QB Marquise Williams rushes ahead

Marquise Williams hasn’t forgotten the loss.

In the season opener against South Carolina, the North Carolina quarterback tossed three red-zone interceptions to lead to a 17-13 defeat.

But the redshirt senior notched just nine yards on 10 carries against the Gamecocks — an inefficiency that tortures the quarterback’s mind.

“Stuff like that still haunts me,” Williams said. “But I knew I had to move on and continue to move forward.”

For the dual-threat quarterback, the quickest way forward has been with his feet.

Williams has run rampant through the Tar Heels’ six-game winning streak, rushing for 77.8 yards per game during the stretch. And in his team’s near-defeat against Georgia Tech, the quarterback accrued a career-high 148 yards on the ground to fuel a historic 21-point comeback.

“When everything is covered down, I have to be ready to go,” Williams said. “I have to be ready to move the chains with my feet.”

In UNC’s 26-13 win over Virginia on Saturday, Williams picked up six first downs on the ground and totaled 71 yards rushing, including an agile 31-yard scamper up the middle — UNC’s longest run of the game — to set up the Tar Heels’ first scoring drive.

“He’s always had spectacular legs,” sophomore tailback Elijah Hood said. “You look at his stats, you can tell — the guy can run.”

Through the first seven games of the season, the dual-threat quarterback is eighth in the nation among signal-callers with 476 rushing yards.

“He’s just excellent at reading holes; he’s got good quickness, good speed, strong legs, a good build...” Hood said. “It makes it real hard on the defense to pick and choose which guy they want to have the ball.”

After defeating the Yellow Jackets in early October, Williams admitted to reviewing film from the South Carolina loss and recommitting himself to the ground game.

For Coach Larry Fedora, the improvement has been obvious – and his quarterback’s versatility only makes the offense that much more dangerous.

“If something breaks down, he can make something happen with his legs,” Fedora said. “That’s a back-breaker for a defense.”

In the Tar Heels’ 40-35 triumph over Pittsburgh in 2014, the Panthers’ defense struggled to corral the mobile quarterback, as Williams amassed 122 yards and a career-best three touchdowns rushing.

When the Tar Heels head to Pittsburgh on Thursday, Fedora expects more of the same from his offensive leader. But his teammates don’t know what to expect.

“You might get passing touchdowns, receiving touchdowns, who knows,” Hood said. “The guy can flat out play.”

When asked about his extraordinary performance a year ago, Williams just shrugged. He doesn’t remember the yards, and he doesn’t remember the touchdowns.

He only remembers the win.

@CJacksonCowart

sports@dailytarheel.com