Tag: UNC Football

Mack Brown’s plans with UNC football revealed per report

Mack Brown’s future is being decided and he plans to stay.

The North Carolina Tar Heels have had a rocky 2024 season, leaving questions about the future of the program under Mack Brown. After an embarrassing 70-50 loss to James Madison in September, rumors swirled that Brown was ready to retire and move on.

But since then, there has been water thrown onto that fire and the Tar Heels have a three-game win streak and are bowl eligible again.

Matt Zentiz of 247Sports and CBS Sports is reporting that Brown is telling players, staff and recruits that he plans on staying at North Carolina for at least another season:

Brown is telling people at North Carolina, including staff and players along with recruits, that he plans to remain the Tar Heels’ head coach beyond this season, sources tell CBS Sports and 247Sports.

The UNC administration has not commented in recent months on Brown’s status past the 2024 season. Brown is under contract through the 2027 season.

Despite that four-game losing streak earlier in the season, the head coach has found a way to turn things around behind a stellar defense and good quarterback play fro Jacolby Criswell.

They have a chance to finish the season strong with wins over Boston College and NC State heading into their bowl game.

The 73-year-old Brown has won 288 games in his career with 158 coming at Texas where he won a national championship. He has 113 wins at North Carolina in two stints and then 11 wins at Tulane.

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Tar Heels pick up crystal ball prediction for big recruiting target

Will the UNC football program land a big four-star recruit?

The North Carolina Tar Heels’ football program is still working on its 2025 recruiting class as early signing day approaches in December. As it stands right now, it’s a small class for the Tar Heels but it leaves room for them to add a big transfer class.

Despite it being small, there are some talented players committed and UNC is looking to still add its biggest prospect. That could be former Clemson commit Isaiah Campbell.

The Durham, North Carolina native decommitted from the Tigers a few months back and since then, it’s been a battle between UNC and Tennessee to land him. Going up against the Volunteers is no easy task especially with their NIL initiative as well as their recent success on the field. But one recruiting analyst believes UNC has a legit chance.

Anna Adams of 247Sports put in a crystal ball for the Tar Heels to land Campbell when he makes his decision during the early signing period. The pick came on Tuesday, and is the most recent pick for any program.

Tom Loy of 247Sports put a pick in for Tennessee back in October.

The 6-foot-4, 275-pound Campbell is ranked No. 33 nationally, the No. 6 defensive lineman and the No. two player in the state of North Carolina per the 247Sports recruiting rankings.

UNC star Omarion Hampton one of just 10 Semifinalists for prestigious Running Back Award

The Seminfinalist List for one of college’s football top awards includes a player UNC football fans are extremely familiar with.

Every time you turn on a UNC football game, chances are you see Omarion Hampton with the opposing defense behind him.

Hampton, the Tar Heels’ star junior running back, continues to prove himself as a household name in college football. Just last Saturday in North Carolina’s bowl-clinching win over Wake Forest, Hampton scored his 14th touchdown of 2024, plus set career highs of 35 carries and 244 yards.

Hampton now owns the UNC record with eight-consecutive 100-yard games, plus he is now tied with Marquise Williams for third-all time in UNC rushing touchdowns. Hampton now has 3,327 rushing yards for his Tar Heel career, putting him Top-5 in program history.

It should come as no surprise, then, that Hampton was selected as one of 10 semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award. This prestigious award is given annually to college football’s top running back.

Hampton is joined on the list by Heisman Trophy frontrunner Ashton Jeanty, SMU’s Brashard Smith, Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo, Tennessee’s Dylan Sampson, Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson, Tulane’s Makhi Hughes, UCF’s RJ Harvey, Kansas State’s DJ Giddens and Texas Tech’s Tahj Brooks.

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With North Carolina shifting to a run-first offense this season, Hampton is thriving as his team’s primary offensive creator. Hampton leads the ACC in rushing yardage and has 100 yards in almost ever UNC game, with the lone exception being a 38-20 victory over Charlotte, when he missed the second half due to a minor injury.

