Football springs back to action

Senior tailback Ryan Houston had been waiting a year for his chance to play for the North Carolina football team again.

And with the very first handoff of Saturday’s controlled spring scrimmage, Houston stepped back on the field and into the starting lineup after a year on the bench.

The unofficially scored scrimmage marked the end of UNC’s spring football season, with just one final practice awaiting the team on Monday — but it was the long-awaited beginning for Houston.

After rushing for 22 yards with two carries in the game’s initial drive, though, Houston met the bench once more with a bruised shoulder. Choosing to sit out and not chance a serious injury, Houston left the game and UNC turned to a more balanced look at what to expect next season.

“I’ve been waiting on this for a long time, and for this to get cut short — it’s devastating,” Houston said. “But I just thought about it. Four more months and I’ll be strapping up for real.”

New quarterback Bryn Renner stepped into the team’s commanding role and turned to sophomores Hunter Furr and Matt Kolojejchick to see what the team’s younger running backs could do. With seven carries each, the pair rushed for 39 combined yards, while Renner found the most success turning to the Tar Heels’ trusty wide receivers.

Sophomore Erik Highsmith and junior Dwight Jones fueled off success from last season and alternated making an impact with four receptions apiece.

Renner connected to Highsmith on his longest pass of the game with a 43-yard touchdown throw that highlighted Highsmith’s 67-yard performance. Jones finished second on the team in receiving and tallied 56 yards of his own.

“It’s something we’ve been working on all spring,” Highsmith said. “It was a touchdown, but it just felt like practice … Bryn’s arm is a little stronger than T.J. (Yates) so that’s a big difference, but it’s nothing really that I can’t handle.”

Rounding out UNC coach Butch Davis’ praise was the upcoming offensive line.

“It has a chance to be one of the strongest units on our football team,” Davis said. “It’s taken several recruiting classes to build that type of talented players and depth all at the same time, but obviously I think it’s going to be a really good unit.”

But with the obvious void left by a talented defensive senior class approaching graduation and the NFL draft comes a lack of depth at the linebacker position and in the secondary.

North Carolina is counterattacking its worries and working on maturing a newly adjusted secondary unit by shifting defensive back Tre Boston and former cornerback Charles Brown to the safety position.

“My coach likes the way I come downhill, now he’s just worried about if I can be the last resort of taking somebody down,” Boston said. “Filling holes to me, I feel like I can do it. In games, I know I can take the offensive player down.”

Boston broke up a pass and notched three tackles, but both he and Brown agree that the adjustment is a work in progress. The unit is stressing the need for trust and communication with the duo’s new roles as the team practices Monday for one last time to clean up and regroup after the scrimmage.

So North Carolina is turning to the future. Practice and game experience are key to determining what to expect from this year’s youth — especially for the team’s voice.

“Leadership is something we’re still waiting to emerge on this football team both offensively and defensively,” Davis said. “And then obviously it’s building the depth and experience. We can’t empower these kids with experience — they’re going to have to gain it on their own.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.