Tar Heels aren’t scrambling. UNC football finally has depth to withstand injuries
North Carolina coach Mack Brown signed three consecutive recruiting classes ranked in the top 20 nationally according to 247Sports.com’s team rankings so it seems a bit odd that Saturday’s game at Virginia is where accumulating that talent should pay off.
The spotlight against the struggling Cavaliers will shine on a handful of replacement players.
The No. 17 Tar Heels (7-1, 4-0 ACC) have lost three of their starters on the defensive line within the last two weeks — including losing book ends Noah Taylor and Des Evans during last week’s win over Pitt. Starting running back Caleb Hood also went down with a shoulder injury in the first quarter against the Panthers and is out for rest of the season.
Carolina isn’t scrambling to find replacements. The players it is now turning to have been in the rotation all season.
“To handle the injuries that we’ve been hit with here at the end, the only way that this has a chance to save us, is that we’ve recruited well enough,” Brown said. “There’s young guys that have to play beyond their years here and are gonna have to step help us get through this. We couldn’t have done this our first year if we’d had this many people hurt. We’d be through.”
Hood has made the most starts at running back, but freshman Omarion Hampton leads the team with two 100-yard games, six rushing touchdowns and is second behind quarterback Drake Maye with 358 rushing yards. There’s little concern offensively that Hood’s injury will slow them down.
The Heels need just two more wins to clinch the ACC Coastal Division and secure a place in Charlotte for the league’s title game on Dec. 3. Scott Stadium at noon seems like a perfect time to move one win closer.
The Cavaliers (3-5, 1-4) have found it rough making the transition to first-year coach Tony Elliott. The Wahoos failed to produce a touchdown last week despite playing quadruple overtimes in a 14-12 loss to Miami.
Carolina would like to extend that drought for four more quarters, by showing off a bit of their depth.
Junior Kaimon Rucker, who has a shoulder injury the team was monitoring this week, is expected to start in place of Evans at power end. Rucker is second on the team behind only Taylor with 2.5 sacks.
Sophomore Jahvaree Ritzie has primarily played defensive tackle, but could also find himself backing up Rucker at power end.
Collins, who is a fifth year senior, has played in 31 games combined over the past three seasons. After being asked to play more of a hybrid linebacker/defensive end role last year, Collins feels best suited at Carolina’s Jack position this season. He filled in for Taylor against Pitt and is expected to start against the Cavaliers.
And with nose tackle Ray Vohasek’s season-ending injury, it’s meant freshmen like Travis Shaw and Keeshawn Silver have spent more time in the rotation.
“It’s this time of the year that these things happen and we have prepared as the season has gone depth-wise to be able to, if the situations occur, to not be in scramble mode,” said Gene Chizik, UNC’s assistant head coach for defense. “So we’re not. We’ll have to move some pieces around, but at the end of the day, our job is to put the best people on the field to give us a chance to win.”
How to watch UNC vs Virgina football game
The game will be broadcast on ACC Network. It is also available on the ESPN App with an ESPN+ subscription and through various subscription apps that carry ACC Network, such as Hulu and YouTube TV. The link to watch it is here.
Vegas betting odds
Carolina is a 7-point favorite, according to VegasInsider.com’s consensus line.
Pregame reading
- UNC’s receiving tandem, one of the ACC’s best, is causing chaos for opposing defenses
- Three of NC’s Big Four in initial College Football Playoff rankings for 1st time ever
- UNC football suffers another blow. Two starting defensive linemen, RB out for season
- UNC vs Virginia first look: Tar Heels look to remain unbeaten in ACC and on the road
This story was originally published November 4, 2022 at 5:40 AM.