UNC Basketball Practice Tips Off, Cam Holmes Visits, Football Falls at UCF, RJ Davis Reflects
Plus: The "Carolina Mile," Tar Heels in the NFL updates, football recruit scoreboard, Caleb Wilson interview, Diamond Heels continue Fall scrimmages
UNC Football has a lot to work on as they enter their first open date this week before hosting Clemson, Tar Heel Basketball practice officially begins, 4-star wing Cam Holmes had a great official visit to Chapel Hill, former UNC walk-on quarterback Ben Johnson got his first NFL head coaching victory, and much more. On to the updates…
Football
It was another rough Saturday for the good guys, as the Tar Heels fell to UCF, 34-9, in Orlando. Quarterback Gio Lopez suffered a leg injury, and fans who were clamoring for backup Max Johnson got their wish, but not in the way they had hoped.
Statistically, both had similar quarterback ratings in the box score, but Lopez had two interceptions while Johnson threw for UNC’s lone touchdown on the day. It seems like Johnson looks more comfortable in the passing game, but I’d be curious to hear your thoughts if you’d like to leave a comment.
A few tidbits from the postgame notes:
Max Johnson’s touchdown pass to Kobe Paysour was his 49th touchdown of his career and second of the season.
Demon June led the Tar Heels with 50 yards rushing on 10 carries. It’s the third straight game June has led UNC in rushing.
Ten different Tar Heels had a reception in the game.
The good news is that Carolina has next weekend off to get healthy and, more importantly, get better. They’ve been outscored 82-23 in two games against Power-4 competition, and with an angry Clemson team next on the schedule, the Tar Heels have a lot to work on, both offensively and defensively.
In the NFL…
Congratulations to former UNC walk-on quarterback Ben Johnson on his first NFL head coaching victory, as his Chicago Bears defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 31-14.
Running back Javonte Williams rushed for 76 yards and caught 5 passes in the Cowboys’ loss.
Omarion Hampton rushed for 70 yards and his first NFL touchdown in the Chargers’ 23-20 victory over Denver.
Drake Maye was 28 of 37 passing for 268 yards and two touchdowns (4 completions to Mack Hollins) in the Patriots’ 21-14 loss to the Steelers. Maye also rushed for 45 yards.
Here’s a complete roundup of every Tar Heels’ weekly performance and cumulative season stats, courtesy of R.L. Bynum at Tar Heel Tribune.
Football Recruiting
On the recruiting trail, there were no campus visitors since the Tar Heels were on the road, but there were plenty of great performances under the Friday night lights, as compiled by Don Callahan at Inside Carolina:
“Naturally, there were plenty of highlights, like a two-sack game from Jimmy Alo-Suliafu, Keegan Chapman scoring on an interception and a kick return, a big-man INT from Eli Rickell, an eight-catch, two-score performance from Zamaurious Robertson, and three long TDs displaying CJ Sadler‘s playmaking.”
Basketball
UNC Basketball was back on the track Friday for the “Carolina Mile” preseason conditioning test. Click on the image below for the full Instagram gallery. Someone on a message board (I can’t recall who) joked that Luka Bogavac is either leading the pack in the picture below, or he’s about to get lapped…hopefully the former 😄
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