Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Sept. 8, 1983, edition 1 / Page 27
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fr -J V s 4 ; 9 4 4 i fcfi kvA vx UNC tailback duo shares time and continue tradition By KURT ROSENBERG Assistant Sports Editor Bobby Cale, coach of North Carolina's run ning backs, sits in his office in Kenan Field house, talking about the 1983 offensive back field. If he is at all worried about the position he coaches, his concern is well concealed. He talks about some tailbacks of the recent past and outlines the similarities and differ ences between the Amos Lawrence-Kelvin Bryant combination and the Ethan Horton Tyrone Anthony duo. Bryant made people forget about Lawrence. Now Bryant is gone, though it is too soon to call him forgotten. After all, his last game for UNC wasn't even nine months ago. Give it time. Maybe another Saturday or two. Bobby Cale is relaxed, knowing he's got so much talent behind quarterback Scott Stan kavage that the biggest problem this season may be determining who plays how much. But in the case of Horton and Anthony, that doesn't matter, either. "I'll tell you," Cale says, "it doesn't matter which one of them plays, they're both gonna be very good. You've got two kids and you know you can have one come out and never miss a beat." For Cale, it's a nice situation to be in. For Horton and Anthony, it could have turned in to a not-so-nice situation. When Bryant left, the tailback spot opened up and both players, having already proven themselves, were per fect choices to start. But there is only room for one. So far, it is Horton, who started the first game against South Carolina and gained 114 yards on 29 carries. Anthony had 13 carries for 49 yards. Both players say that while there has been a fight for the starting job, there has never been any animosity between them. Cale, who knows the situation as well as anyone, agrees. "The competition came when Kelvin left, and it's gonna always be that way," he says. "But they don't hate each other." "There's no jealousy," says Horton. "I'm not saying we're not competing for the job, because we're both competitors. He's not gon na let up and I'm not gonna let up." Anthony is in his final season of college football. In high school, he was named an Ail American by Parade, Scholastic Coach and the National High School Coaches Associa tion. He's had his share of recognition and has no need to be the center of attention in UNC's backfield. "I don't mind sharing it (the recognition) for the mere reason that when I came out of high school, I was gettin' a lot of pub and I was pretty much one of the hottest backs in the country," Anthony says. "I really got tired of it. When you share the position with Ethan and the glory is split between the two of you, it takes some of the pressure off you. All the pressure is not thrown on one person and that makes things a lot easier on us." In our shop We repair. We refashion. We design. We ARE doers. BAUM JEWELRY CRAFTSMEN 106 W. Franklin Chapel Hill 929-0286 9:30-5:30 DTHJeff Neuville Tyrone Anthony: "When you share the position with Ethan and the glory is split betwen the two of you, it takes some of the pressure off. All the pressure is not thrown.on one person." And a lot more difficult on North Carolina's opponents, something offensive coordinator John Matsko is quite aware of. "If you get a fresh back in there and with the offensive line wearing some people out," Matsko says, "that's gonna cause them (the defense) some problems." This season will likely be filled with compar isons for the Tar Heels' tailback combination comparisons between Horton and Anthony individually and comparisons between the two of them and the Lawrence-Bryant tandem of 1980. Horton and Anthony are more similar to each other in their style of ninning than they are to either Bryant or Lawrence. They would just as soon run over a linebacker as they would run around him, a style that the explosive and electric Bryant would have frowned upon. Bryant ran past people, created holes that weren't there; Horton and Anthony do that, but to a lesser extent. They leave de fenders in the prone position as a result of direct contact more often than through out rageous moves. "You give 'em the ball, man, and hey, they're lookin' for the hole," Cale says. "They're power runners. They go north and south (parallel to the sidelines), they go through the line of scrimmage and they break tackles. They're not Kelvin Bryant or Amos Lawrence-type runners. You could never give those guys the ball 30 to 40 times a game. You can do that with Tyrone and Ethan." There isn't a tremendous difference in their styles, but Horton and Anthony couldn't ex actly be considered clones, either. Horton will go to the outside a little bit more often, use his quickness, make the defender miss. "I run with a little bit more finesse," he says. "Ty rone's a better cutter." Horton, a junior, is 6-4, 220-pounds un usually big for a tailback. But after his play the last two seasons, which included a most valuable player award in the 1981 Gator Bowl and another in last December's Sun Bowl, there are few arguments that he should be moved back to his old quarterback, position. "He's very quick for his size," Cale says. "He has the ability to get one on one with a guy and cut back across the field on a dime. Ethan's more of a shake-and-bake runner than Tyrone. He's one of the most talented guys on the squad. He could play just about any position he wanted to. "And the thing with Ethan is that he's so big, he runs right over people. It really strikes fear in those guys in the secondary to see a guy 64, 220 in the backfield." Seeing Anthony with the ball in his hands isn't a welcome sight for a defense, either. "Tyrone will come right at you," says Cale. "When he gets through the hole and he's got one or two guys to beat, he'll try to give them a move and then go. If that doen't work, he'll give them a shoulder." Saturday, North Carolina plays Memphis State in its first home game of the season. Horton looks like the starting tailback again. Next week, UNC faces Miami of Ohio and Horton will probably start again. But there's also the chance he won't. "Either way, we both are gonna play a lot," Anthony says. "I guess we both probably would want to start, but it might end up rotat ing each week one starting this week, the other starting the next week. I don't know how they're gonna do it, really." Chances are that Anthony doesn't care very much, either. If his rushing yardage totals 1,000 by season's end, the feat will look that much more impressive to have been accom plished by a reserve tailback. 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Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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