5/26/2021 football Edit

No. 5: Don McCauley

Don McCauley was so good that his single-season TD record stood for 50 years until it was broken this past fall. (UNC Athletics)

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.

*Publisher's note: THI is ranking the top 25 football players in UNC history, gauging each player solely on their careers as Tar Heels. NFL accomplishments do not factor into these rankings.

No. 5

Name: Don McCauley

Position: RB

Jersey #: 23

Years: 1968-70

Honors: Two-time ACC Player of the Year in 1969 & 1970; Two-time first-team All-ACC in 1969 & 1970; First-team AP All-America in 1970 and many more; Member of the College Football Hall of Fame (inducted in 2001); Named to the 50-year 50 Greatest ACC Players Ever team.

Notable Stats: 1,720 rushing yards in 1970 set a single-season college football record at the time; career 3,172 yards; Scored 19 touchdowns rushing and two receiving that season for a then-UNC record, Javonte Williams broke the mark last fall; Averaged 5.3 yards per carry on 603 attempts; ran for 1,092 yards in 1969; three-year career 29 rushing touchdowns and five receiving scores; Finished ninth in the Heisman voting in 1970.

In Closing: His combined 21 TDs in 1970 were a single-season UNC mark that was broken last season by Javonte Williams. He broke O.J. Simpson’s national single-season rushing record in 1970. He also led the nation in all-purpose yards that season. McCauley was the first UNC running back to rush for 1,000 yards establishing (it has been done 27 times now) an identity the program embraced and excelled employing for nearly the next 20 years.

More specifically, he was integral in Bill Dooley establishing a new culture within UNC football that led to ACC championships, national rankings and bowl games over a lengthy stretch like previously not experienced. The way he ran, the way he played, and the way he was such a huge part of that new culture and that McCauley helped make football matter again at Carolina are also reasons he belongs so high on this list.