Miami Must Limit These Five North Carolina Players
Article photo of North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye; credit to Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports.
The Miami Hurricanes at North Carolina Tar Heels game has some fun matchups, and perhaps the Canes defense facing off with an explosive Heels offensive unit is the best overall.
Here are the five Tar Heels that are the likely to be the primary focus for defensive coordinator Lance Guidry and the Hurricanes:
Drake Maye - Quarterback - Redshirt Sophomore
Likely to be a top five pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Maye is as dynamic a player as there is in college football. He’s also creative. Against Pittsburgh, he threw a left-handed touchdown when he was being tackled from his right side. Talk about making a play out of nothing.
Most notably about Maye, fooling him with defensive formations is not an easy task. He adjusts well – even after the snap of the football – and makes big plays. While a big-bodied quarterback, he’s also an adept runner. Miami may not keep him from putting up big numbers, but it needs to find a way to create at least one turnover.
Maye will throw into tight windows, so there will probably be chances for interceptions. He also sometimes holds the football for quite a while in the pocket. There’s a chance for a strip-sack on Saturday.
2023 statistics: 129 of 179, 72.1%, 1,629 yards, 9.1 yards per attempt, 8 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. 52 carries for 174 yards, 3.4 average, and 4 rushing touchdowns as well.
Kobe Paysour - Wide Receiver - Sophomore
Paysour is on a hot streak. Versus Syracuse, his 3 receptions, 100 yards and a score helped the Tar Heels demolish the Orange 40-7. He will be a player UNC finds a multitude of ways to get the football.
Over the middle, short to intermediate, and sometimes over the top from Maye, Paysour is a money player. He leads all UNC pass catchers in touchdown receptions.
2023 statistics: 22 receptions, 282 yards, 12.8 yard average, and 3 touchdowns
Omarion Hampton - Running Back - Sophomore
Hampton is the every-down running back for UNC. He's 6-foot and 220 pounds, so seeing him tote the football 20 or more times versus Miami should not be a surprise. He's averaging 17.6 rushes per game, so Miami is likely to see a heavy number of carries from Hampton.
He's adept at breaking tackles, and he's quite capable of hitting the edges and gashing a defense as well. It's imperative that UM holds him to under four yards per carry, because if not, his success is another way that Maye has chances to beat the Canes via play-action passes.
2023 statistics: 88 rushes, 461 yards, 5.2 average, and 7 touchdowns. He also has 8 receptions, 78 yards, and a 9.8 average when catching the football.
Nate McCollum - Wide Receiver - Redshirt-Junior
A speedy, make-you-miss player, McCollum is often the go-to guy for Maye. This is especially true with screens and short passes that allow McCollum to get in space and provide him with a chance to create havoc for a defense.
Beyond receptions, look for North Carolina to try to get McCollum the football on jet sweeps and possibly even a traditional reverse as well.
2023 statistics: 28 receptions, 355 yards, 12.7 average, and 1 touchdown
J.J. Jones - Wide Receiver - Junior
The complement to McCollum, Jones is the big-bodied wide receiver that can make contested catches. He’s capable of getting behind the Hurricanes defenders as well.
In three of the five UNC games so far this season, Jones averaged over 18 yards per reception.
2023 statistics: 18 receptions, 318 yards, and a 17.7 average
Note: Three different UNC tight ends have also combined for 29 receptions, 412 yards, a 14.2 average, and 4 touchdowns.
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