GREENSBORO, GA. - North Carolina wide receiver Hakeem Nicks admits he thinks about the NFL. About what it would be like to star on Sundays. About what it would feel like to take care of his family financially. About what it would mean to become the first Tar Heels football underclassman drafted since 2002.

But to even ponder playing in the NFL in 2009, the junior from Charlotte wants to take his play to another level this fall -- specifically by becoming the best wide receiver in the ACC.

"I feel I'm in the competition for it,'' Nicks said Sunday during the annual ACC football media kickoff. "By the end of the season, I feel like I'll come out on top."

Why not? Nicks proved he was among the more explosive wideouts in the conference last season, finishing second in the ACC in receiving yards (79.8 per game) and setting a UNC season record with 74 catches for 958 yards.

Several of those grabs were one-handed, highlight-reel fodder aided by hands that are so big even his size 3XL gloves are a little tight.

"It could be a jump-ball situation, and he's going to go up and compete for that ball -- and going to come down with that ball nine times out of 10," UNC wide receivers coach Charlie Williams said last week, describing Nicks' strength.

In an attempt to increase those odds, the 6-foot-1 athlete has dropped about nine pounds -- from 217 to 208 -- in order to speed up his 4.5-second 40 time.

His personal goals this season: a double-digit number of touchdowns and more than 1,200 receiving yards.

Meanwhile, he also has embraced the role of a team leader, working out with younger defensive backs and showing the newer receivers the best way to run routes. He said he believes the Tar Heels, who finished 4-8 last season, have a chance to win the ACC championship this year. He plans to do his part and more.

"I want to be one of the guys that will always be talked about when you talk about Carolina football -- one of the guys that turned the program around,'' Nicks said. "When you talk about receivers at Carolina, I want to be the first guy mentioned.

"And I want to leave a trademark, a good trademark. The new guys that come in, I want me to rub off on them, and make sure Carolina is still Carolina."

Whether he does that for one or two more seasons, though, remains in limbo. For family and financial reasons, he said he will consider going pro after this year -- if he feels like he's ready.

What will be the deciding factor?

"I feel like the relationship I have with God, he'll let me know: If it's time to go, it's time to go,'' he said. "If not, then I don't mind staying another year and winning some more games and competing for the national championship, going for the Heisman. That's something I want to compete for if I come back as a senior."

Along with seniors Brooks Foster and Brandon Tate, Nicks said the Tar Heels already boast the best receiving corps in the conference. Now No. 88 wants to prove he's No. 1, period.

"He has the physical tools to be the best in the league, absolutely,'' quarterback T.J. Yates said last week. "He's got amazing speed when he runs with the ball.

'He's got the biggest hands, ever. ... He's getting older, he's understanding more of the game. He's one of our smartest receivers now, and I think he has a chance to do good things in this league, and the country."