UNC Football: Team Captains Announced versus Clemson

Ahead of the UNC Football team’s matchup with the Clemson Tigers, the program announced the three team captains for today’s game.

Heading into a hostile road environment for its toughest challenge of the season, the UNC Football program has announced its team captains for today’s matchup with the Clemson Tigers. As you would expect, the captains today are the core leaders that we have seen step up in big moments this season for each unit.

Offensively, it’s Drake Maye, of course. Maye has been the leader of the offense for two years now and is one that doesn’t get rattled very easily. He’s also been one of the best performers for the Tar Heels offense and is a huge reason why North Carolina is 8-2 this year. Maye is currently sixth in the country in passing yards, with 3,145 heading into Saturday’s action. If the Tar Heels want a chance at upsetting the Tigers, a big performance from Maye will be needed.

Defensively, senior linebacker Cedric Gray has played the most snaps than anyone in the country at the position. He has been crucial for the Tar Heel defense and orchestrating play calling, especially as of late where opponents have tended to go with a more up-tempo offensive play calling. Without Gray on the field, there is no telling where the Tar Heel defense would be. Gray will be another leader on Saturday against the Tigers. The UNC Football defense will need to come up with a stop somewhere; expect Gray to be a key factor in getting the stop.

Junior tight end John Copenhaver is the special teams captain. This unit has had its struggles at times this year with three blocked punts, but they’ve also had some bright moments (Noah Burnette going six-for-six on field goals against Duke last week). In a game that is expected to be a close one, especially if the Tar Heels are going to win, special teams could have a huge role in today’s game. With an experienced Copenhaver as the team captain, hopefully, the unit can clean up some of the miscues and come up with a big play against the Tigers.

North Carolina and Clemson will kick off at 3:30 PM on ESPN.

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