Two Players and a Position Group to Watch on North Carolina's Offense This Saturday Against the Yellow Jackets

There are several players to watch on Saturday for North Carolina

Nov 11, 2023; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels running back Omarion Hampton (28) runs in the second quarter at Kenan Memorial Stadium. / Photo Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

North Carolina comes into the matchup looking to secure its first ACC win of the season. The Tar Heels are a team that is reeling, enduring a current three-game losing streak. Despite the tough streak, the Tar Heels have explosive players on the offensive ball who are capable of making big plays. Here are players to watch on Saturday afternoon. 

RB Omarion Hampton- On Saturday against Pittsburgh, Hampton recorded his 14th 100-yard game in his career, which is tied for 7th in UNC history. Hampton leads the ACC in rushing yards with 764 yards. He also has seven touchdowns which ranks second in the conference. He is the third-leading rusher in the NCAA. He has rushed for 100 yards in every game except against UNC Charlotte. His best game of the season came against North Carolina Central where he rushed for 210 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries. Hampton is an All-American, first-team all-ACC, and a Doak Walker Award Finalist (presented to the top running back in college football) coming into the 2024 season. He is one of the best in the business and the Yellow Jackets will have their work cut out for him. It will be imperative that they do not let Hampton take over this game, but that is easier said than done. 

North Carolina Offensive line- A unit that has struggled with protecting their quarterback Jacolby Criswell. Criswell has been sacked seven times and North Carolina has given up 11 sacks this season. They are a middle-of-the-pack team when it comes to this category. The concerning part is that the sacks have begun to pile up in the last few weeks. North Carolina has given up six sacks in the past three weeks. Georgia Tech has struggled to generate sacks this season but this could be a game where they can increase their numbers. The primary goal will be stopping Hampton who is a handful, but you have a good chance if you can slow him down and make UNC a passing team. Jacolby Criswell can make plays but he is not the most accurate, only completing 56.4% of his passes. If the defensive backs can continue to make plays on the back end for the Yellow Jackets and if they can create pressure and get home against North Carolina, it could be a tough afternoon for the Tar Heels. Head coach Brent Key alluded to wanting to see his defensive back be more aggressive in his press conference following the win against Duke. It will be interesting to see if the North Carolina offensive line can hold up. 

TE Bryson Nesbit- An area in which Georgia Tech has struggled a little bit is guarding athletic tight ends who are good pass catchers. We saw this earlier in the year against Syracuse with Oronde Gadsden who had six catches for 93 yards and two touchdowns against the Yellow Jackets. They face another tough test. This season Nesbit has 21 catches for 242 yards and three touchdowns. He leads the team in catches and is also tied for the most receiving touchdowns with three on the team. Coming into this year, Nesbit was coming off his best season yet at UNC, finishing with the most receiving yards by a tight end in the conference. While he only started two games, he ended last year with 585 yards and five touchdowns on 41 receptions, earning first-team All-ACC honors. He also was named to the John Mackey Award preseason watch list, an award given to the top collegiate tight end. Nesbit will be one that Georgia Tech needs to make sure they pay close attention to and not let him get going early.