Another game day at Kenan Stadium is almost here, with the North Carolina Tar Heels preparing to face the James Madison Dukes, in Week 4 college football action on Saturday at 12 p.m. ET
UNC will be rolling into the final game of its homestand with Jacolby Criswell at starting QB, with head coach Mack Brown announcing the news earlier Friday. You can also count on another big game from running back Omarion Hampton, while the North Carolina defense hopes to continue proving itself as a top unit.
JMU enters Kenan Stadium 2-0 and off a bye week. In terms of players, though, there’s a name the Tar Heels are very familiar with.
That player is running back George Pettaway, who played at UNC in 2022 and 2023, before hitting the transfer portal this offseason. Pettaway didn’t find a ton of success in Chapel Hill, totaling 93 rushing yards and two touchdowns, but he currently leads the Dukes with 114 yards and a score.
Take a look at what North Carolina defensive coordinator Geoff Collins had to say about his players facing Pettaway:
“He was a big topic of conversation,” Collins told InsideCarolina’s Evan Rogers. “Obviously, the guys are familiar with him, have a great deal of respect for him. Like him a lot, dynamic in the backfield. And when they move him out in different spots, out in space, a lot of teams will do that and it’s just a decoy. When they do that with Pettaway, it’s real. I mean, he had that long touchdown right before the half against Charlotte. Other things out in space that he’s doing, he’s an impressive athlete and everybody has a great deal of respect for him.”
There’s no doubt the Tar Heels will be excited to see Pettaway before kickoff, but once that initial whistle sounds, it’s all blood, sweat and tears.
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