Re-al Mitchell is working toward being known for his good deeds on and off the field.

In a disjointed 2020 season that saw Temple stumble to a 1-6 record due to a variety of reasons, including COVID-related absences and injuries, Mitchell played in parts of three games against Tulane, SMU and UCF before his season came to an end when he sustained an injury in Orlando against the Knights.

Heading into preseason camp next week, Mitchell will be competing for the staring job with Georgia transfer D'wan Mathis, who was named by Temple head coach Rod Carey as the Owls' starter following spring practice.

Off the field, Mitchell is part of Temple's leadership council, and he's also the program's nominee for the AFCA Good Works Team and the Wuerffel Trophy, both of which recognize outstanding community service work.

As such, Mitchell was one of three players who spoke with reporters Sunday at Temple's Cooking for the Community barbecue at Edberg-Olson Hall, which also saw the players participate in block clean-ups on several of the streets surrounding the Owls' facility.

“My dad is an ex-Marine, so he’s huge into that, into the community and giving back," Mitchell explained as he began to talk about his experience with community service work. "I think that’s been instilled in me from a young age."

Temple offensive coordinator Mike Uremovich did say that Mathis and Mitchell had separated themselves from the rest of the players at that position not long before Carey named Mathis the starter, and Mitchell is still looking at August's preseason camp as an opportunity to compete for the job.

After former starter Anthony Russo sustained what would eventually become a season-ending shoulder injury, Mitchell and Trad Beatty shared snaps in the next two games against Tulane and SMU. Then Mitchell sustained an injury on the opening series of Temple's next game at UCF. that eventually brought his 2020 season to an end and required offseason surgery knocked.

Mitchell said Sunday that he's eager to show he still has "a lot still left in the tank as a player."

“D’Wan is a competitive guy," Mitchell said, "and so am I, and so is the rest of the quarterback room. So we’re definitely still trying to do as well as we can, whether that’s in the coaches room on the white board or on the field. But we’re definitely pushing each other to get better, because that’s what we’re going to need this season.”

You can listen to Mitchell's full interview with reporters here.