CHAPEL HILL, N.C. –– Just two weeks into the season, and North Carolina has already lost some meaningful players to injury.
Some of the losses include some major players including quarterback Max Johnson, center Austin Blaske, outside linebacker Kaimon Rucker and running back Darwin Barlow.
Johnson went down with a season-ending broken leg injury during the season opener against Minnesota after being hit on a blitz play. Blaske, Rucker and Barlow are all out with lower-body injuries, yet are expected to make staggered returns within the next couple of weeks according to Head Coach Mack Brown.
“We’ve talked constantly about the next man up,” said Coach Brown. “They don’t have time to grow up, these guys are growing up between now and the time they get out there.”
In the 38-20 win over UNC-Charlotte this past Saturday the program rolled through 75 players, implementing the ‘next man up’ mentality more than ever before.
Younger players Davion Gause (running back) and Amare Campbell (linebacker) earned offensive and defensive player of the game accolades for playing at a high level on Saturday.
Gause earned his first collegiate touchdown and a 100-yard game and Campbell recorded seven tackles and a sack. Both players have been mentored by more experienced players in their respective positions and are being primed to take some of the weight off the first string players.
With this slew of bodies taking the field for the first time, there were a lot of good things that came out of adding some new faces to the rotation.
“I’m really excited about the way we’re running the ball,” Brown said. “Without our starting two running backs we had 269 yards rushing so we’re being physical.”
He moved on to praise the defensive unit saying, “I’m so pleased that we’re stopping the run, we gave up 49 yards rushing and we’re 16th in the country against the run which is something we’ve talked about for five years but haven’t done.”
North Carolina was also 6-of-11 on third and fourth downs, showing marked improvement from last season. Understandably, however, there are also some areas that must be polished up.
“We had too many pre-snap penalties, I don’t know where those came from,” Brown said. In addition to the penalties, Brown highlighted that the defense needs to force more turnovers on defense and that his team missed at least three turnovers.
The Tar Heels should be able to minimize these mistakes against NC Central this weekend – a team they have a significant edge over. In place of Rucker, who is expected to come back in two weeks, sophomores Tyler Thomposn and Jaybron Harvey traded snaps at the jack position. Coach Brown said he was proud of how they approached the situation but still need to make the leap towards game-changing plays.
Zach Greenberg made his first FBS-level start against Charlotte, stepping in for the injured Blaske who was sidelined with a lower body issue following the Minnesota game. Prior to this opportunity, Greenberg had honed his skills over three years at Muhlenberg College, a Division III program in Pennsylvania.
“With a new offensive line, you lost your center in the first quarter and still just kept going,” Brown said.
Consistent maturation and developing depth at least three-deep has always been a goal of Coach Brown’s, but it’s a goal that’s been unexpectedly fast-tracked with all the injuries. This challenging situation has provided an opportunity for younger players to step up and prove themselves, accelerating their development and strengthening the team’s overall resilience. Brown sees this adversity as a chance for growth for both individual players and the team as a whole. And his perspective on the situation reflects his coaching philosophy:
“I’ve always felt like pressure is a privilege because that makes someone trust you and you’ve gotta have pride in that privilege instead of feeling the pressure,” Brown said.
UNC Continues to Shine into the Final Stretch