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4 Friday, September 1, 2000 Parker Hopes to Join List of 1,000-Yard Backs By Bret Strelow Assistant Sports Editor Willie Parker looks at the list ever)' time he enters the North Carolina foot ball team’s meeting room. Parker stares in awe when he sees the names of the 15 rushers in UNC history who have amassed 24 1,000-yard rush ing seasons. The list indudes Tar Heel greats such as Mike Voight. Amos Lawrence and Kelvin Bryant Parker watched UNC games as a youngster when the likes of Leon Johnson, Curtis Johnson and Natrone Means reached the 1,000-yard plateau. Parker would love to add his name to the coveted list before he leaves UNC. “I used to say that I wanted to be like them one day plating in that Carolina blue,” Parker said. Parker’s dream will come true this season. After redshirting last year, Parker became the starting tailback dur ing spring practice. He’s slated to see his first game action in Saturday’s season opener against Tulsa. “Willie Parker has shown that he has the athletic tools to be an outstanding tailback, but he has not played at game,” UNC coach Carl Torbush said. “We don’t know how he’ll respond to ■ KIRKLAND'S • FOOT LOCKER • EDDIE BAUER • TYNDALL'S FORMAL WEAR • KAY JEWELERS • WHEREHOUSE MUSIC ■ § South Square mail, Tarheel Sports network and Duke Athletics l \ SPORTS Vk ! 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(MVP/Food Lion Challenge y ~ ifSHfjl the right place. complete with accommodations at z ~ WSM right now. the Charlotte Marriott Center and > Wtmtflfia j, .. . „„ ,_ _ dinner tor two at the Silver Cricketi. < rfWlttWß D,llards ' Hud >n Belk and |C Penney 0 Durham/Chapel Hill Boulevard and 15-501 'Limit one prize package per family while r VSSS — _ „ , supplies las*. Other restrictions ■ 1-40 East to Exit #270 • 919-493-2451 may apply. Visit the Customer Service \j www.southsquaremall.com Center for complete details. ■ B DA! TON BOOKSELLER • CAMELOT MUSIC - CHAMPS • MR. WOK * STRUCTURE • ATHLETE'S FOOT • C.AP ■ ■r 1; DTH MILLER PEARSALL Freshman Willie Parker, right redshirted last season but earned the starting tailback job coming out of spring practice. 60,000 people until he gets out there. But I do think he has a chance to be a really, really good tailback.” If Parker falters, Torbush has confi dence that a pair of freshmen could step right in and fill his shoes. Brandon Russell and Andre Williams Football 2000 played well enough in fall practice to bypass juniors Rufus Brown and Domonique Williams on the depth chart Russell is listed as the No. 2 tailback. He mshed for 1,697 yards and 29 touch downs as a senior last year at Marist High School in Decatur. Ga. Andre Williams, who played at Northern Durham High School, amassed 2,146 rushing yards and scored 36 touchdowns as a senior. “We’re excited about that position, but we’re still a little bit worried because all of them are young,” Torbush said. “Of the three guys who we say are first second and third team at this point, none of them have played in a varsity football game.” With Domonique Williams’s decision this week to transfer, Brown is the only Tar Heel tailback who has any experi ence. Brown led the Tar Heels with 534 rushing yards in 1998 but struggled through injuries last year and finished with 275 yards. Torbush will rely on two other veter ans to open up holes for his young tail backs. Senior Ronnie Robinson will start for the Tar Heels. He replaces three-year starter Deon Dyer, who was drafted by the Miami Dolphins. Robinson backed up Dyer last season and scored two touchdowns in an early season win against Indiana. He had only seven rushing attempts all of last season. “We lost probably the best fullback I’ve ever been around in Deon Dyer,” Torbush said. “It’s really hard to replace him, but I think Ronnie Robinson is New Faces Dominate UNC Special Teams The Tar Heels' special teams lost three kickers from the 1999 squad and will have to rely on unproven legs. By Rachel Carter Assistant Sports Editor Call it the X factor. The defense is older, wiser and has a strong corps of linebackers leading it. The offense is young and should impress under the stylings of new offen sive coordinator Mike O’Cain. But say special teams, and no one’s quite sure how to handicap that section of the North Carolina football squad. In last year’s disastrous 3-8 season, practically the only thing UNC coach Carl Torbush could count on were the legs of his punter Brian Schmitz and kicker Josh McGee. Schmitz, the only Tar Heel to earn first-team All- America honors by The Sporting News “None of these guys we have this year have kicked one time in a game. ” Carl Torbush UNC Football Coach last year, punted for a 47.8-yard average in 1999 to set a single-season ACC record. McGee made 81 percent of his field goal attempts and set a UNC single game record with six field goals in the Daily (Tar Urrl doing very well right now.” Junior Anthony Saunders serves as a capable backup to Robinson. Saunders started four games at tailback for North Carolina last year and rushed for a team-high 110 yards in a loss at Georgia Tech. 1,000-Yard Club Player Year Yards Don McCauley 1969 1,092 Don McCauley 1970 1,720 Sammy Johnson 1973 1,006 James Betterson 1974 1,082 Mike Voight 1974 1,033 Mike Voight 1975 1,250 Mike Voight 1976 1,407 Amos Lawrence 1977 1,211 Amos Lawrence 1978 1,043 Amos Lawrence 1979 1,019 Amos Lawrence 1980 1,118 Kelvin Bryant 1980 1,039 Keivin Bryant 1981 1,015 Kelvin Bryant 1982 1,064 Ethan Horton 1983 1,107 Tyrone Anthony 1983 1,063 Ethan Horton 1984 1,247 Derrick Fenner 1986 1,250 Kennard Martin 1988 1,146 Natrone Means 1991 1,030 Natrone Means 1992 1,195 Curtis Johnson 1993 1,034 Leon Johnson 1993 1,012 Jonathan Linton 1997 1,004 Tar Heels’ 38-0 victory against Duke last November. But Schmitz and McGee have moved on, and suddenly the kick ing question looms large. Jeff Reed, the player slated to replace McGee, said he’s trying not to let the pres sure get to him. “1 know I have Senior walk-on Jeff Reed has never kicked in a college game, but he has been impressive on kickoffs. big shoes to fill,” Reed said. A senior from Charlotte, Reed has yet to kick in a college game. “None of these guys we have this year have kicked one time in a game,” Torbush said before the team’s first scrim mage. “Jeff Reed is a walk-on and has been kicking exceptionally well on kickoffs in practice. He’s been a little bit inconsis tent on his extra points and field goals, and again we won’t know how good he can be until lie gets out there in front of See SPECIAL TEAMS, Page 11
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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