UNC Looking At 'Deep' RB Group To Establish Presence In Backfield

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — In its first year post-Omarion Hampton, North Carolina’s running game heading into 2025 is more of an unknown.

UNC practiced in pads for the second time on Wednesday, a session that served as its 10th in training camp. With that, Bill Belichick said the run game would be the focus of practice as the team continues to look at what it has in that unit.

Belichick said that full-pad days will be maximized to work on the run game. For as much as Hampton accomplished at North Carolina — turning himself into a first-round pick this year — accounting for his loss creates a considerable void to fill.

“It’s hard to imagine any one player having the production that Hampton had,” Belichick said on Wednesday. “But collectively, we’ll see. It’s a good group, very competitive group. These guys are talented, but they have different skills, and part of our challenge is figuring out how to use their skills and still fit within the entire offense.”

Hampton, who ranks fourth all-time on UNC’s rushing yards list, was the security blanket in a UNC offense that lacked consistency in the passing game last season. Even playing alongside Drake Maye the year before, Hampton still shined in the backfield.

Hampton tallied 1,504 rushing yards as a sophomore through 13 games, and upstaged that effort with 1,660 this past season. In both years, he rushed for 15 touchdowns. According to Pro Football Focus, Hampton gained 1,222 yards after contact and forced 73 missed tackles last season. The Los Angeles Chargers picked him 22nd overall in April.

North Carolina’s returning running backs include Davion Gause, Caleb Hood and Charleston French. Former Michigan running back Benjamin Hall is the offseason transfer among the group, while Demon June, Jaylon Nichols, Jo Jo Troupe and Jaylen McGill enter the season as true freshmen.

Gause is the most productive returner, as he tallied 326 yards on 67 carries while scoring four touchdowns. Hood and French received touches from time to time but were lower on the depth chart throughout the year. Hall is the team’s heaviest running back at 235 pounds. He didn’t have a big role with the Wolverines, as he rushed for 141 yards through two seasons at Michigan. 

Offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens, also last year’s run game coordinator, spoke last week about finding ways to make the unit collectively effective in moving the ball down the field.

“There’s a lot of things that’s (them) going in or just getting reps and showing what they can do and showing their strong points, their weak points, and things like that,” Kitchens said last week. “But it’s not easy to replace a first-round draft pick at running back, or at any position for that matter. But we’ve got some guys that are excited to be here.”

The blocking for the running backs up front will look different for North Carolina, too, as the team lost two of its starters (Willie Lampkin, Howard Sampson) from last year and will be without Austin Blaske for possibly two months.

The Tar Heels won’t enter the 2025 season looking for the next Omarion Hampton, but with what they have, they’ll work to create an effective rushing attack with the pieces it has in the backfield.

“It’s a pretty deep group, and we’ll see how it all plays out,” Belichick said. “But I definitely don’t think it’s all going to come from one person. I think this is going to be we have a number of guys that are talented, and we’ll just see how that plays out.”