Absence of Boyd leaves void

The turbulent atmosphere surrounding the North Carolina football team has given rise to a lot of questions. Amidst the injuries, academic probations and agent-related issues, one question has gone unanswered.

What happened to Jheranie Boyd?

Among a young and talented receiving corps, Boyd became the focal point of UNC’s receivers while Greg Little was withheld from competition. His performance against Louisiana State, a 221-yard explosion, brought hope to a depleted offense and gave quarterback T.J. Yates his best deep threat since Brandon Tate.

In his next four games, Boyd averaged a meager 19 receiving yards per game. Against Virginia, Miami and William & Mary, his combined stat line was one catch for -1 yards.

“I guess it would have to do with him being injured, and other people are stepping up and making plays,” redshirt sophomore center Jonathan Cooper said.

Boyd sustained a shoulder injury during the Tar Heels’ victory against Clemson on Oct. 9 and fell behind in subsequent weeks.

“I got injured, I missed some practices and got sick, so I was just limited from getting reps,” Boyd said. “And you know, they were cutting my reps down, wanting me to heal.”

The powerful running of Johnny White and the resurgence of Dwight Jones also contributed to Boyd fading into the background. But Boyd’s disappearance has left a hole in the Tar Heel offense — the deep ball.

Both Jones and sophomore Erik Highsmith have done their best to fill in for his absence. Jones’ 81-yard touchdown reception against Virginia gave hope to the deep game, but that reception began as an underneath crossing route.

The truth is, Boyd has irreplaceable speed.

“Oh yeah, he’s always a great deep threat,” Highsmith said. “He’s fast and can get behind the safeties.”

Now healthy, Boyd won’t be counted on as a go-to receiver. Jones and White will attract much of the defense’s attention, allowing more space for other receivers

“At the beginning of the year, after LSU and ECU, a lot of teams were almost double-covering, putting a safety over the top,” Boyd said. “And with Dwight having big games they are probably going to do it to him, but they still have to watch out for me and Josh Adams.”

In recent games, the end-around run to Boyd has also been missing from UNC’s play calling. Part of that, Cooper believes, has to do with the offense’s ability to run from the tailback position.

“I feel like we’ve been able to run the ball a little more regularly, and last year end-arounds were something just to get us going — to jump start the run game,” Cooper said.

Boyd said some of it has to do with opposing defenses using linebackers and lineman to spy on him. But it gives Boyd a chance to get the ball in his hands and make a play. After a couple of weeks off, UNC is going to need him to make plays against Florida State, which ranks 43rd nationally in pass defense.

“I expect it to be a physical game, they got some big linebackers,” Boyd said. “(FSU linebacker) Greg Reid is a playmaker but we just have to go out there and play. I know last year, we ran past them a couple times and I expect us to take a lot of deep shots.”

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