Tar Heels face quarterback quandary
With last week’s open date, North Carolina has had some extra time to heal the wounds from the 47-10 thumping Miami gave the Tar Heels in their last outing, and coach Larry Fedora said it was a “very productive bye week” featuring lots of work on fundamentals.
One thing apparently wasn’t settled, at least not to the point where an announcement has been made.
Still at issue is who will start at quarterback when the Tar Heels (1-3, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) host Virginia Tech (3-2, 2-0 ACC) Saturday.
Junior Nathan Elliott has started all four games, including the loss to Miami, but with the exception of the win over Pittsburgh, his play has been spotty. He has completed 58.1 percent of his passes and has been intercepted four times.
Sophomore Chazz Surratt, who was suspended the first three games, came in against Miami and seemed to spark the offense with his running, rushing 17 yards for a touchdown his first series, but he threw three interceptions in just 10 attempts.
Surratt started seven games last year before Elliott came in and started the last three, getting two of the team’s three wins.
“We’re getting closer,” Fedora said when asked about a potential starter. “I think our guys are competing well. I think they’re all anxious to prove that they can play better than what we have at the position.
“I think the competition has been really good. We’ll have somebody ready to go out there on Saturday.”
It is possible that two quarterbacks could share the responsibilities for running the offense in a game.
“There’s a chance anything can happen,” Fedora said.
Even true freshman Cade Fortin, who has appeared in only one game and thrown six passes, completing three for 15 yards, was able to get more attention in the bye week.
“He got more reps than he would normally get, yes,” Fedora said, answering a question about the four-star signee.
Fedora said all kinds of factors play into the eventual decision.
“You’re looking at everything,” he said. “We evaluate each and everything — how they carry themselves off the field, what they do leadership-wise, and obviously taking care of the football is the most important thing they can do.”
The open competition does come with a downside, though.
“We haven’t had anybody separate,” Fedora said. “When you have somebody really separate themselves, they’re going to get more reps. When you try to get more guys ready, that’s fewer reps for each guy, and I think that’s important for that position.
“Basically, in the style of offense we run, that guy the whole thing is in his hands, so he has to be able to process, he has to be able to make good decisions, and he has to have more reps.”