Tag: UNC Tar Heels

Omarion Hampton is heading for UNC football’s all-time rushing record

Can Omarion Hampton break the #UNC all-time rushing record?

There is no shaking the fact that UNC football running back Omarion Hampton is one of the best in the business at what he does. He is not only looking to be the best rusher this season, but he is also looking to win.

He proved that in the very first week of the season when he ran 30 times for 129 yards. The passing attack wasn’t working, but handing the ball off to Hampton was right what the offense needed in that timeframe.

Hampton now had 2,034 yards on the ground. He totaled 401 yards in his freshman season and 1,504 yards in his breakout sophomore campaign.

Hampton needs just 500 yards to break into the Top 10 all-time for the program knocking Elijah Hood out. However, depending on how long his stays, Hampton could take over the record from Amos Lawrence, the UNC running back from 1977-1980.

If Hampton has as many yards this season as he did last, he will finish the year with 3,409 total yards on the ground. That would place him s the No. 4 ranked rusher in UNC history.

After that, he would need just 1,342 yards to break Lawrence’s record and become the greatest rusher in UNC football history.

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Former Tar Heel Armando Bacot finds new home in NBA

This former UNC superstar signed an NBA contract with this franchise.

One of the most prolific big men to dawn the Carolina blue in the last decade is headed to the NBA. After going undrafted in the 2024 NBA Draft, center Armando Bacot has signed a 10-day exhibition contract with the Memphis Grizzlies.

This contract will guarantee a one-year deal at the NBA minimum and has the opportunity to transition to a two-way contract before the start of the regular season which is on October 22, 2024.

Bacot was one of the best big men UNC basketball has ever seen. He spent five years with the Tar Heels averaging 14.5 points and 10.3 rebounds per game in his last season. He finished averaging a double-double for his collegiate career at 13.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.

https://Twitter.com/JacobTurnerTHI/status/1832101898096407003

Bacot spent time in the Summe League over the last couple of months with the Utah Jazz. He had several games during the summer with 8+ points and 6+ rebounds in a limited minute span. After his 10-day contract with the Jazz expired, he was let go.

This time around, hopefully, Bacot has found his NBA home.

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UNC recruit announces commitment to blue-blood rival

The five-star guard, who had UNC in his final five, announced his decision today.

Class of 2025 recruit Jasper Johnson was one of the top that UNC basketball had targeted in the class. Not only was he a top target, Johnson also had UNC in his sights as well naming them to his final five schools.

However, as his decision day approached, the crystal ball started aiming in a way opposite the Tar Heels’ direction. Today, Johnson made the decision official in a verbal announcement with his family and in front of his school to commit to play at the University of Kentucky.

He will join his friend, Malachi Moreno, and head to his home state of Kentucky.

This continues to add to the recruiting woes that UNC is experiencing in this 2025 class. However, there is still hope with a chance at the No. 1 overall recruit of the class in AJ Dybantsa.

UNC will now shift its recruiting focus to those players where they are still in the running. The Heels have yet to get a verbal commitment from anyone in the Class of 2025, and fans are still wondering who that first one will be.

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UNC basketball recruiting target cancels visit

Its more bad news for #UNC basketball recruiting as five-star center Eric Reibe makes a decision about Chapel Hill for his future.

More bad news for UNC basketball; it has had its struggles lately in the recruiting realm. It seems like everyone the team in connected took is turning in the other direction, especially those recruits who are ranked in the Top 30 on 247sports.

Guys like Jasper Johnson, who is forecasted to Kentucky, and Malachi Moreno, who committed to Kentucky. The No. 1 overall player AJ Dybantsa, who has been rumored to have BYU atop his list is just falling out of the hands of Hubert Davis and company.

Well, four-star center Eric Reibe is following suit. The Maryland product, which had a visit scheduled with North Carolina, has since been canceled and is forecasted 100% towards Creighton according to 247sports.

https://twitter.com/TiptonEdits/status/1831107474209800497

Davis and his coaches have some work to do as the contact period has opened. The team, which looks stellar for this year, will need to improve for years to come looking at guys like RJ Davis and some transfers who will be in their last year.

There are still several top players among the ranks for North Carolina, and they will need to target them heavily going forward hoping to see some verbally commit to Chapel Hill.

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UNC football receives votes in the Week 2 AP Poll release

UNC football is on the vote-getting board in the latest AP Poll after win over Minnesota.

Week 2 college football polls were released today after a delay in Week 1 with games on Sunday and Monday. UNC football already received votes in the US LBM Coaches Poll, and now, the same has happened in the AP Poll.

North Carolina’s win on the road over Big Ten opponent Minnesota was shaky. That is undeniable. It took Noah Burnette going 4/4 and a hope that Minnesota’s kicker missed the game-winning field goal to win.

However, it did leave with a win nonetheless. Another major story was the injury to Max Johnson that ended up requiring surgery and will cost him the entire season. That also plays a factor in the poll decisions.

The Heels came in at No. 39 on Week 2 AP Poll with a total of four votes for breaking into the Top 25. Tulane was the other program that also received four votes from the panel.

Five teams from the ACC cracked the Top 25 including Miami at No. 12, Louisville at No. 22, Georgia Tech at No. 23, NC State at No. 24, and Clemson at No. 25. Only two teams who lost in Week 1 remained in the Top 25.

North Carolina’s next two games will not move the needly in a major way unless the team throttles both its incoming opponents proving that the offense will be just fine under Conner Harrell.

