NC Tar Heels
North Carolina Tar Heels
Freshman running back provided needed spark for stagnant UNC offense
North Carolina desperately needs a running back who can add punch to a stagnant rushing attack.
Ryan Houston is applying for the job.
Houston, a freshman tailback, made his UNC debut Saturday in a 37-10 loss to South Florida in Tampa. He didn’t play until late in the third quarter but his 43 yards on 11 carries were the most by a Tar Heel, and he scored North Carolina’s only touchdown.
He was the Tar Heels’ lone bright spot on an otherwise dark day and will likely be used by Coach Butch Davis again on Saturday at Virginia Tech.
“For my first college game, I think I did decent,” Houston said. “I can always do better. I’m still not 100 percent (picking up) blitzes and all that. I got a touchdown and that’s always a good thing, but I’ve got to get better.”
Houston had no idea that he would play after not being used in the first three games. Davis had told him earlier in the week to be ready to play but made no promises.
North Carolina was down 30-3 when Houston came off the bench and replaced Johnny White, the starter and a redshirt freshman. North Carolina had rushed 17 times for 25 yards when Houston went into the game.
“My heart started racing,” Houston said. “I said, ‘Oh man, here it goes. I just don’t want to mess up.’
“They told me, ‘Don’t go in and start thinking about a whole lot of stuff because then you’re going to mess up. Just go in, take a deep breath and just go.’”
Houston gave North Carolina some of what has been missing at tailback. He lowered his head and used his 6-2, 255-pound frame to pound into the line. On his fourth carry, Houston gained six yards by pushing several South Florida defenders back from just past the line of scrimmage.
Houston was running at a time when the game’s outcome was decided, and South Florida was starting to play reserves, but Davis was encouraged by what he saw.
“Absolutely, I think that we will try to use him more in the future,” Davis said. “We had practiced during the course of the week with the anticipation that we were going to try get him into the game, depending upon how the game was going, and try to put him in when he had an opportunity to be successful.
“He kind of demonstrated some of the things that we saw on tape from his high-school days.
“He was big, he was strong and he was powerful. He ran determined. And I think that we would like to try and grow his role in the offense and kind of see where it goes from there.
“I think that for a freshman in game four, with no previous college playing experience, it was a positive step in the right direction.”
At least one offensive starter would like to see Houston in the backfield more.
Quarterback T.J. Yates believes that Houston can prevent defenses from concentrating on UNC’s passing game on almost every play.
South Florida blitzed Yates frequently for almost three quarters because White couldn’t grind out tough yards and Anthony Elzy, the backup tailback, wasn’t quick enough to hit the holes.
Yates was sacked four times for losses totaling 27 yards, and he was intercepted four times.
“He did a great job running the ball,” Yates said.
“He’s big and strong and kept the pile moving. He ran like a warrior out there.”
“I can help a lot with the running game,” Houston said. “Everybody sees T.J. throw for 350 yards every game. I’m just trying to come in and complement that.
“I just want to help out the passing game. If we get six yards a carry they can’t keep dropping back into (pass) coverage.”
Houston wanted to play this season rather than redshirt, but Davis was reluctant to use him until he was ready.
Part of the preparation process was to lower Houston’s weight.
A team nutritionist changed Houston’s diet and helped him drop 15 pounds. He would like to shed several more.
Nearby teams join Tar Heels' regional
The Tar Heels, who also played host to a regional last year and are coming off their first Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship in 17 years, will welcome East Carolina, Western Carolina and Jacksonville to Boshamer Stadium, where play begins Friday.
North Carolina (48-12), which is the No. 3 overall seed, opens against Jacksonville (34-26) at 6 p.m. East Carolina (39-21) and Western Carolina (40-18), which shared the Southern Conference regular-season championship, meet at 2 p.m. in the other first-round game in Chapel Hill in the double-elimination regional.
The Tar Heels, who were the College World Series runners-up last year, were one of seven ACC teams in the field.
North Carolina State and Wake Forest received at-large bids, joining Virginia, Clemson, Florida State and Miami. Georgia Tech, which had been a regional host the past five years, didn’t receive a bid.
After the tournament field was announced, the selection committee made a change because it had violated one of its standard guidelines by putting two teams from the same conference in the same regional. The original bracket had Western Carolina and Wofford going to Chapel Hill as the regional’s third and fourth seeds, respectively.
So, Wofford and Jacksonville were switched later Monday. Wofford will meet host South Carolina in Columbia, S.C.
N.C. State (37-21) also is going to Columbia for a first-round game with Atlantic 10 champion Charlotte (47-10).
Wofford was the surprise winner of the Southern Conference Tournament after tying for last place in the regular season. Wofford went 5-0 in the conference tournament and has won seven of its last eight games overall.
For Terriers coach Steve Traylor, who announced his retirement effective at the end of the season, the original bracket would have meant a return to the Triangle. He coached Duke for 12 seasons until he was fired in 1999.
Wake Forest (33-27), riding the momentum of its berth in the ACC championship game, picked up an at-large bid and was assigned to Round Rock, Texas, where it will meet Cal Irvine (40-15-1). The Demon Deacons were the eighth seed in the ACC Tournament and went 2-2 in that event, when it won consecutive games for the only time this month. Host Texas and Brown are also at that site.
College of Charleston (39-19), which tied with Western Carolina in the Southern Conference regular season and held the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament, was left out of the 64-team field. The Cougars, who lost their first two games of the Southern Conference Tournament, finished on a 4-8 slide, including three one-run defeats.
Georgia Tech (32-25) fell into a similar situation because it ended on a 2-8 slump, with both victories against North Carolina. The Yellow Jackets, who reached the 2006 CWS, had made the NCAA field in 21 of the last 22 years, with 1999 the exception. Interestingly, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest didn’t meet this year.
Virginia (43-14) will play at home, but defending champion Oregon State (38-17) was assigned to Charlottesville, Va., along with Lafayette (33-18) and Rutgers (41-19).
Miami (36-22) will make its record 35th consecutive NCAA appearance.
Meanwhile, Elon pitcher Will Romanowicz’s former team, Stetson, is in the field. The Hatters (41-19) received an at-large bid after winning the Atlantic Sun regular season and will go to Tallahassee, Fla., and face Mississippi State (33-20), which was Elon’s opening opponent in the 2006 tournament.
Regional winners advance to best-of-3 super regionals next week for the right to advance to the College World Series.
