Tag: Omarion Hampton

2023 UNC Football Preview: Running Back

We preview the UNC football team’s 2023 running back room in this story. The Heels have five backs with collegiate starting experience.

The University of North Carolina football back is making a strong case for the title of “Running Back U.”

In the Tar Heels’ football history, there have been 31 instances where a player’s hit the 1,000-yard mark.

Four of those seasons have come since 2019 – Michael Carter ran for 1,003 yards in 2019, Carter (1,245) and Javonte Williams (1,140) each hit the 1,000-yard mark in 2020, while current Minnesota Vikings running back Ty Chandler last accomplished the feat with 1,092 yards in 2021.

Despite all the on-field success the Tar Heels found last year, including a 9-1 start and their first trip to the ACC Championship since 2015, their ground game struggled with finding an identity.

Quarterback Drake Maye, in his first season starting, led Carolina with 698 rushing yards and finished second with seven touchdowns. Maye can easily beat any defense with his arm, but when the offensive line broke down, he used his lightning speed and quick change of direction to make those in pursuit look silly.

UNC had plenty of talent in its running back room last year. Elijah Green emerged as the group’s leader with 558 rushing yards and a team-high eight touchdowns. Omarion Hampton gained 401 yards and added five scores. Caleb Hood, who missed half the season with injury, finished with 250 rushing yards and 5.8 yards per carry (most among running backs). D.J. Jones, entering his graduate year, added 124 yards and a score, while George Pettaway rushed for 93 yards and two touchdowns.

All of those guys return for Carolina this year. Let’s take a deeper dive into the running back room and see what each guy brings to the table:

Social Media chooses who will score first touchdown for UNC this season

UNC football fans voted on X (formerly known as Twitter) who would score the first Tar Heel touchdown this Fall.

There’s a lot of playmakers on the UNC football team’s offense – Drake Maye, Omarion Hampton, Bryson Nesbit and Devontez Walker, to name a few.

Maye, a Heisman Trophy contender is arguably the top quarterback in the country (4,321 passing yards and 38 touchdowns a season ago). Hampton is one of four running backs who topped the 100-yard mark in 2022. Nesbit led all Tar Heel tight ends with 507 receiving yards and tied for the lead with four touchdowns, while Walker, who is currently awaiting the result of his NCAA eligibility appeal, totaled 921 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns for Kent State last season.

The wide receiving corps is pretty much brand new, due to Josh Downs and Antoine Green being selected in the 2023 NFL Draft. Carolina last had a 1,000-yard rusher in 2021, when Ty Chandler ran for 1,092 yards. Kamari Morales and John Copenhaver give UNC one of the deadliest tight end trios in the country.

With all the talent on offense, fans took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to try and guess who’d score the first touchdown:

UNC football lands 12 players on Phil Steele’s Preseason All-ACC List

The UNC football program has 12 players make Phil Steele’s Preseason All-ACC team in his magazine.

Mack Brown’s North Carolina football program is one of the more interesting teams going into this Atlantic Coast Conference season.

After starting 9-1 a year ago, they finished 9-5 and lost four-straight games including the ACC Championship and the Holiday Bowl. But with Drake Maye back for another year, expectations are high in Chapel Hill.

As we sit here in June, Phil Steele has finished putting together his annual preview for the upcoming season. The guide is one of the best that is available and breaks down each team across the country.

For North Carolina, they landed 12 players on Steele’s Preseason All-ACC team, headlined by Maye, linebacker Cedric Gray and punter Ben Kiernan as first-team selections.

Joining them on the list are :

  • LB [autotag]Power Echols[/autotag] (2nd team)
  • LS [autotag]Drew Little[/autotag] (2nd team)
  • WR [autotag]Nate McCollum[/autotag] (3rd team)
  • OL[autotag] Corey Gaynor[/autotag] (3rd team)
  • RB [autotag]Omarion Hampton[/autotag] (4th team)
  • WR [autotag]Devontez Walker[/autotag] (4th team)
  • DL [autotag]Myles Murphy[/autotag] (4th team)
  • DB [autotag]Alijah Huzzie[/autotag] (4th team)
  • K [autotag]Ryan Coe[/autotag] (4th team)

North Carolina had just seven players make the preseason team last year in Steele’s book.

