1/29/2021 football Edit

Larry Porter Returning To Coach UNC's Running Backs

Andrew Jones • TarHeelIllustrated

Publisher

Andrew Jones has covered sports for 26 years, including all major college & professional sports for daily newspapers & national sites. He's done radio and TV & is entering his seventh year at THI.

Larry Porter is returning to North Carolina, and in the process is reuniting with Mack Brown, too.

Porter, who coached running backs at UNC under former head coach Larry Fedora from 2014-16 and was Brown’s running backs coach at Texas in 2013, has been hired filling the same position at Carolina.

The job opened up when Robert Gillespie accepted an offer to work under Nick Saban at Alabama, so Brown worked quickly bringing in Porter, who most recently was the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at Auburn. Porter lost his job when Gus Malzahn was fired in the fall.

Auburn’s recruiting classes while Porter was there were ranked Nos. 12, 12, and 10. This discounts 2017, in which the class signed a month after Porter was hired, and this year, as Auburn has just 12 members because of the Malzahn termination, and is rated No. 60.

At UNC, Porter coached the Tar Heels for all three of Elijah Hood’s season, and in 2015, Hood ran for 1,463 yards and 17 touchdowns. A year later, Hood ran the ball 73 fewer times, as he was banged up a bit, and finished with 858 yards and eight scores. In those two seasons combined, Hood ran the ball 363 times for 2,321 yards, which is an average of 6.4 yards per carry.

Overall, offensively in 2014, the Tar Heels finished ranked No. 45 in total offense at 430 yards per game, No. 36 in scoring at 33.2 points, and No. 86 in rushing at 151 yards per outing.

In 2015, UNC was No. 18 in total offense averaging 487 yards, No. 9 in scoring at 40.7 points and No. 18 in rushing at 224 yards per contest.

In 2016, Carolina was No. 45 in total offense at 439 yards, No. 44 in scoring averaging 32.3 points, and No. 100 in rushing averaging 146 yards per game.

Porter was the head coach at Memphis in 2010 and 2011, compiling a 3-21 record. Porter served at LSU for four years from 2005-09 as running backs coach, assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator. The Tigers won the national championship in 2007. Rivals named him the National Recruiter of the year in 2007 and 2009.

In 2013, Porter coached running backs during Brown’s final season at Texas. The Longhorns finished that season No. 64 in total offense and No. 65 in scoring, but were No. 36 in rushing, averaging 196 yards per game.

Under Gillespie the last two seasons, UNC finished No. 38 in rushing averaging 188.2 yards in 2019 and No. 11 this past season averaging 235.8 yards a contest. Michael Carter rushed for 1,003 yards in 2019 and 1,245 this past fall. Javonte Williams ran for 933 yards in 2019 and 1,140 this past season, also scoring 19 rushing touchdowns and setting a school single-season record with 22 overall touchdowns.

The last two seasons Carter and Williams combined to run 656 times for 4,321 yards (6.6 average) and 36 touchdowns. They also teamed up to catch 88 passes for 902 yards and eight scores.