I’d be shocked if Hampton doesn’t depart for the NFL after the type of season he’s enjoying. Sure, Hampton has another year of eligibility, but his draft stock is so high and he’s already proven himself as a Tar Heel.

North Carolina still has three more games to play in its current season, so there’s plenty more time to watch Hampton continue destroying defenses.

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Big Ten program leads as UNC recruiting target sets decision date

Decision day looms for five-star UNC football recruiting target Kendre Harrison.

The recruitment for five-star tight end Kendre Harrison will be coming to an end in the coming weeks as programs will soon learn their fate in the recruitment.

The North Carolina native has officially set a decision date for November 30th, providing a key update to his recruitment. Harrison has a total of 30 offers but will decide between North Carolina, Oregon, Florida State, Tennessee, Miami, and Penn State. However, one program is emerging as the favorite.

And it’s the Oregon Ducks.

As soon as Harrison announced that he would be making his decision on November 30th, the Ducks picked up a crystal ball from 247Sports insider Tom Loy. He also received a prediction from Steve Wiltfong of On3 on Monday as well.

That’s terrible news for North Carolina, a program that was hoping to land a commitment from Harrison not only as a football prospect but a basketball player as well.

Harrison is ranked as a five-star recruit, No. 9 nationally, the No. 1 tight end and No. 2 player in the state of North Carolina per 247Sports. But he’s also a top 50 player in basketball rankings as well, offering that dual-sport ability.

The Tar Heels have put a full-court press on Harrison, using Julius Peppers as a tool in recruiting him. He’s been on UNC’s campus a number of times and the thought of him playing basketball as well would have seemingly helped their chances.

But it appears as if he’s heading to a football powerhouse out West.

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Start time announced for UNC-NC State football regular season finale

You can now start planning for the UNC-NC State football regular-season finale.

No matter who the North Carolina Tar Heels beat in any given football season, there’s one opponent in recent years who they can’t seem to get past: NC State, their in-state rivals from just 30 minutes down the road in Raleigh.

Last year, UNC (6-3, 3-3 ACC) started 6-0 before its epic collapse put it back in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. The Wolfpack (5-5, 2-4 ACC) were part of North Carolina’s late-season slide, stomping the boys in Carolina Blue by a 39-20 mark in Raleigh.

It’s now State’s turn to play in Chapel Hill this season – and you can bet it’ll be a loud, chippy game.

Earlier on Monday, we learned that the Tar Heels and Wolfpack will kick their regular-season finale off at 3:30 p.m. ET.

This is just late enough to have a nighttime atmosphere (it starts getting dark at 5:30 p.m.), but early enough as to where fans – and players – can celebrate afterwards.

If you remember NC State coach Dave Doeren’s infamous words about UNC after last year’s game, he said, “those pieces of **** haven’t beaten us in 1,460 days.” I have no issue with Doeren firing his players up and taking friendly jabs at North Carolina, but saying this about kids is crossing the line.

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The Tar Heels are playing their best football of 2024, winning their past three games behind a combination of Omarion Hampton and strong defense, to climb back into bowl contention. This comes after UNC’s coldest stretch, in which four consecutive losses had fans questioning how much longer Mack Brown would be coaching.

The Wolfpack, ranked in the preseason, are sitting at .500 overall after a quarterback switch and inconsistent play. They will travel to Georgia Tech on Saturday, Nov. 21 before heading up to Kenan.

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Omarion Hampton’s record-breaking game against Wake earns him weekly ACC honors

UNC star running back Omarion Hampton picked up ACC Weekly Honors for the third time this season.

At this point in the college football season, are you surprised at the type of year UNC junior running back Omarion Hampton is experiencing?

