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CHAPEL HILL – Imagine for a moment a 6-foot-6, 220-pound athlete lining up as a slot receiver. Not just on a few snaps to throw off the defense, but on a regular basis.

Then, imagine him lining up wide, then at tight end, then as the 1990s-style H-back, whatever that title might be in current football parlance.

He can block well, but his specialty is running routes – long ones, mid-range, and short, darting and cutting ones. Then, when he gets the ball, he possesses the ability to scamper past would-be tacklers.

Oh, and he’s a basketball player who has chosen football, so closing one’s eyes and imagining this kind of athlete on a football field is certainly tantalizing. And that’s exactly what North Carolina has in Bryson Nesbit.

“Everybody says he’s the nicest person on the team in basketball,” junior wide receiver Josh Downs said about Nesbit. “And he lines up everywhere. Sometimes, me and him just pick which position we want to play.

“He’ll come up to me and say, ‘You want slot or outside?’ And I’ll be like, ‘What (do) you want?’ We just line up wherever we go.”

Also imagine the large-but-quick-and-fast Nesbit in the slot allowing Downs to play outside putting him in very winnable single-coverage situations. Offensive coordinator Phil Longo and head coach Mack Brown can envision this scenario down the road, or perhaps even by the Tar Heels’ opener Aug. 27 versus Florida A&M.

Nesbit arrived at UNC as a tight end, rated a 4-star prospect, including the No. 18 player at his position nationally in the class of 2021. Only he isn’t just a tight end.

“We’re playing Bryson Nesbit at both receiver and tight end because he’s such a mismatch outside,” Brown said. “And we’re limited at receiver, so it gives us a big body.”

Nesbit showed some flashes as a true freshman last season. He saw action in 10 games, logging 89 offensive snaps. The 6-foot-6, 220-pounder caught seven passes for 154 yards and a touchdown, which went for 47 yards. The last 26 were courtesy of Nesbit’s legs after he juked a Georgia State defensive back almost as if it were a crossover ballhandling move on his way to the rim.

It was fluid, and an indication of what Nesbit might be able to do with some regularity at this level.

There is more to Nesbit’s package, if you listen to Downs.

“His hands are crazy,” Downs said. “He runs great routes. He reminds me a lot of Kyle Pitts from Florida. I think that’s a good similarity. He’ll definitely make his name known this year.”

Pitts, who was a rookie last season with the Atlanta Falcons, is also 6-foot-6 and caught 100 passes with 17 touchdowns in his sophomore and junior campaigns combined with the Gators.

Six-foot-six guys in the slot go against so much of what has become conventional about receiver roles. But Downs is a big believer that if a guy can do it, let him do it.

“Yeah., him and Kyle Pitts are both like 6-6, but they can move good,” he said. “So, you gotta let them do it.”

Now, Nesbit is also getting in a lot of work at tight end, though the Tar Heels are in capable hands there with Kamari Morales back for his junior campaign. Morales caught 24 passes with five touchdowns a year ago and will get a ton of reps this season. John Copenhaver has steadily improved, too. So that spot is taken care of if Nesbit ends up getting the bulk of his snaps at receiver, which might happen out of necessity.

Carolina had just six scholarship receivers available this past spring and now have eight, with true freshmen Andre Greene and Tychaun Chapman having arrived earlier this summer. Tylee Craft is battling cancer and unavailable. So, the room is thin, but adding Nesbit into the mix some in some receiver roles will help.

“We are very limited at wide receiver with our numbers, especially with Tylee being out,” Brown said. “But we are also working Bryson Nesbit some at receiver. So, he is working in the slot, working on the outside.

“So, he is working at tight end and wide receiver. Josh Downs and Antoine Green are doing well and JJ Jones and Kobe Paysour are really working hard to get some snaps as well.”

Nesbit is still young, so expecting him to explode out of the gate in the first month of the season may not be feasible, though expectations around the program are that he could give Carolina another big-play guy to complement Downs, who set UNC single-season records last fall with 101 receptions for 1,335 yards.

Downs may or may not approach similar numbers this season, and if he doesn’t it might mean more options are a part of Carolina’s passing game. And the odds are pretty good a 6-foot-6, 220-pounder in slot could be part of the equation.