End zone eludes Draughn, but that's OK

CHAPEL HILL -- Coaches and broadcasters call it the Red Zone. For Shaun Draughn, it might as well be the Dead Zone.

The North Carolina running back gets a prickly feeling on the back of his neck as soon he carries the ball deep into opposing territory. The closer it gets to the goal line, the more likely Draughn is to be watching from the sideline as Ryan Houston finishes the job.

Over the past six weeks, since Draughn has firmly established himself as the Tar Heels' go-to running back, he has carried the ball 114 times. Only one of those reached the end zone, a 39-yarder against Connecticut.

Meanwhile, Houston has touched the ball less than half as often over that period but scored six touchdowns, none from farther out than the 3-yard line.

Ever had your thunder stolen by a credit-snatching co-worker? Draughn is your man. The harder he works, the closer he gets the ball to the goal line, the more likely he is to come out of the game.

"Do I look back? Yeah," Draughn said Wednesday, laughing. "I kind of know I'm coming out. We get inside the 10, down to the 8 or 9, I'm like, 'At least get me one more shot to get it in.' Ryan comes in, and that's what our offense is supposed to be like."

The typical Carolina scoring drive seems to go something like this: Draughn, pass, Draughn, pass, Draughn, Draughn, Houston, Houston, touchdown. If nothing else, it saves Draughn from polishing his touchdown dance.

This kind of thing is common in the NFL, where it drives fantasy-football fanatics crazy, but at the college level the No. 1 back typically is the No. 1 option in short yardage. Not Draughn, although he isn't the kind of guy to complain about it.

Just last week, he revealed people have been mispronouncing his last name "drawn" all season when it's really "drone." A year ago, he was buried on the depth chart as a backup defensive back. Three months ago, when he was Carolina's No. 3 running back, he wasn't getting his name called at all, let alone getting 20 carries a game.

"When I'm on the sideline, I'm pumped up," Draughn said. "I did that work. I got them down there, so there's the end result right there. I feel like I get a touchdown when Ryan gets in. We're both equally excited. I'm the first one to congratulate him."

Houston, who is the bigger and more boisterous of the two, respects Draughn's work down the field as much as anyone, but he doesn't feel a bit guilty about collecting the six points himself. It has become a running joke, no pun intended.

"If they call my formation, I've got to go in there," Houston said. "That's my job. I've been telling him to break (a long run). I want him to break it. When he gets tackled, I'm like, 'C'mon, Shaun, break that!' And then I'm going out there."

The development of the Draughn-and-Houston duo has been a hallmark of Carolina's season, although in last week's loss to Maryland they combined for only 56 yards on 17 carries, with no issues about who was doing the scoring because neither did.

With the uncertainty at quarterback, where Butch Davis won't publicly select between T.J. Yates and Cameron Sexton, the running game may be even more of a focus for the Tar Heels when they face N.C. State on Saturday.

For Draughn, if all goes well, he'll have plenty of carries -- and plenty of chances to watch Houston score.

"Go ahead and get the touchdown, just so I can get my yards in," Draughn said.

No sooner had those words come out of Draughn's mouth than Houston went bouncing past him down the hallway, photographer in tow.

"Got to go to my photo shoot," Houston said, triumphantly.

"See? See how it is?" Draughn said in mock anger, laughing as the glory literally passed him by once again.