In North Carolina’s 31-24 victory over Wake Forest on Saturday, Hampton rushed for a career-high 244 yards on a career-high 35 carries. Hampton also added what would be the game-winning touchdown, channeling his inner Saquon Barkley on a 6-yard, hurdle-and-score with just over two minutes remaining.

Hampton led all FBS rushers with his Week 12 output – and climbed up the Tar Heel record books. Hampton moved into a third-place tie with Marquise Williams (2011-2015) for his 35th rushing touchdown, plus he now owns the program record for consecutive 100-yard games (eight).

After reading all this, it should come as no surprise that Hampton was named ACC Running Back of the Week. This was Hampton’s third time earning the honor – and seventh time overall in his career.

Sitting outside of the Top 5 FBS rushing yardage leaders before the Wake Forest game, Hampton climbed to second with 1,422 rushing yards in 2024. The one man he trails is Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, the should-be Heisman Trophy winner, who currently has 1,893 yards and has the Broncos in the thick of CFP contention.

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Hampton could very well pass 2,000 yards if he continues at his current pace, though he’d have to average 193 rushing yards over UNC’s final three games.

North Carolina ships up to Boston College on Saturday, Nov. 23, hosts NC State for its regular-season finale on Nov. 30, then will play in a bowl game for the sixth-consecutive season – at a date TBD.

There’s no question Hampton is one of the best running backs in Tar Heel history. Is he THE best running back?

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The Tar Heels’ defense works to get Geoff Collins ‘swole’

How ‘swole’ will Geoff Collins be by the end of the season?

Mack Brown brought in former Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins to be his defensive coordinator this season in hopes of getting the defense to a place where it wasn’t a liability.

Over the last three games, Collins has proved just that.

Many had question marks about his capabilities after the team’s four-game losing streak, but Collins implemented an incentive-based system full of cookie cake and push-ups that have motivated his defense.

Power Echols gave us insight into how Collins is doing just that, via Inside Carolina.

He has to do 10 push-ups every time we get a turnover, so we try to get him as swole as possible by the end of practice and get him a good workout in, but he just preaches that each and every day in practice.

Mack Brown had nothing but praise for Collins defense over the last three games.

They’ve stopped the run, they’ve disrupted the quarterback. We forced two turnovers last week, we had three tonight. So now, they’re starting to force more turnovers.

Even Jacobly Criswell acknowledged the strength of the defense on Saturday.

We had a couple of drives to where I fumbled, and just unacceptable by me, and a couple of other things happened to where we just weren’t on rhythm, and the defense did a good job giving us the ball back,

Collins’s incentive-based system for his defense has cultivated a relationship between the DC and players that every team hopes to have.

The fact that players are enjoying what they are receiving and willing to go out and leave it all on the field for Collins proves what we all wondered about his leadership capabilities.

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PHOTOS: Tar Heels roll past Wake Forest, even up conference record

Check out how the game looked from the sidelines as UNC took down Wake Forest.

North Carolina came out of its second bye week to take on its first ACC team at home since its winning streak started. Wake Forest came into Kenan Stadium and served up the Tar Heel’s third straight win against an ACC team.

The star of the show, Omarion Hampton, once again had a stellar performance. He finished with 244 yards and a touchdown on the ground with five receptions for 16 yards through the air as well.

The defense wasn’t going to shy away from the spotlight either as Power Echols intercepted Michael Kern, after Hank Bachmeier left the game injured, for a 42-yard touchdown. They managed two sacks and five tackles for a loss as well.

Check out the photos from the sideline in Carolina’s “Blue Out.”

Omarion Hampton sets new career-high in win over Wake Forest

Saturday night cemented why Omarion Hampton is one of the best players in UNC football history.

I’m running out of ways to write about how talented of a running back UNC’s Omarion Hampton is.

On Saturday night in a closer-than-expected 31-24 victory over Wake Forest, Hampton ran for 244 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries (7 YPC). Hampton set a new career-high with his yardage output, breaking his previous best of 234, set in North Carolina’s 40-34 overtime victory against App State in 2023.

