Will Tar Heels Run the Ball More?

CHAPEL HILL – With Drake Maye off to the NFL and an All-American returning at running back, could North Carolina be more run-oriented this season?

Maybe more than in any of Mack Brown’s first five seasons at the helm during his second stint at UNC?

That would be something given that four of the last five Carolina teams had at least one or more thousand-yard rushers.

Michael Carter did it in 2019, with Javonte Williams not far behind. They both went well past the century mark in 2020, Ty Chandler did so in 2021, and Hampton went for 1,504 yards last season, leading the ACC in that category.

But, Maye and his gazillion-dollar arm are gone, and with Brown wanting the offense to help his beleaguered defense more, this just may be where the Heels are headed.

“You’ve got to do what we do best,” Brown said. “And we’ve talked a lot about complimentary football. We’ve got to help our defense. We have to. So, running the ball, staying on the field helps your defense.”

Why does UNC’s defense need help?

Consider that it finished last season ranked 94th overall nationally out of 132 teams and was No. 123 in first downs allowed. The Tar Heels’ defense was on the field way too much and wore down as the season went on.

It also wore down in mindboggling late-game performances, notably in a numbing loss at Georgia Tech when the Yellow Jackets ran for 246 yards in the fourth quarter alone.

In 2022, UNC was No. 115 overall defensively and 123rd in allowing first downs.

So, in two seasons with Maye at quarterback, Carolina was 17-10. Perhaps UNC needed a more time-consuming approach. Maybe it was too reliant on Maye, and that didn’t always pay off.

“Drake was such a special player, so sometimes you put the ball in his hands and let things happen in tight situations,” offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey said.

Therefore, if the Heels effectively run the ball, control a bit more clock, and are still potent offensively, that should make a difference. Or could make a difference?

Lindsey doesn’t have an issue with how UNC handled the ground attack last year, citing numbers to back up his position. He wants balance and to be multiple offensively.

“I don’t think so,” Lindey said, disagreeing with the premise the Heels will and need to run the ball more this fall. “We ran the ball, I don’t know what the numbers were, attempts and so forth, but we had a 1,500-yard rusher, we led the ACC in rushing, and all that.

“So, I like where we’re at. I think you have to be balanced somewhat. If we can just run the ball, we’re going to struggle because people are going to overload us in the box.”

Maybe a better way of looking at this isn’t that Carolina must have an increased concentrated ground game, but possess the ability to use it to change tempo in games, or slow them down when owning a lead, or to salt away an opponent.

Wearing down a thin front could also be a target for a more fortified attack featuring Hampton and his cohorts in the backfield.

Football teams usually evolve, at least the good ones. UNC has been worse in the back end of the last two seasons, in which the Tar Heels started out 9-1 in 2022 and 6-0 last season, only to finish 9-5 and 8-5, respectively. It even lost three of its last four contests in 2021 as well.

Brown wants more complementary football. He wants the offense to help the defense, and the best way to achieve that mission is to chew a bit more clock. UNC was No. 7 nationally last season in total offense, but it was No. 102 in time of possession.

The head man wants that to change, which likely means at some point, a heavier emphasis on going downhill with Hampton and company.