Tag: Tar Heel Football

UNC football star earns ESPN preseason All-American honors

In addition to SN, Hampton has also earned preseason first-team All-American honors with ESPN.

After a breakout season last year for UNC football with Drake Maye and company, Hampton is poised to be one of the best running backs in the nation this season. It has earned him a spot on numerous award watch lists as well as SN and ESPN preseason first-team All-American honors.

Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II was the other first-team All-American listed alongside Hampton. Tahj Brooks from Texas Tech and Quinshon Judkins from Ohio State were the two second-team members.

In his sophomore year last year, Hampton ran 253 times for 1,504 yards and 15 touchdowns including 29 receptions for 222 yards and another score.

According to ESPN’s Chris Low, “He led all FBS players with 1,072 yards after contact. Not only did Hampton average 5.9 yards per rush, but he also had five runs of 50 yards or longer.”

Hampton will look to not only be the lead back for the Tar Heels this year but the overall leader of the offensive side of the ball. It is not out of the question for Hampton to surpass those breakout numbers he had last season.

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Will UNC quarterback Drake Maye win the Heisman? Depends on wins

Drake Maye is one of the best quarterbacks in college football. Winning a Heisman Trophy however, depends on UNC’s team performance.

Drake Maye, the main player behind UNC football’s sudden ascension toward the top of ACC, is one of the best quarterbacks in college football.

Maye played himself into the Heisman Trophy conversation last year, leading the ACC and finishing fourth in the country with 4,321 passing yards. He tossed 38 touchdowns to just seven interceptions, completed 66.7% of his passes and racked up a 157.9 quarterback rating.

Maye also had the help of wide receivers Josh Downs and Antoine Green, who are now on NFL rosters.

The Tar Heels’ quarterback tortured opposing defenses with his rocket arm and showcased his ability to evade tacklers on the ground. Maye actually led UNC with 698 rushing yards and finished second with seven rushing touchdowns.

Could Maye find himself back into Heisman Trophy contention this year and possibly win the award?

According to 247Sports, it will be tough because UNC is not a nationally-relevant, championship-caliber program.

UNC will have a golden chance to prove itself in Week One against an SEC school, facing neighboring rival South Carolina, in Charlotte, on Sept. 2 in a rematch of the 2021 season-opener. The Heels turn around and host App State in a rematch of last year’s thrilling, 63-61 victory in Boone, then host Minnesota on Sept. 16 in an ACC-Big 10 clash, before jumping into ACC play at the University of Pittsburgh on Sept. 23.

Carolina’s conference slate also includes Syracuse, Miami (FL), UVA, Georgia Tech, Duke, and the final two regular-season games – at Clemson and N.C. State – that could make-or-break Maye’s Heisman chances and determine whether the boys in baby blue will be CFP bound.

At one point last season, Carolina was sitting on the outside window of College Football Playoff contention, finding itself ranked 13th in mid-November after a comeback win against Wake Forest. Carolina was, at least for one season, becoming a nationally-relevant program. Then, the Heels lost their final four games, including the ACC Championship against Clemson.

Maye doesn’t have Downs and Green, but he does have the luxury of two reliable tight ends in Bryson Nesbit and Kamari Morales (856 yards, eight touchdowns in 2022). He’ll likely continue using his legs to sprint past the opposition when a passing play breaks down.

If Maye wants to win Heisman, he’ll have to play like he did through the first 10 games of 2022, connect with his young receiving corps and hope his defense can hold up its end of the bargain.

Former Tar Heel Football great Julius Peppers joins Carolina Panthers’ Hall of Honor

Former Tar Heel football great Julius Peppers was recently inducted into the Carolina Panthers’ Hall of Honor.

Julius Peppers, one of the greatest players to ever don a Tar Heel Football uniform, went on to enjoy a Hall-of-Fame career in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers.

Peppers’ list of college accolades is impressive – a nation-leading 15 sacks in 2000, first-team All-ACC, first-team Freshman All-America, to name a few.

Peppers, drafted second overall in the 2002 draft by the Panthers, went on to enjoy a NFL career plenty worthy of a Hall of Fame spot.

Until Peppers hears his name called, he’s earning an off-the-field accolade that many former Carolina Panthers dream of – being inducted, along with former teammate Muhsin Muhammad, into the Panthers’ Hall of Honor.

Peppers, who embodies everything it means to be a Carolina Panther, made an immediate impact from the time he first donned the black and Panther blue.

In his first regular-season NFL game (Sept. 8, 2002), Peppers deflected a pass that ultimately led to the game-winning score against the Baltimore Ravens. He followed that up with a 3-sack, one forced fumble outing in his second NFL game.

Peppers’ second NFL season included a trip to the Super Bowl, which the Panthers lost to the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots. He finished Year 2 with 37 solo tackles, seven sacks, three forced fumbles and a blocked kick.

Across his 17-year career, Peppers finished with 716 tackles, 159.5 sacks (fourth all-time), and 51 forced fumbles (second all-time). Peppers is the only player in league history with 150+ sacks and 10+ interceptions.

He won the 2002 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award, earned nine Pro Bowl honors (five in Carolina) and three first-team All-Pro selections.

The eye-popping number on Peppers’ resume isn’t his statistical production – it’s his durability. Peppers played 266 games, the sixth-most by a defensive player in NFL history.

With a list of former Panther teammates Steve Smith, Sam Mills, Jake Delhomme, Jordan Gross, and Wesley Walls already in the Hall of Honor, Peppers is joining a great group of players who helped form the identity of the NFL team Carolina calls home.

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Tar Heel Football great Lawrence Taylor selected to All-Time list

NFL Hall of Famer and Tar Heel Football great Lawrence Taylor was named to former coach Dave Wannstedt’s All-Time Front 7 list.

There’s been a lot of great football players who spent their college years at the prestigious University of North Carolina, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.

One guy that comes to the forefront is 3-time Pro Bowler Robert Quinn, who played at UNC in 2008 and 2009. At age 33, Quinn is a 3-time Pro Bowler, a 1-time NFL forced fumbles co-leader and a 2013 First-Team All-Pro.

If you dig back into the 1900’s, however, you’re going to find the greatest defensive player to ever don a Tar Heel Football uniform.

That man goes by the name of Lawrence Taylor, the 1980 ACC Player of the Year, who was recently named to the 33rd Team’s best all-time NFL front seven.

Taylor, the New York Giants’ second overall pick back in 1981, is a member of the prestigious Pro Football Hall of Fame. He has a list of professional accolades that could write a whole chapter – the Giants’ all-time sack leader (142), 2-time Super Bowl champion, NFL MVP (1986), 3-time NFL defensive Player of the Year, NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, 8-time First Team All-Pro, 10-time Pro Bowler, NFL sack leader (1986), just to name a few.

“His dominance on the line forced offenses to turn protection to whichever side Taylor was on,” longtime NFL and collegiate coach Dave Wannstedt told Giants Now. “Coordinators wanted to make sure you got a big offensive lineman blocking L.T. rather than running the opposite way and expecting a running back to block him. That’s what most teams did. When L.T. was on the field, you must use the lineman to him to give you the best chance to slow him down.”

Taylor joined current NFL great Aaron Donald and historic greats Ray Lewis, Derrick Brooks, Junior Seau, Reggie White, Joe Greene, on Wannstedt’s All-Time Front 7.

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