“It’s as good as any,” Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown said, when asked about where Hampton’s career game ranks amongst running backs he’s coached. “I mean, 249 yards is just absolutely unbelievable. I was on a radio show before the season started and somebody said, “where does he rank in the great backs you’ve coached?” And I said he’s in the middle of it. He really is. And there’s some great ones. Everybody in the country would want Omarion Hampton on their team, he’s gonna be a great pro player.”

Not only did Big O set his new career high, but Saturday was Hampton’s eighth-straight game with 100 yards, a new Tar Heels record.

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Hampton is now tied with former UNC quarterback Marquise Williams at 35 rushing touchdowns, which is third all-time. Hampton now has 3,327 career rushing yards, climbing North Carolina legends Don McCauley and Kelvin Bryant on Saturday night.

“It’s so real of a feeling, just knowing that making history here, always growing up a fan, being here and everything like that,” Hampton said on climbing up the all-time list. “It’s so real of a feeling.”

On a night where Jacolby Criswell and his receivers struggled to get the passing game clicking, Hampton’s output was much-needed.

“We just knew we had to make something work because we were just staying on each other, just going to the sidelines knowing we have to make something happen, knowing that whatever it is we’ve gotta make it work,” Hampton said. “I feel like (offensive coordinator) Chip Lindsey did a good job play-calling and everything, to help us set up different runs and everything for the defense. I feel like it just all planned out well.”

To cap off his legendary night, Hampton scored the Tar Heels’ final touchdown. Hampton channeled Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley, one of his favorite pros to watch, on his hurdle-and-score touchdown.

“Yeah he’s definitely crazy,” Hampton said about Saquon. “I’ve always been a fan of Saquon, just his run style and everything like that. Always watched film on him and everything like that. He’s definitely a super-talented guy.”

UNC is extremely lucky to have a back of Hampton’s caliber. His next chance to break even more records comes on Saturday, Nov. 23 in a 12 p.m. kickoff at Boston College.

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Omarion Hampton’s big night, second-half defense helps UNC beat Wake Forest and extend bowl streak

Omarion Hampton enjoyed the game of his life Saturday. UNC’s defense held off Wake Forest late, helping the Tar Heels to a huge win that extend their bowl streak.

If the North Carolina Tar Heels didn’t have Omarion Hampton on Saturday night against Wake Forest, I think tonight’s outcome would look a lot different.

If UNC’s defense didn’t step up in the fourth quarter – albeit an almost collapse – I think we could be saying the same thing.

Thanks to Big O and a resurgent defensive unit, North Carolina beat Wake Forest, 31-17, for its third-consecutive victory and to make a bowl game for the sixth-straight year.

Hampton set multiple career highs – and rewrote the Tar Heel record books – in the best game of his collegiate career Saturday night.

Hampton carried the football a career-high 33 times and set a new career-high with 244 rushing yards, in addition to scoring a fourth-quarter touchdown that extended UNC’s lead to two possessions. He’s now fifth in career rushing yards (3,327), passing Don McCauley and Kelvin Bryant on the night. Hampton’s 35 rushing touchdowns also tie him with former North Carolina quarterback Marquise Williams for third all-time.

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While Hampton stole the headlines, North Carolina’s defense also played a big role.

The Tar Heels allowed a Wake Forest touchdown with under two minutes remaining in the final quarter, but kept Wake scoreless for nearly 20 minutes – after allowing 14 third-quarter points. UNC’s lockdown defense spanned five drives, in which Wake only gained 27 yards on 15 plays.

North Carolina looked lost at one point this season, losing four-straight games and reverting to its old defensive tendencies.

Now, thanks to the best running back in the country and a resurgent defense. the Tar Heels are bowl eligible for a sixth-straight year and one of the ACC’s hottest teams.

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