CHAPEL HILL, N.C. –– The Tar Heels rode past Charlotte 38-20 during their home opener at Kenan Stadium yesterday.
Improving to 2-0 on the season, starting quarterback Conner Harrell completed 16-of-25 passes for 219 yards.
His performance on the field wasn’t without its faults, but in his first ever start at Kenan he had a solid debut and showed promise as North Carolina’s budding play caller.
“I think there were some drives and some plays I want back, but we got a lot to build off of which is good,” he said.
Harrell was off to a bit of a rocky start after getting sacked early in the first quarter, but he found his groove quickly and was able to hit 10 receivers over the course of the night – two of whom hauled it in for touchdowns.
He showed his arm strength on a 58-yard pass to freshman receiver Christian Hamilton in the third quarter – marking both his longest career pass and Hamilton’s first score as a Tar Heel. Harrell also found Bryson Nesbit in the first half with a 30-yard reception.
In this game we could see Harrell’s natural speed and mobility within the pocket shine through as he picked his spots carefully and decidedly maneuvered towards game-winning plays.
This could be seen especially when he successfully converted an early third down scrambling out of the pocket as he threw a parallel pass to J.J. Jones for 13 yards and a first down.
“He gives you an added dimension because he’s so fast,” head coach Mack Brown said. “I mean when he turns it up there’s 15 yards real quick. So it’s going to change how people play us and it’s going to allow us to have more people open.”
Brown said that he was impressed with Conner’s performance, but wants him to play more relaxed.
“I think he wants to please and he tries so hard. He won two state championships in Alabama, so he’s got poise and he’s one of the smartest kids I’ve ever seen,” Brown continued. “I think he needs to have more fun and quit trying to please us all and hopefully after today he’ll be able to do that.”
North Carolina was forced to test their running back depth after the departure of star running back Omarion Hampton, who went down with a lower body injury. With USC transfer Darwin Barlow also out with an injury, it was true freshman Davion “Bullet” Gause who stepped up to the plate.
“Omarion could have played, but we pulled him out because we wanted him safe moving forward and wanted to see some of the younger backs,” Brown said.
In his first outing as a Tar Heel, Gause showed maturity and perseverance on the field – going for 105 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.
“Bullet made one of the best plays I’ve seen on the field. That hurdle was insane. It’s good to have him,” Harrell said of Gause’s theatrics.
It was an opportunity he didn’t let slip through the cracks and he even added a little flare, hurdling over a defender in Drake-like fashion – a move that couldn’t have been better executed.
“When I got like two yards from doing it, in my head, I was just like jump and then I did it,” Gause said with a laugh when asked if his move was planned.
Gause—who understandably earned the moniker “Bullet” for his swiftness— says that the touchdown hasn’t hit him yet, but it will soon and that plays like last night can be expected out of him for the whole season.
Him being able to offset the workload that Hampton has gotten so used to carrying and will continue to do once he’s healed is something that shouldn’t go unnoticed. And it also places more faith in North Carolina’s running back room, a group that has been prone to injuries and inconsistencies the past couple of years.
In this new era of Carolina football it’s clear that there is still work to be done, but the pieces are being put together and each week is a chance to refine the mistakes and play at a high level on both sides of the ball.