UNC still shuffling

CHAPEL HILL -- North Carolina's offense has gotten used to making adjustments after playing without six starters -- center, left tackle, left guard, tight end, fullback and wide receiver -- for some portion of the past two months.

But with the news that leading rusher Shaun Draughn will miss the rest of the season after fracturing his left shoulder blade Saturday against Duke, UNC coach Butch Davis was looking for help again Monday.

"We're about out of options," said Davis, who made an NFL-style joke. "We checked the waiver wire this morning, and the ACC frowned upon trying to take somebody off somebody's practice squad. So, we are who we are."

Despite Draughn's injury, the Tar Heels (6-3, 2-3 ACC) head into Saturday's home finale against No. 12 Miami (7-2, 4-2) with a renewed and revamped running game.

Draughn was injured on the first play from scrimmage in Saturday's 19-6 win over Duke, but UNC still rushed for 192 yards. Backup tailback Ryan Houston racked up 164 yards, and Houston and freshman Hunter Furr are the only healthy scholarship tailbacks on the roster.

Junior fullback Anthony Elzy switched to tailback after freshman backs A.J. Blue (knee) and Jamal Womble (wrist) were lost for the season after the Georgia Southern game Oct. 10. Houston carried the workload against Duke with 37 attempts, compared with two for Elzy, who started his career at tailback and ran for a career-best 95 yards against Miami in 2007.

Receivers Greg Little, Johnny White and Jheranie Boyd also were used in the running game and have been more involved since the Heels came off their open date in mid-October.

Boyd scored the victory-clinching touchdown against Duke, a 3-yard end-around after Houston ran 10 times on a 12-play drive. Little, who started the 2008 season at running back, has 10 carries for 70 yards in the past three games.

"We'll continue to be creative," quarterback T.J. Yates said. "We're going to miss Shaun, but it's not that big of an adjustment."

In the past three games, the Tar Heels have averaged 203.7 rushing yards, after early struggles against Connecticut (35 yards), Georgia Tech (17) and Virginia (39).

The return of left guard Jonathan Cooper (ankle) and tight end Zack Pianalto (foot) have boosted the running game, but the Heels are still dealing with injuries on the offensive line.

Backup center Cam Holland suffered a neck stinger in the first half against Duke. Starting center Lowell Dyer, who missed six games with a shoulder injury, was sidelined with stomach flu, and right tackle Mike Ingersoll (sore back) did not start.

That meant more snaps for freshmen Travis Bond at right guard (40 plays) and Brennan Williams at right tackle (24), Davis said, and left guard Alan Pelc shifted to center for most of the second half. Pelc played both guard positions and center for a total of 80 snaps.

Asked who would start against Miami, Davis said that was still up in the air.

"I don't know," Davis said. "We'll find out who shows up for practice. We'll try to find five guys who are healthy enough."

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