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8 FRIDAY, AUGUST 29, 2008 BY MIKE EHRLICH, SPORTSATURDAY EDITOR The 2007 Tar Heels start ed the year off with a bang. On just the third play from scrimmage, T. J. Yates dropped, set and bombed a 65-yard touchdown to Brooks Foster. Connor Barth nailed the PAT, and just like that, 7-0 North Carolina. UNC ended the year with some fireworks, too. Oh the first play of overtime against Duke, Greg Little took a handoff, broke free and scampered 25 yards for a score. Game over. Forty-nine other times dur ing the year, the North Carolina offense generated “the big play” - a play that gains at least 20 yards. Nearly half of UNC’s touchdowns fit the description l4 of a total 29 came from outside the red zone. For some perspective, UNC’s opponents tallied 34 big plays 17 fewer than the Tar Heels —and scored 76 percent of their touch downs from within the red zone. Sure, the North Carolina offense stalled at times, but as the num bers show, it had the capability at any moment to provide the explo siveness that results in a quick seven points. And the benefits of the big play go far beyond the scoreboard. A truly electric play gets people talking —and not just people crossing Polk Place. . The big play gets on Sports Center. The big play puts butts in the seats and recruits on campus tours. It silences opposing crowds and ampli fies the home ones. It’s not just the chicks; everyone digs the long ball. “We’ve got some home run-hitters on our offense,” Little said. “And I feel like that adds excitement That brings people to the stadium. That brings recruits to our program. I feel like if that happens, ANATOMY OF THE PIG PLAY: £ odtJc jabig C J M /^^just threo °n pj^°/ d in re^ ears to set, BHB l 1/ we’ll build a tradition and build a program.” Little provided his share of big plays, espe cially in a brief stint at the end of the season as the starting tailback. After switching from wideout to running back for the year's final two games, he showed the natural instincts and spark to secure him as the clear-cut fea tured back this year. Yates was in prime big play form early in the year, as his deep passes dropped in to find their targets, most frequently Hakeem Nicks. These early bombs didn’t go unnoticed. They changed the way opposing defenses Football 2008 lined up and played the Tar Heels. “It definitely is very important because if you start out your season with a 65-yard touchdown, that’s definitely going to back them up a little bit,” Yates said. “Towards the end of the season, we were seeing a lot of backed-up coverages, deep coverages, which allowed us to run the ball a little better.” The most dangerous weapon in North Carolina’s repertoire, though, is receiver and return spe cialist Brandon Tate. Tate has all Saily ®ar the tools: blazing speed, good vision and the ability to make would-be tacklers look silly as they swipe at only air. He can take a punt back for a score. He can return a kickoff all the way. He can catch a deep ball. He’ll even line up in the backfield and run the ball off a draw. Simply put, any time the ball is in the hands of No. 87, it has the ability to go to the house. “Every time, no matter where it is, I’m try ing to score regardless,” Tate said. “The kicks and stuff, coach told me, You can’t get a big play every time,’ but I would tell him, ‘Coach,
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Aug. 29, 2008, edition 1
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