Leaving Their Mark

CHAPEL HILL – Every college senior heading into their final home football game has an interesting story to tell.

They’ve gone from boys to men, kids to dudes, and have survived the grueling experience of being college football players.

Some, however, stand out more than others. And chronicling each player’s experience in full would be akin to re-writing Moby Dick, and some simply have better stories to tell. So, let’s pare it down some.

Michael Carter and Chazz Surratt will play their final games at Kenan Stadium on Saturday when North Carolina hosts Western Carolina. For both, it will be the culmination of challenging, yet rewarding, careers as Tar Heels before heading off to the NFL, where they have certain futures.

Here, we focus in on both players, getting their thoughts and that of UNC Coach Mack Brown’s.

First, Michael Carter.

At 5-foot-8 and 199 pounds, Carter has gone from fairly explosive to very explosive. He’s gone from a nice ACC running back to a really good ACC running back to a likely NFL running back. After running for 1,0003 yards as a junior, Carter returned this season much more explosive through holes, turning the edge sharper and, thus, quicker, and he’s been a more physical runner.

He’s run for 864 yards and four touchdowns this season, with three games to go, including the bowl, and has caught 22 passes for 252 yards and two scores. In his career, Carter is eighth all-time at UNC with 3,022 rushing yards and will probably finish his career fourth on the list, barring the unforeseen. In all, he’s run for 17 touchdowns and caught 79 passes for 641 yards and six scores.

So how does Carter hope UNC fans remember him?

“I want them to remember me for being a good person… and then just being a good player,” he said. “At the end of the day, I think all the players want to leave a legacy on the field and I’m one of them.”

But what did he learn the most during college? You might be surprised.

“I learned how to get out of my comfort zone because I definitely feel like I can talk to anybody, I can be personable to anybody,” Carter said. “So, just exercising my social side of myself has just been really fun my last four years. And just getting to know people. It’s really fun.”

When Mack Brown was hired more than 24 months ago, one of the first things he wanted to know was if “Number eight” would be back for the Tar Heels. In his analyst’s job at ESPN, Brown couldn’t watch every snap of every UNC game, but he knew about Carter and hoped the Navarre, FL, native would be back.

Has Carter met or even exceeded Brown’s expectations?

"He's exceeded them,” the Hall of Fame coach replied. “It's funny, you all have a team, I didn't have a team when I was at ESPN and ABC. So, I just watched eight games at a time. You would just sit there and try to find something you wanted to talk about that people would be interested in at halftime, or at the end of the game, and then you would basically email or text your producer, 'Here's a play.' And I kept seeing I think, (Malik) Carney, wasn't he (number 53) at that time? I kept seeing him on defense and I kept seeing Michael Carter on offense and those were the guys.

“Every time I turned up, Malik was in the backfield making plays and Michael had the ball on a flare, a draw or something where he was making a lot of yards. So, as I kept looking at it, I just thought that guy's really good. So, absolutely the first question I asked (UNC Director of Athletics) Bubba (Cunningham), 'Are (53) and eight back?'

"That was the only two numbers I knew for sure. And he said, (’53) is gone and eight's back,' and he said, 'He's a sophomore.' And I said, 'Yes!'

“And the thing Michael has done for us is, as valuable as he's been on the field, he's been more valuable off the field in the locker room and with leadership. And you think there's a lot of difficulty building up trust when you change jobs. The new guy coming in, they don't know you, they don't know the staff. We were able to keep (running backs coach) Robert Gillespie, that's one of the best coaching moves I've ever made. We've protected the ball, we protect well. He's done an excellent job with our running backs.

“But they trusted him and they wanted him to be here. And then, Michael has been probably the guy on this team that I've gone to the most to say, 'What do you think? And who should we talk to about this?' He really leads the Leadership Committee. But, we have a really good relationship and he's helped me a lot, manage this team and get us where we need to go. I will go ask him questions before I'll ask our staff."

Now, Chazz Surratt.

A native of Denver, NC, Surratt was a 4-star quarterback in high school earning Parade National Player of the Year honors. He redshirted before starting seven games at quarterback in 2017, and at times Surratt was quite effective.

In the first three games of his UNC career at QB, Surratt completed 46 of 66 pass attempts for 588 yards and four touchdowns without an interception while sharing time with Brandon Harris. He also ran for four scores. But that’s when the injuries started mounting for the Tar Heels and Surratt.

He was hurt the rest of the time he played quarterback, yet still managed two 56-yard touchdown runs, one against Duke in a crucial part of the game.

The move to linebacker, as first reported here at THI, was questioned by many and criticized by some. Surratt could have transferred for a fresh start after a tough close to the Larry Fedora era, but he wanted to stick with his guys and see things through, and it’s paid off in a huge way. Some assistant coaches on UNC’s previous staff thought he would have eventually been an NFL quarterback, but now Surratt will be an NFL linebacker.

“It’s been a journey. Been up and down,” Surratt said. “I’m just thankful for the relationships that I’ve built with the coaching staff here and the teammates, the guys I came in with, that’s really what I’m most thankful for.”

As a QB, he completed 111 of 193 pass attempts for 1,352 yards, 8 TDs, 6 INTs and ran the ball for six TDs. In almost two full seasons at linebacker, Surratt has 190 tackles, 12.5 sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.

A first-team All-ACC selection last year and runner-up for ACC Defensive Player of the Year, the 6-foot-2, 225-pound Surratt could have gone pro or chosen to sit out this season to prepare for the NFL, like his brother Sage did. He opted out at Wake Forest in the summer but Chazz chose to stay the course.

“It was definitely a thought, but I think the biggest reason I did is because Sage has played receiver all his life,” Chazz said. “He dominated last year, he had like 1,000 yards in eight games. There was not really much for him to go out there and show anymore. As far as me, I wanted to come out and become a better linebacker and play with my team.

“I thought we were gonna have a special year going into it, knew we were gonna be really talented. So, nah, I wasn’t really too close. I wanted to get better, more polished as a linebacker before I came out to go to the league.”

Brown has seen just about everything in his lifetime in football, but Surratt’s story is among the most unique.

"It's been absolutely amazing,” Brown said. “In my 40 something years, I don't know 45, whatever it is. We had a quarterback named Jeff Hammond at Southern Miss that ended up being a war hero. He ended up being the Athletics Director there, too, but he moved to safety and started and played really well for us. The only time I've ever seen a move like that.

“So, for Chazz to be able to come in and embrace the change and be physical and work out and have instincts. It's just been amazing for me to watch. I do think, when he wasn't making as many plays early and some people were getting frustrated with him, we were getting blocked in the offensive line and he needs to be freed so he can run. And he's learned to take people on, but the other night, we played much better up front and it freed him and it just shows you what he can do against the best team we've played.

“So, I'm so excited for him. I can't wait to watch him in the future. For both brothers to be drafted this year is going to be really cool for that family. And it's a wonderful family. He's already gotten his degree. His brother's the same. It is just an absolutely wonderful story."

Number eight and number 12-turned-21 will take the field at Kenan Stadium for the last time Saturday, and they will leave behind a legacy that resonates both on and off the field.