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UNC football falls in USA Today’s Top 134 re-rank after Week 1

#UNC football falls seven spots in a post-Week 1 re-rank of the Top 130 college football teams.

Week 1 in college football was kind to the Tar Heels. Several factors that could have gone array for the team, didn’t, including the fact that they were on the road and that they were playing a power conference opponent.

The only thing that went wrong for the Heels in Week 1 was the season-ending injury to starting quarterback Max Johnson. However, Conner Harrell took over and it didn’t take long for him to take as much control over the offense as Johnson had.

Despite all of that, UNC football still fell in USA Today’s Paul Myerberg’s re-rank of the Top 134 college football programs in the nation. Preseason, they opened up at No. 32 before dropping to No. 39 after the Week 1 win, a fall of seven rankings.

It marks the biggest fall by a team that won in Week 1 in the Top 50 schools on the list. In fact, the only teams in the Top 40 to drop faster than North Carolina were Clemson (down 19 spots) and LSU (down 10 spots) who both lost their Week 1 opening contest.

North Carolina will have some work to do in the coming weeks to prove to the nation that Conner Harrell can lead a Top 25 offense with Omarion Hampton behind him.

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UNC football’s bowl projections change after Week 1 win

After a Week 1 win against a Big Ten team, #UNC football’s bowl projections have shifted.

The North Carolina Tar Heels went into hostile territory in Week 1 of the college football season and pulled off a win against Minnesota of the Big Ten. They won their first true road opener in over 30 years.

The Heels squeaked by a win on a missed field goal with four seconds remaining in their first game. Kicker Noah Burnette went 4/4 on his field goals and scored the most points in the game.

Max Johnson scored the only touchdown of the game for UNC, but he also left with a season-ending leg injury before being replaced by Conner Harrell who finished the game at the position.

Before the season started, Brad Crawford and 247sports had UNC football playing in the Military Bowl against Northwestern in the Pinstripe Bowl on December 28th.

https://twitter.com/BCrawford247/status/1830253250437947774

Now, Crawford has moved UNC up to playing ACC rival Cal in his new rendition of his bowl projections. The two will take each other on December 30th in the Sun Bowl.

If the Heels continue to win games, hopefully, they will continue to climb in bowl projections, ultimately shooting for a spot in the 12-team playoff.

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Omarion Hampton helps carry UNC football to 19-17 win over Minnesota

Omarion Hampton, UNC’s star running back, carried the offense yesterday in the team’s Week 1 win.

What a way to start the season for UNC football, a narrow win against a Big Ten school on the road. Hopefully, that spells for games to come and lights a fire under the coaches and players for the rest of the season.

Last night, in the 19-17 win against Minnesota, there was very little passing offense transpiring. Max Johnson had less than 30 yards passing in the first half and just two receivers had a catch.

Johnson finished with 71 yards before leaving the game with a terrible-looking injury to his knee. Conner Harrell replaced him and threw for 34 yards at the end of the third and fourth quarters.

As a team, the Heels produced just 105 yards of offense through the air.

https://twitter.com/DP_NFL/status/1829374233215987872

Enter Omarion Hampton, the man who carried the offense on the way to the win. He was handed the ball 30 times carrying for 129 yards on the ground. He averaged 4.3 yards per carry with a 16-yard scamper his longest of the night.

Hampton also caught five passes and was responsible for 17 of those 105 yards through the air as well. Hampton stole the show, just like we projected that he would, and he lifted the offense to get Noah Burnette in a spot to win the game.

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UNC quarterback Max Johnson has season-ending surgery on Friday

UNC starting quarterback Max Johnson had season-ending leg surgery today.

Spirits were high after the 19-17 season-opening win on the road for UNC football and company, but one question loomed over the entire celebration. What was the extent of Max Johnson’s injury?

During the third quarter of the game with just over two minutes remaining, Max Johnson dropped back for a routine play. He was hit low by multiple players and rolled around in an effort to be tackled.

However, in the course of the tackle, Johnson’s femur broke immediately causing him severe pain. Simultaneously, everyone from fans, coaches, and players, knew that something wasn’t right.

After attempting to walk off the field, he was eventually put on a cart not being able to bear any weight. Mack Brown would not give a comment postgame.

Now, we have learned the extent of his injury has led to season-ending knee surgery for the transfer from Texas A&M. Johnson still has one year of eligibility left and can use it if he is able to get back from this injury.

Our thoughts are with Max, the team, his family, as he begins his recovery and road back on the field, today.

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UNC football has pressing issues to address on defense

Looking ahead to week 2, these issues need addressing by Geoff Collins on the defensive side of the ball.

UNC football went on the road and did something that they haven’t done since 1992, they won a season-opening game in true hostile territory. However, despite winning 19-17 and ended up 1-0 through the first week, the Tar Heels looked anything but successful on the field.

Specfically, UNC’s defensive side of the ball had glaring issues. I will say this though, everything they did was better than last year, some issues remained the same, but overall, it was a much improved performance.

There are two majors areas of concern heading into next week — open-field tackling and third-down conversions. On multiple occasions throughout the game, Collins had PJ Fleck backed up for over 10 yards and allowed a conversion on a play over double-digit yardage.

However, the glaring issue that even played a part in conversions was open-field tackling. When the big men got to the quarterback or when the defensive backs broke up a pass, it was electric.

When a pass was caught, though, or a runner broke the line, the ability to tackle that player was a problem and yards after contact were plentious.

Overall, the gameplan of the defense and the execution was at a place that fans haven’t seen it in a long time.

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