CHAPEL HILL - Some clarity surfaced Monday morning regarding the suspensions North Carolina seniors Patrice Rene and Dominique Ross are facing, which will be served Saturday when the Tar Heels open the season against South Carolina.
As a result of their involvement in a fight at the conclusion of last season’s finale against N.C. State, both must sit out a half against the Gamecocks. It’s ultimately up to the coaching staff on which half each player will not participate in, but defensive coordinator Jay Bateman may have inadvertently offered a little insight into what the staff is planning when asked about Chazz Surratt being listed ahead of Ross on the depth chart that was released Monday morning.
“Well,” Bateman started to reply, smiling. “Dominique’s not going to play the first half.”
Surratt played quarterback his first two seasons at UNC but last winter moved to linebacker, a position he hasn’t played since high school.
“He’s come along way,” Bateman said. “When I got here, I don’t want to say he was crawling but he was probably like a toddler, kind of using the couch to walk around. But now I feel really confident he’s going to play well. That’s not a concern of mine, Chazz Surratt.”
While Ross’s situation appears to be handled, the half Rene will sit remains a question.
UNC released its depth chart Monday morning for the opener, Rene is listed as a starter while Ross is second-string behind Surratt. Bateman said they aren’t trying to play “mind games” with South Carolina and they probably shouldn’t have listed Rene as a starter.
Still, he nor head coach Mack Brown directly said which half the senior cornerback will be on the sidelines so it’s likely no one will know until Saturday. Regardless, Brown said there’s a lesson for this team to learn from the veterans’ mistakes.
“We’ve been very honest with the team,” he said. “These two guys were in a fight after the N.C. State game, they really regret it and it’s going to cost them some playing time in the season opener. So, don’t fight.”
Both Rene and Ross played a combined 1,272 snaps last season for the Tar Heels. Rene started in all 11 games while Ross played in 10, eight of which he started.
