UNC Football: Two Tar Heels predicted to breakout in 2019

The UNC Football program had two Tar Heels listed as breakout candidates at the running back position for the 2019 season

Mack Brown is hoping to turn things around in his second stint with the North Carolina Tar Heels football program after officially being named the new head coach back in November. Since then, there has been a certain level of excitement around the program.

But even with the excitement, the team needs to produce with wins on the field and make their first bowl game in two years for this turnaround to actually happen.

Brown takes over a team that is 5-18 in the previous two seasons and has won just two Atlantic Coast Conference games in that stretch. Both against Pitt. While the record wasn’t good in those two years under Larry Fedora, there is still some talent on this team.

One position that will be deep is running back where we have already that on display over the past two years with Michael Carter, Javonte Williams, and Ohio State transfer Antonio Williams. As we go into 2019, the backfield should be one of, if not the biggest strength for this offense and two players were recently listed as breakout candidates.

Athlon Sports put out their list of the top breakout running backs for the 2019 season and making the list was both Carter and Javonte Williams, as they were ranked 25 out of 30. Here is what the publication had to say about the duo:

"The running back position is the unquestioned strength of Mack Brown’s offense in 2019. While Brown and coordinator Phil Longo want to attack with the passing game, this backfield will see plenty of opportunities. Carter led the team by running for 597 yards (7.1 ypc) on just 84 attempts last fall. Williams was behind Antonio Williams (504 to 224), but the sophomore has generated a lot of offseason buzz. With three freshmen vying to start under center, utilizing the talents of Carter and Javonte Williams against a tough early slate wouldn’t be a bad thing for North Carolina."

Carter has flashed his speed before in the previous two seasons with UNC and has even been a factor in the receiving game out of the backfield. But Javonte Williams could be a good combo with Carter and then Antonio Williams could be a nice change of pace back.

Brown has his options back there and having that much depth at a position is never a bad thing, especially with a young inexperienced starter at quarterback.

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