The talent is certainly there for North Carolina to make a run but they have to find consistency. They will be tested early on with a season opener against South Carolina and then non-conference games against Minnesota and Appalachian State before opening up conference play.

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Tale of the Tape: Leading Rushers – Audric Estime vs. Omarion Hampton

This comparison will make you yawn.

If you’re looking for a game that features a real running backs battle, the contest between Notre Dame and North Carolina won’t be it. While [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] surely thinks it’s cool that he has the most rushing yards for the Irish for three games, it might be slightly concerning for some that [autotag]Chris Tyree[/autotag] hasn’t held onto that distinction to this point. To Estime’s credit, he somewhat proved to be a threat as a receiver against California. Still, what’s happened to the Irish’s running back corps?

The Tar Heels come into this game with Ovarion Hampton as their top rusher. Just like Estime entering last week, Hampton has not had any receptions yet. Then again, why would he need to be when Drake Maye is picking up right where Sam Howell left off in Chapel Hill? Plus, he’s averaging over a touchdown a game, so it’s unlikely he’s feeling like an insignificant part of the offense.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

UNC offensive keys to the game vs Notre Dame

A look at the offensive keys to the game for the UNC football program as it goes up against Notre Dame this weekend.

The UNC football program takes on its biggest matchup of the season on Saturday as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish come to Chapel Hill.

While the matchup has lost a bit of its luster due to the Irish’s slow start this season — sitting at just 1-2 — it’s still a huge game for the Tar Heels who look to build on a 3-0 start.

UNC quarterback Drake Maye has been fantastic all season and looks to continue the trend this weekend.

Overall, the North Carolina offense has been difficult to stop by all three opponents this season and with Josh Downs and Antoine Green getting healthy and practicing this week, there could be more firepower on the way.

Either way, there a few things UNC needs to do in order to come away with a win on Saturday.

Here are the offensive keys to the game for UNC against Notre Dame.

Omarion Hampton saves UNC with big second half

North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton comes up big in the second half for UNC in the 35-28 win over Georgia State.

North Carolina running back [autotag]Omarion Hampton[/autotag] put on quite the performance against Georgia State, leading UNC to the 35-28 win.

The four-star recruit from Clayton, North Carolina, has been the ideal running back for UNC, scoring a touchdown in all three games this season.

His performance against the Panthers was his best of the season, where he took over the ball game for a struggling offense. Hampton exploded for 110 yards and scored two touchdowns, UNC’s only touchdowns in the second half. But what’s most impressive is that 107 of his 110 yards came in the second half.

One of the touchdowns came from a 58-yard highlight run to the end zone, giving North Carolina the 28-28 tie.

Hampton scored again early in the fourth quarter, with a two-yard touchdown putting North Carolina ahead 35-28, their final game points.

This game was Hampton second time eclipsing over 100-yards, giving the freshman an excellent start to the season.

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North Carolina escapes Georgia State with a win

The North Carolina Tar Heel’s offense finds its groove late, holding off the Georgia State Panthers and advancing to 3-0 on the season.

The North Carolina Tar Heels improved to 3-0 after an ugly 35-28 win over Georgia State on Saturday afternoon.

A sluggish overall game for UNC saw the offense and defense fail to find a consistent attack. North Carolina got on the board first with quarterback Drake Maye connecting with tight end Kamri Morales for a 55-yard touchdown.

UNC’s defense took an early loss, with defensive back Obi Egbuna getting ejected in the first quarter for targeting. His absence from the secondary would hinder the game plan for North Carolina throughout.

After back-to-back drives with punts, allowing Georgia State to kick a field goal in the process, UNC found the end-zone again, with running back D.J Jones on a 7-yard run. North Carolina’s defense forced a quick three and out, setting up another touchdown pass from Maye with wide receiver Kobe Paysour on the receiving end.

