Elijah Hood bears bigger burden in UNC football victory

After a week of fans pleading for North Carolina football coach Larry Fedora to give Elijah Hood the ball more, the coach put the ball in the Charlotte native’s hands a career-high 21 times, six of which came on the most pivotal drive of the Tar Heels’ 26-13 win over Virginia.

After North Carolina marched 90 yards from its own 7-yard line to the Cavaliers’ 3, the sophomore ran into a mass of bodies, spun to his left and stretched the ball over the goal line. The run capped a 13-play drive and gave UNC a two-possession lead.

Hood finished with two touchdowns and 101 rushing yards. Thirty-one of those came on the touchdown drive.

“I think if they would have spread the ball around, it would have still been probably the same results ...,” Hood said. “But if they want to give the ball to me and let me run, I’m gonna take it with glee and run as hard as I can.”

While it might not be the first thing that jumps out to a fan when watching Hood, his mental abilities have also contributed to his success.

Before each play, the running back said he likes to envision what is about to happen after the snap, searching for holes and sizing up defenders before he even touches the ball.

“I try to use my mind whenever I’m running the ball before the play, picture what’s going to happen,” he said. “And then if it goes that way, it’s usually a pretty good run.”

Once the play begins, Hood’s knack for finding holes becomes visible. Of his 21 touches, seven went for 6 or more yards, a testament to his vision between the tackles.

But what happens when there are no lanes to run through? That’s when the muscle comes in.

So far in 2015, Hood has displayed a physical running style. More often than not it has taken a host of defenders to bring him down — Saturday was no different.

Hood was tackled behind the line of scrimmage just twice against the Cavaliers (2-5, 1-2 ACC), and when he was able to get a head of steam, he made Virginia players pay — several times electing to make contact with a defender rather than taking the safe route out of bounds.

“I always try to deliver the hit instead of taking the hit,” he said. “That’s kinda how you keep yourself healthy I think.”

This trait paid dividends for Hood when the Tar Heels (6-1, 3-0 ACC) found themselves in goal-to-go situations. With so few yards between the line of scrimmage and the end zone, UNC trusted its bell cow. Both of Hood’s touchdowns came from three yards out, and each time he had to run through people to find the end zone.

“I thought he did a great job, you know,” Fedora said. “He ran hard. He ran really hard.”

But while Hood’s performance Saturday was no doubt influenced by his number of carries, it shocked neither his coaches and teammates.

“It doesn’t really come as a surprise to me,” said redshirt senior guard Landon Turner. “Elijah’s a very tough runner. He’s not gonna let one guy take him down, or if he is he’s not going down easy.”

Hood’s physical nature has been on display in each of the Tar Heels’ seven games this season. The only difference Saturday was that fans just got to see a little bit more of it.

@jbo_vernon

sports@dailytarheel.com