CHAPEL HILL – On fourth down and four yards to go at its own 41-yard-line early in the opening quarter Saturday, North Carolina special teams coach Larry Porter decided it was finally time to use a fake punt the team practiced every week of the season.
To the keen eye, it was evident when tight end John Copenhaver was on the left edge of the punt shield team; the trio of players standing between the snapper and punter there to protect a shield around Tom Maginness.
The alignment was in place, but the call to go through with it hadn’t yet been called. The shield team captain and snapper Bo Burkes could have seen something Wake Forest was doing and aborted the play altogether. They didn’t.
And instead of the snap going to Maginness, it went to Copenhaver who plowed forward for a 6-yard gain and first down for the Tar Heels. It worked!
“They were trying to say something,” Copenhaver said, when asked if Wake even knew he was out there. “They were like, ’81, 81’s out there.’”
Yet, it appeared that was a late reaction by the Demon Deacons. UNC always has three offensive linemen in its punt shield, so while a few Deacs recognized the senior tight end out there, not all of them did.
“Coach Porter kind of held me off to the side and was talking to me, and then I just ran out there,” Copenhaver said.
The play was designed for someone to kick out the left defensive end, the other block down, and for Copenhaver to run over Bo Burkes, who snapped the ball. But it didn’t work out like that, yet Copenhaver still got the needed yardage to keep the drive alive.
It was the first fake the Tar Heels have run this year, and in asking the program as of Tuesday evening, it wasn’t certain when the last time was that UNC ran a fake on fourth down. However, there are always fakes in the game plan.
“We have it in every week,” Copenhaver said. “Not a surprise. Had it in for about three months, actually.”
Okay, so the staff must have seen something Wake does that made Saturday the day to finally use it?
“Yeah, but that’s kind of like every week,” Copenhaver said. “They say, ‘They’ve shown this before so it could come up in the game.’ You do kind of lay it out on the table if you’re going to call it any time of the game.”
The Tar Heels ended up not scoring on that drive when kicker Noah Burnette missed a 34-yard attempt. But they did win, 31-24, notching a third straight victory improving to 6-4 overall and 3-3 in the ACC.
And if the Heels run another fake, especially if the ball ends up in Copenhaver’s hands, he won’t be as nervous as he was this time. Yeah, a guy who has played nearly 1,600 offensive snaps in college and more than 400 plays on special teams was feeling it a little bit before the ball was snapped.
“Yeah, a little bit, a little bit,” he said. “I was definitely a slight bit more nervous being out there for the fake than any other play on offense.”
In addition to speaking about the fake punt, Copenhaver’s interview with the media Tuesday inside the Kenan Football Center included several other topics. Below is video of Copenhaver’s Q&A session along with some notes from what else he discussed.
*Copenhaver was asked about running back Omarion Hampton and how if he gets amazed with what the All-America does on the field.
*UNC OC Chip Lindsey said Monday he loved Hampton’s TD run late in the fourth quarter Saturday night when he leapt over the players at the line of scrimmage and carried a few Deacons with him into the end zone.
But Lindsey appreciated even more Hampton being accompanied by some of his offensive linemen, as well as the tight end out there, Copenhaver, who spoke about what it’s like helping to usher Hampton across the goal line.
*Also, Copenhaver discussed Boston College’s defense and what to expect Saturday in Chestnut Hill, MA, as the Heels take on the Eagles up there at Alumni Stadium.
