no one forgot. And he did it while wearing the No. 88 jersey made famous over the past three seasons by Hakeem Nicks, now with the New York Giants.
Both distinctions -- getting Nicks' number and making such a quick splash -- caught Highsmith by the same sort of surprise he dropped on ECU's startlingly weak defense.
In high school, Highsmith wore No. 15 and was shocked when Butch Davis' staff assigned him the 88 jersey a few weeks ago.
"I was thinking, 'No way, not me' when that happened," Highsmith said. "But when it did, I was determined to do everything in my power to live up to it. I just didn't think I'd get a chance this fast. I met [Nicks] one time. When he shook hands, the first thing that struck me was his hands were about twice the size of mine. I thought, 'Aw man.' "
Among a bevy of new receivers, the tall, thin Highsmith was hardly touted to be a quick hit. Fellow frosh Jheranie Boyd, a Gastonia Ashbrook product with roughly the same physical build - 6 feet 2, about 180 pounds, jersey No. 87 dresses in the locker next to Highsmith's.
Boyd's spectacular, juggling 59-yard TD strike from Yates in the second quarter gave the Heels a 14-7 lead after the extra point. They never trailed again and improved to 3-0 on the season by piling up 433 yards against a defense that was expected to be the best in Conference USA.
"They're both going to be terrific," Yates said. "You could see that right away -- as soon as they got here really. I never doubted it at all. They don't have any weak spots. And Mookie, he just catches everything close."
But Yates deserves some of the credit, too. Although he was working against generally soft zone coverage schemes and a defensive unit that's struggled to make open-field tackles for three straight games, Yates completed 19 of 24 passes for 227 yards. Three of the incompletions were throwaways.
"He was outstanding," Davis said. "His composure, his poise ... he was smart with the ball and keeping everybody in their routes."
Compared with a two-interception performance in a 12-10 win at Connecticut a week earlier, Yates was near perfect. Even in the 40-6 opening win over The Citadel, he threw one interception and completed less than 50 percent of his 20 throws.
"It's a matter of everyone getting more comfortable with each other in the offense," Yates said. "There was some adjustment, but I don't think any of us doubted that we'd start clicking."
The timing of the offense's emergence couldn't be better for the team. With a defensive unit that should have the depth and skill to trouble any team in the ACC, the Heels now begin their league schedule at Georgia Tech (noon Saturday) with the look of being the Coastal Division contender predicted by many in preseason.
It's for sure the Heels have found a couple of big-play threats, including one ECU fans will not soon forget.
