UNC Football: Is Tailback U Back?
By Matt Haley
Once upon a time in college football if you thought about schools with thousand yard backs North Carolina was one at the top of the list. From Don McCauley in 1969 to Jonathon Linton in 1997 there were 24 season in which a Tar Heel running back clipped a thousand yards in one season. Then for whatever reason the Tar Heel running game became grounded literally struggling to gain yards until a running back out of Florida signed with UNC. In the fall camp for the 2010 season the word from training camp was that Gio Bernard was as good as advertised and he should be able to help the offense from day one. Then on a freak non contact drill Bernard hurt his knee, and was sidelined for the 2010 season. Johnny White and Shaun Draughn led an improved ground game and late season injury to white kept UNC from having another rusher back in the single season thousand yard club.
Bernard back from injury along with rookie QB Bryn Renner were slated to lead the offense in 2011. Both excelled early in the season and Bernard went on to rush for over 1240 yards on the season. With the new offense Bernard may receive the same amount of carries, but the emphasis on spreading the field horizontally may give him even better holes to run through. Many times in the pro set Bernard made things happen on his own grinding out yardage after contact. Bernard in space one on one with linebackers and safeties is a mismatch against any team this season. The future is bright for Bernard, but a freak play in the spring game showed there are more backs in the stable for Coach Fedora and his offense.
Romar Morris changed teams after Bernard left to get stitches in his head, and the redshirt freshman made the most of his touches. Scoring three touchdowns he showed the speed players have discussed, the acceleration to bust a screen open for a touchdown, and the agility to make guys miss that every great running back needs. I had watched Morris in the high school playoffs, in some scrimmages and this is a different player last Saturday than ever seen before. He showed there is a reason to look forward to the running aspect of the “Fed Ex” offense and he can be a capable back up to Bernard.
The guy everyone has been waiting to see healthy is AJ Blue, and Blue did not dissapoint. Blue showed the ability to be the power back, but he showed explosiveness in the screen game that I saw in Kenan Stadium when he led his high school to a state Championship game appearance against Western Alamance. Blue looks more NFL ready on a sideline than perhaps any other Heel. He just needs some early confidence and some consistent playing time to show off his skills.
The offense’s tempo should give enough snaps to lt the running backs each get some carries with obviously Bernard getting the bulk of the work. A steady run game will only help Renner and the receivers create openings in the secondary. The number of running backs is one of the main reasons I am convinced Renner will not need to run very often for the offense to be successful. Tailback U is back, and the potential is there for a Johnson and Johnson type season with Bernard, Blue and Morris.
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