The North Carolina Tar Heels dominated the Florida State Seminoles in ACC football action on Saturday, marching into Tallahassee and winning 35-11.
UNC’s highlight of the day was star running back Omarion Hampton, who scored all five of his team’s touchdowns. Hampton’s first four came on the ground, setting a career high, then he caught a fourth-quarter score from Jacolby Criswell.
North Carolina’s defense played like its early-2024 form, generating seven sacks against FSU. Kaimon Rucker, who led the Tar Heels with 8.5 sacks in 2023, added a sack of his own against the Seminoles.
What Rucker may not have initially realized, though, is that his lone sack put him in the same company as a football legend.
Rucker’s sack, the 21st of his career, tied him for sixth all-time with Lawrence Taylor.
If you’re familiar with Taylor, he’s widely regarded as one of the greatest defensive players in football history – both in college and the NFL. Taylor was the 1980 ACC Player of the Year, then generated 132.5 sacks across his 13-year career with the New York Giants.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DB641MRPPLG/
After missing five games earlier this year while recovering from a torn meniscus, Rucker’s return has breathed life into the UNC defense. North Carolina has 17 sacks in its past two games, plus it has limited Virginia and FSU to a combined 25 points.
Rucker made a much-welcomed decision to return for his fifth year, bringing 16 career sacks back with him. Rucker is quite the tackling machine, too, generating 170 over his 5-year career.
I’m hopeful Rucker will have a successful NFL career like Taylor, but for now, I’m going to enjoy him in his final games as a Tar Heel.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.