Top UNC Football players for 2017: No. 2 Austin Proehl
Keeping It Heel continues its countdown of the top 25 players on the North Carolina Tar Heels roster with player No. 2
#25 Noah Ruggles | #24 Tomon Fox | #23 Jordan Cunningham | #22 Tyler Powell
#21 Brandon Fritts | #20 Jonah Melton | #19 Stanton Truitt | #18 Myles Dorn
#17 Cayson Collins | #16 Michael Carter | #15 Tom Sheldon | #14 JT Cauthen
#13 Aaron Crawford | #12 Johnathon Sutton | #11 Juval Mollette | #10 Jalen Dalton
#9 Donnie Miles | #8 Thomas Jackson | #7 Brandon Harris | #6 Bentley Spain
#5 Cole Holcomb | #4 MJ Stewart | # 3 Malik Carney
We continue to count down the weeks until college football season by revealing our list of the top 25 UNC players for the upcoming season.
NFL training camp is over and we are now in the third week of preseason games. College Football kicks off this weekend with two top 25 teams in action.
So what better way to get into the football mood than getting a sneak peek at the future of the Tar Heels.
Let’s take a look at player No. 2, a wide receiver who is the only offensive player to crack the top five of this list.
Position: Wide Receiver
Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
High School: Providence
Last Season: Proehl’s had a pretty big year last season. After recording only 27 receptions and 331 yards combined in his first two years, Proehl broke out with 43 receptions for 597 yards in 2016. He also caught three touchdowns last year.
Additionally, Proehl saw more snaps as the team’s third wide out after senior Mack Hollins went down with an injury.
Proehl’s best game came in the win over Pittsburgh. In that game, he finished with seven receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown.
Why he might move up this list: Lack of competition. UNC saw three of their top four receivers graduate this past season. Proehl became the teams returning receptions leader after finishing third last year.
With Ryan Switzer gone, Proehl will look to be the go to wide receiver on the team. Switzer had over 1,000 receiving yards in 2016 and the Tar Heels will be looking for Proehl to help compensate some of that.
Additionally, with a questionable running game, the Tar Heels may look to get Proehl involved in some sweeps, where the senior can use his speed to gain yards for UNC.
Why he might move down this list: Proehl should be an undisputed starter on this team. He is also one of the toughest players on the team. The only issue may be his size, but again Switzer thrived in this offense and was even smaller than Proehl is.
Prediction: There is a reason Proehl is the only offensive player in the top five. UNC lost a ton on offense this past year. If Proehl doesn’t have a big season it is because of injury or the Tar Heels are a lot worse than even their strongest critics are expecting them to be.
As long as UNC finds a way to get Proehl the ball, he will succeed. He may not be Ryan Switzer but an 80 reception, 900 plus yard season with 12 touchdowns seems reasonable.