He was known by many nicknames during a stellar football career that included three seasons at North Carolina and seven in the National Football League.

"Nitro'' and "Neutron Bomb'' were two that accurately described his explosive running style. But the moniker he's most recognized by was the one courtesy of ESPN broadcaster Chris Berman - Natrone Means "Business.''

Berman applied the tag while Means was in his heydey as a Pro Bowl running back with the NFL's San Diego Chargers.

He piled up more than 5,000 career rushing yards and 45 touchdowns as an NFL back, earned All-Pro status in 1994, scored a touchdown in Super Bowl XXIX and was named to the Chargers 50th Anniversary team.

But despite an appreciation for those accolades and experiences, Means still considers his three years in Chapel Hill between 1990 and 1992 as some of the best of his life.

And not just because of his personal exploits, which include 3,074 career yards, 34 touchdowns and twice being named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference first team.

"Those were special times,'' Means recalled late last week. "The one thing I do know is the majority of my friends I have in my life now are guys I went to college with."

"In the NFL, there is so much turnover. You never know what guys are going to be around this year to next. But you come into college out of high school as a baby-faced, wide-eyed freshman with a group of 20 or so guys, all facing the same new experiences together. That creates a special bond that we all still share today.''

Means, who tuns 40 on April 26, is still in regular contact with former Tar Heels like Jimmy Hitchcock, Eric Thomas, Mike Thomas, Marcus Wall, Dwight Hollier, Deems May and Randy Jordan, who is now part of new UNC head coach Larry Fedora's coaching staff.

"That closeness and togetherness we had was something that helped us on the field,'' said Means, who resides in Huntersville, N.C., not far from Central Cabarrus High School in Concord.

It was at Central Cabarrus that Means was "discovered'' by an charismatic young coach determined to build North Carolina's football program into a winner with in-state talent.

The Tar Heels had endured back-to-back 1-10 seasons under Mack Brown in 1988 and 1989, but that didn't deter many of the state's best high school prospects from coming to Chapel Hill. That included Means, who had earned Parade All-American status as a senior after rushing for 2,023 yards and scoring 33 touchdowns.

UNC would improve to 6-4-1 and then 7-4 during Means' freshman and sophomore seasons, due in part to Brown's focus on keeping the state's best prep talent at home.

"He made the in-state recruiting his highest priority,'' Means said. "I know my senior year (at Central Cabarrus), whenever I was traveling around to banquets or to all-star games, almost every player I came in contact with was going to Chapel Hill. When he saw an in-state player who was obviously a Division I talent, he did everything in his power to make sure they ended up at North Carolina.

"That, in itself, energized the football program. It got a buzz going around about guys from all around the state coming to North Carolina.''

Players like Means, Chapel Hill linebacker Bernardo Harris, Concord defensive back Jimmy Hitchcock, Kannapolis tight end Mike Morton, Spring Lake defensive back Bracy Walker and Wingate defensive lineman Curtis Parker were just part of the in-state crop Brown signed in February 1990.

They would play a vital role in first, re-establishing the winning ways in football at UNC. But despite producing those two straight winning records in 1990 and '91, the Tar Heels still didn't receive a coveted bowl invitation.

"We were bowl eligible my sophomore year ... I'm still trying to figure out that deal,'' Means said. "I've heard many different stories. But we finally broke through my junior year, and it was a big deal. Getting to a bowl game was our driving force, our motivation from the off-season workouts to preseason practice to the regular season. Everytime we broke down as a team after workouts or meetings, that (getting to a bowl) was our rallying chant.''

Having been left out of the bowl picture at year before despite a 7-4 finish, the Tar Heels were still anxious about their post-season hopes in 1992, even though they had a 6-2 mark with three games to play. Winning two of the final three games against Maryland, Clemson and Duke was what it would likely take to get UNC into a bowl.

So, on a rainy afternoon in College Park, Md., Means sparked the Tar Heels to a 31-24 victory that would prove a decisive in securing the school first bowl bid since 1986.

Means rushed for 249 yards and two scores. A 76-yard touchdown jaunt in the third period highlighted Means' performance.

"We knew we had to win,'' Means said. "We ran the ball extremely well that day.''

The Tar Heels would clinch a bowl bid by beating Duke in the regular-season finale.

Means would go on to earn Offensive MVP honors after rushing for 128 yards and a touchdown as the Tar Heels defeated Mississippi State in the Peach Bowl, 21-17. It would be Means' last game in a UNC uniform as he opted to leave school a year early for the NFL.

These days, Means is still very involved with football. He's been a counselor and instructor for the ESPN Nike Rise football camps and the past three years has joined co-owner and former NFL player Mo Collins as head of Prep Star Elite Sports, which offers camps and training to college prospects.

Next fall, Means will be back on the sidelines, too, this time as running backs coach at Hopewell High School in Charlotte.

He's watched with great interest the coaching transition at UNC, where Larry Fedora is installing a spread offense.

"It will be interesting to see how the season comes out,'' Means said. "The spread offense should be exciting to watch.'

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And how would Natrone Means have done as a running back in the spread offense?

"I feel like I would do well in any offense,'' Means said. "I caught the ball well. My strong point would have been coming down hill and getting between the tackles."

"The game of football is really about running, tackling and blocking. Those things don't change, regardless of the playbook.''