4/12/2023 football Edit

Staff Still Sorting Out RB Room

With spring practice winding down, UNC has sort of a pecking order at running back, but may need more time. (Kevin Roy/THI)

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.

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CHAPEL HILL – The running backs room inside the Kenan Football Center at North Carolina was full enough before spring practice began that the coaches approached D.J. Jones about moving to the defensive side of the ball.

He did, and has spent all spring working at safety. As for his former position group, as much as it appears some clarity has emerged there, it actually remains a bit open-ended.

Injuries to Caleb Hood, who hasn’t done much this spring, and George Pettaway, who sprained an ankle two weeks ago and has not practiced since, have limited the competition. Add that British Brooks, the starter when fall camp commenced last spring before tearing his ACL, is slowly returning to action. So, the truth of the matter is both Tar Heels at the top of the heap right now are the only two truly abled bodies in the room.

So, when UNC Coach Mack Brown met with the media Tuesday, as the Heels approach the spring game Saturday, he said sophomore Omarion Hampton and junior Elijah Green are the two running backs separated from the others.

“Omarion Hampton and Elijah Green have really stepped up, and they’ve looked really, really good this spring,” Brown said.

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Hampton ran for 401 yards (4.6 average per attempt) and scored six touchdowns last fall. He had two 100-yard games in UNC’s first two contests, but struggled afterward. Green didn’t play much until a win at Duke on October 15, and finished the season with 558 yards and eight touchdowns.

Brooks missed the entire season, Pettaway played some as a true freshman but wasn’t quite ready, and Hood was injured three different times. So, the two at the top right now are the healthiest backs on the team, as they were last fall, too.

On the surface, it may appear this is settled science when it’s actually not. The staff would love to see each player in the room healthy and duking it out to determine a pecking order, and Brown suggests they may have to hit more in August to help make those determinations.

But the tricky angle here is the transfer portal that opens Saturday the 15th. For the sake of discussion, what if Pettaway is the fifth back, could he enter the portal without allowing himself time to heal and compete for a spot? Or, might everyone come back, battle in August, and see how things play out?

“I think the reality is this time last year, we were having the same discussion,” Brown said. “And then British got hurt in preseason, then Caleb got hurt three times, and then we were thin at running back at one point. I do think that’s what the transfer portal’s for; if somebody’s not happy with their playing time, then they have a chance to go somewhere else.”

Perhaps someone leaves and thins things out some, or maybe fall camp begins in early August with the biggest storyline the manner this room plays out.