Tar Heels Continue To Cycle Running Backs, Look To Get Ground Game Going

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Through two games, North Carolina’s leading rusher, Demon June, ranks 36th in the ACC in rushing yards — and he’s only received carries in one outing so far.

North Carolina used five different running backs on Saturday in the win vs. Charlotte, and on running back carries, the Tar Heels averaged 4.5 yards per run. Demon June led the way with 52 yards on nine carries followed by Davion Gause’s 30 yards and a touchdown on five carries, Caleb Hood’s 15 yards on five carries, Charleston French’s three yards on one carry and Benjamin Hall’s three yards on three carries.

North Carolina’s used a by-committee approach in the backfield so far. Bill Belichick spoke in his press conference on Tuesday about trying to best utilize the different assets he has in the running back room.

“It’s a really competitive situation,” Belichick said. “And last year, none of those guys got a whole lot of carries. When you have (Omarion) Hampton, you feed him, and they did that, and that was obviously the right thing to do. It’s hard to evaluate backs until they get an opportunity to run against real competition and break tackles and can use their run skills. What it looks like in practice is not always the same as in the game when there’s live tackling, so we’ve got a feel for how that’s going. But it’s very competitive. I have confidence in all of them. They all have shown a lot of good things, and that’s why they’ve gotten playing time. We’ll see how it works itself out.”

UNC is one of three ACC teams that does not yet have a 100-yard rusher through two games, with Virginia Tech and Duke as the others. June picked up all of his yardage against the 49ers. As a unit, North Carolina ranks 13th in the ACC at 99 rushing yards per game, making it one of five teams averaging fewer than 100 rushing yards per game through two weeks.

In the TCU game, UNC went to three running backs — Hood for 10 carries, 31 yards and a touchdown, Hall for 6 carries and 22 yards and Gause for five carries and seven yards. On the season, UNC’s running backs are averaging just under four yards per carry.

Hood has started each of UNC’s first two games at running back, receiving the most snap counts in both outings.

June stood out as a ball carrier with his rumbling style of play. His 5.8 yards per carry mark a single-game best for North Carolina’s RBs in the early season. June also has the longest run by a UNC running back so far at 19 yards.

“Juju ran well,” Belichick said after Saturday’s win in reference to June. “He’s got some explosion, and it’s good to see him get a few carries and be productive with them. But I thought, really, all the backs ran hard.”

Belichick praised the ability of the UNC running backs to pass protect, saying they did well picking up blitzes against the 49ers in Week 2.

Extra yardage has been hard to come by for the Tar Heels in the run game. According to Pro Football Focus, the five running backs have forced a total of two missed tackles, with Gause and June each forcing one. Comparatively, the service credits quarterback Gio Lopez for seven missed tackles forced. PFF also approximates that the running backs have gained a combined 101 yards after contact, averaging out to 2.5 yards after contact per rush attempt among the five of them.

North Carolina enters this week’s matchup against Richmond still looking for consistency in the run game. No one player has stood out as UNC’s “guy” so far based on individual carries. As Belichick and his staff continue to look at the running back unit and seek production from each player, the Tar Heels will keep searching for ways to establish a steady presence on the ground.

“I’ve always said if Jim Brown was my running back, I would leave him in the game on every play,” Belichick said on Tuesday. “I’m not looking for anybody else, and they kind of did that with Hampton here last year, which, again, I can certainly understand. He was a great player. But we’ve given these players a chance, and we’ll continue to evaluate them and we’ll see how it turns out. I think they’re all capable. They’ve all shown some good things and flashes, and I have confidence in all of them, but we’ll see how the competition plays out.”