Johnny White's injury leaves vacancy in running back position

Almost forgotten in the wake of North Carolina’s dramatic victory against Florida State was the crushing loss of the team’s most consistent offensive weapon and one of its strongest leaders.

Redshirt senior running back Johnny White broke his right clavicle in the first half of Saturday’s contest and has played his final game as a Tar Heel.

White rushed for 720 yards this season before the collarbone injury and was on pace to become the first North Carolina running back to reach the 1,000-yard plateau in more than a decade. White’s injury also cut short an inspirational campaign for the Asheville native, who had bounced around a handful of positions before coming into his own as the starting tailback in his final year at UNC.

“It was emotional,” UNC coach Butch Davis said. “It was difficult for him.

“Nobody’s put more passion into the way that he’s played. Everybody’s loved how hard he’s played, how much he sacrifices, and for him to unfortunately have a fractured collarbone, it’s really sad for him.”

When the dual NCAA and University investigations into improper agent benefits and academic infractions kept running backs Shaun Draughn and Ryan Houston out for the early portion of the season, White put the UNC offense on his back, rushing for more than 100 yards in four different games.

White’s propensity for the big play helped seal Tar Heel wins against Clemson and William & Mary, in which White ripped off long touchdown runs for the game-winning points.

“He came up huge for us in so many games as far as breaking the game wide open in some game-winning situations,” quarterback T.J. Yates said. “So it’s extremely frustrating, not only for us, but for him.

“That’s going to be the last game he played in a Carolina uniform, and I know he’s kind of crushed by it.”

With White lost for the remainder of the season, Draughn and sophomore Hunter Furr top the running back depth chart heading into Saturday’s home date with Virginia Tech, which the Tar Heels must win to have a realistic shot at a berth in the ACC Football Championship.

The starting back a season ago, Draughn has racked up 386 yards after missing the season opener, while Furr, formerly the scout team tailback, showed well late against FSU.

But with Draughn’s status uncertain after suffering a sprained ankle against the Seminoles, Davis said he has considered playing Houston this Saturday.

Houston was cleared to play midway through the season by the NCAA, but the coaching staff had planned to redshirt him, affording the senior tailback an extra season of eligibility.

Now that White’s injury leaves UNC with only two healthy backs, Davis has met with Houston to discuss his options going forward.

“It’s something that will probably be discussed again before the week’s over with,” Davis said. “A lot of it will obviously have to do with the health of some of the other guys.

“It’s a tough balancing act. It’s one of those things — ‘What’s best for the kid? What’s best for the team?’”

Davis said Houston told him that he would have volunteered to play against FSU had he traveled with the team to Tallahassee. But with only three regular-season games remaining and a starting role awaiting him should he return next season, Houston has a difficult decision ahead of him.

“If I was in his position, I wouldn’t know what to do either,” Yates said.

“It’s an extremely tough situation because we’re going to be losing a lot of running backs after this year, so for him to come back next year would be good for our program. But as far as right now, we’re going to need some help at the running back position.”

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