Mack Brown assesses UNC's depth at running back

North Carolina‘s offense was prolific in 2022, led by star quarterback Drake Maye, but if there was one thing coach Mack Brown lamented after the season it was how the Tar Heels utilized their depth at running back.

The Tar Heels were deep at running back in terms of numbers but might have knee-capped their production by spreading the touches around too much.

“We felt like we played too many last year and never really got established with just a guy,” Brown said this spring. “Our goal would be to have two that play and have a third one that can come in in special situations or be ready to step up if one of those two got hurt.”

Brown broke down what the position looked like a couple times in the spring.

There is some returning production to lean on given the depth at running back, with a handful of guys who saw significant touches last fall. Leading the way was Elijah Green, who ran for 558 yards and eight touchdowns. Following closely behind was Omarion Hampton, who notched 401 yards and six touchdowns.

A handful of others also saw carries.

During the spring, though, Brown was still evaluating a few of the prospects who hadn’t done as much in games just yet.

“Right now, like the safeties, Caleb Hood and British Brooks can do everything in drills, they can do everything in pass skel, they can’t have contact in scrimmages,” Brown said. “So it really limits us in trying to separate those guys this spring. And when Caleb and British have played they’ve both been really good.

“And then you’ve got Jordan Louie coming in as a high school guy. So we’re right now, the large majority of the snaps are the three, and Elijah got limited (in spring), so you’re down to two running backs. All the sudden you get really thin and it looks like you’ve got all kinds of numbers.”

Those injuries made juggling snaps and evaluations in the spring tricky, even given the depth at running back.

“It’s hard for (running backs coach) Larry (Porter) to separate them when they’re not out there,” Brown said. “We know a lot about Elijah. We’re trying to really press Omarion and George (Pettaway) to see how much they can improve from their freshman year. Usually it’s pass protection is a big deal for both of them because freshmen don’t usually pass protect that much in high school because they ran the ball all the time or they were catching the ball all the time.”

If Green and Hampton end up being the one-two punch, who wins the third-string job will be key. There won’t be a whole lot of room for playing time outside of that.

Brown would prefer to sacrifice having more guys involved for the benefit of getting a couple guys really into a groove during the season.

“So that’s the biggest thing we’re trying to do is really evaluate Omarion and George this spring, see exactly where they are, and then you’ll have Caleb healthy, British healthy, you’ve got Elijah, and then you’ll bring in Jordan Louie,” Brown said.

“But we’ve got to get it to two and a third. We call it a two plus one more than anything else, and then the others will either transfer, which is part of the thing now with the portal. Or they’ll have to really do special things on special teams.”