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Every offseason, we run historical ranking series focusing on North Carolina basketball and football.
The purpose each spring isn’t to make declarative statements, but to have fun offering a subjective look at the best teams and players ever at Carolina. This effort is to generate discourse, debate, and take UNC fans down memory lane.
This season, we are doing something a little different, combining football and basketball, as we offer our take on the Top 40 UNC football and basketball players of all time. The CRITERIA are quite simple: The process includes playing careers with the Tar Heels and professionally, other relevant impacts they’ve had on their sports, coaching, and championships. We also gave a lean toward all UNC accomplishments.
So, this isn’t a UNC-only list, a pro-only list, or a straight up purely best ever list. Some Tar Heels on this list didn’t have great pro careers but were so good and historic at UNC, they simply had to make the cut. Some on this list weren’t stars at UNC, but had outstanding and/or highly distinguished pro careers, that it warranted their place among these 40 athletes.
We hope you enjoy the list and feel free to disagree, as we know many will.
We continue our countdown with:
No. 39: Ken Huff (1972-74)
A consensus All-America in 1974, Huff was an integral part of the Tar Heels’ offense that ran the ball down opponents' throats and controlled games, including in 1972 when the Tar Heels won the ACC championship.
A defensive tackle when he arrived at UNC, Huff was moved to offensive guard during his second practice and ended up starting for three years for the Tar Heels. He helped lead UNC to Sun Bowl appearances in 1972 and 1974, and that ACC title in 1972 with a final AP ranking of No. 12. He led part of a line that paved the way for three 1,000-yard rushers, including two in 1974.
Huff, who won the Jacobs Trophy in 1974 as the ACC’s top offensive lineman, was the lead lineman of a UNC offense in 1974 that racked up 4,691 total yards, a school record at the time. That Carolina team also scored 364 points, an average of 30.3 per game, and this considering they managed just 12 and 14 in two of their games. The Heels scored 40 or more three times, including totaling 56 in a win over Army.
Huff’s teams went 2-1 versus N.C. State and 2-1 versus Duke. And the 1972 ACC title was the second straight for the Tar Heels, and is the only time the program has ever won consecutive ACC championships on the gridiron.
Among his many honors, Huff was a consensus All-America, 1974 first-team All-ACC, 1974 Jacobs Blocking Trophy, and captain of the College All Stars.
“Ken Huff was the greatest guard in the history of North Carolina…,” former Tar Heel and teammate Bill Span said about Huff. “The guy was built perfect to be a bulldozer, a road grader.”
Huff was the No. 3 overall pick in the 1975 NFL draft and played 11 years in the league, eight with the Baltimore Colts and three with the Washington Redskins. He played 145 games starting 104 times plus he started for the Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII, though they lost to the Los Angles Raiders. Huff recovered four fumbles in his NFL career.
Huff was previously inducted into North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2008, was UNC’s ACC Legend at the 2015 conference championship game, was honored as the Walter Camp Distinguished Alumni winner in 2013, and his No. 68 is formally honored by the university.
