UNC coach Larry Fedora had allowed the third-string offense a few untimed plays at the end of the second half, but when the unit failed to convert on third down, he decided to end the game rather than give the punting unit more practice — much to the chagrin of Hollins, who set up over the ball as if he were about to snap it back to one of the punters.
So Mack, what happened out there?
“He wants to talk all the trash, Fedora, about how I was a long snapper coming in, but he won’t let me go get a snap,” he said with a big grin. “I was trying to get some snaps in at the end. I was just messing with him.”
A year ago, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound rising senior made it a priority in the offseason to improve his abilities as a possession receiver — to catch passes in traffic and in the middle of the defense.
But this spring, Hollins said he has tried to become a better route runner, a skill he says will help with his longevity as a player.
“I’m a taller guy and obviously I’ve shown that I can run deep, but running deep only lasts so long,” Hollins said. “You get old and you can’t run as fast as you once could, but being able to have the sound fundamentals to get in and out of breaks is what makes you last longer.”
The receiver from Fork Union put his new-found skills on display in the first half of Saturday’s game.
With the offense set up in the red zone for the first time of the day, Hollins ran an effective “slant-and-go” route, allowing him to run free in the hole of the Cover 2 defense. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky promptly fired the ball to Hollins for an 18-yard touchdown — the first score of the game by any offensive unit.