UNC’s defense would collapse, allowing the Panthers to crawl back into the game. Georgia State marched down the field for 75 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown bringing the game to 21-10 at the half.

The third quarter is where North Carolina’s offense struggles began to match the defense, failing to muster up any consistent play in the quarter. Maye cooled off while Panthers quarterback Darren Grainger heated up, throwing a 49-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Robert Lewis.

While Georgia State was finding success, UNC had the opposite outcome with turnovers on their first two drives at the half. Maye threw his first interception, and Paysour fumbled after catching the ball on a crossing route. Grainger shredded UNC’s defense again after the UNC punted on their third drive, marching the Panthers down the field for 98 yards in 10 plays. The drive resulted in a touchdown giving them 25 unanswered points and the 28-21 lead.

Before the third quarter ended, UNC finally found some fuel for their offensive engine, with freshman running back [autotag]Omarion Hampton[/autotag] breaking for a 58-yard touchdown run. After forcing the Panthers to punt, Hampton crossed the end-zone again, giving North Carolina the 35-28 lead early in the fourth.

The defense continued to lock down the Panthers, forcing punts on back-to-back drives. North Carolina’s offense had their third turnover with running back D.J Jones fumbling, giving the Panthers new life. However, that life was short as UNC’s defense once again forced the Panthers to their ninth punt of the day.

North Carolina held the Panthers to zero points in the fourth, finishing the game on a positive note. UNC heads into the bye week with much work left to be done as they prepare for Notre Dame.

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Three things we learned from UNC vs Florida A&M

After a slow start, UNC kept the pressure to a dominating finish. We take a look at three things we learned from the season opener.

The UNC football program took care of business Saturday night, beating Florida A&M 56-24.

The Tar Heels had a sluggish start on the defensive end, and luckily their offense did not miss a beat dominating in the passing and running game for most of the night. [autotag]Drake Maye[/autotag] had an impressive debut, and UNC fans got a good look at their freshman running back duo of Omarion Hampton and George Pettaway.

UNC did make solid adjustments at halftime, holding FAMU to just 10 points in the second half while scoring 28 of their own. They also improved their rushing attack at the half, rushing in for two scores versus the zero in the first two quarters.

This game was the ideal start of the season for UNC as their journey only gets tougher with Appalachian State and Notre Dame games scheduled within the next three weeks.

Now with UNC officially in the win column, we look at three things we learned from the UNC vs. FAMU game.

UNC dominates in season opener versus Florida A&M

The UNC football team opened the 2022 season with a big win over FAMU to move to 1-0 on the year.

The North Carolina Tar Heels football program opened the 2022 season 1-0 after dominating Florida A&M 56-24 Saturday night at home.

UNC’s defense got off to a sluggish start, but the offense came out on fire, leading to a record-breaking night from quarterback [autotag]Drake Maye[/autotag]. The redshirt freshman had it going for the Tar Heels early, finding tight end Kamari Morales for a 19-yard touchdown at the 5:51 mark in the first quarter.

Florida A&M answered back two minutes later on a quick drive that tied up the game.

The offensive showdown continued with Maye tossing two more touchdowns, while the Rattlers were only able to muster up a single score in that span which gave UNC a 21-14 lead.

But then the turning point happened.

Defensive back Storm Duck came up with a huge interception on the Rattlers’ next drive to set UNC up deep in FAMU territory late in the second quarter. That drive was capped off with another Maye touchdown, this time finding receiver Josh Downs with just five seconds before halftime. The Tar Heels led 28-14 at the break.

It was the first touchdown on the year for Downs after a record-setting campaign a year ago.

The second half was all Tar Heels, as the Maye show continued to a historic night. Four-star freshman Omarion Hampton also put his stamp on the game, rushing for his first touchdown to start the third and finishing with 101 yards on 14 carries in the game.  The other four-star freshman, George Pettaway, saw the end zone as well, scoring a touchdown on a 29-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Maye then capped off his night by throwing a record-breaking fifth touchdown, claiming the title for most touchdowns in a career start at UNC.

UNC now turns their attention to Week 1 as a big showdown with Appalachian State looms.

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