Scouting North Carolina

Ever since North Carolina rehired Mack Brown, there has been a buildup to the UNC at NC State football game Saturday. The last time Brown coached at NC State was a 20-7 UNC win Oct. 18, 1997.

The battles have been fierce in recruiting, and the hope was that both teams would have a bowl trip on the line. NC State's postseason hopes were dashed after it lost 28-26 to Georgia Tech last Thursday, but the Wolfpack would love nothing more than to also ensure the Tar Heels are home for the holidays. UNC needs one more win to qualify for a bowl.

UNC (5-6) will make the short drive to play NC State (4-7) at 7 p.m. Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium. Here is a full scouting report on North Carolina:

Sophomore wide receiver Dyami Brown — The speedy 6-foot-1, 195-pound Brown has found his stride this season. The former Rivals.com four-star prospect out of Charlotte (N.C.) West Mecklenburg High was inconsistent as a freshman, with 17 catches for 173 yards and a touchdown. His hands have become steadier and he has jumped to 40 receptions for 797 yards and 10 scores. He dominated Virginia to the tune of six receptions for 202 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-31 loss Nov. 2. He has caught a pass for at least 40 yards in six of his 10 games played this season.

Junior running back/kick returner Michael Carter — The well-rounded Carter leads UNC with 122.7 all-purpose yards per game. He has rushed 143 times for 822 yards and three touchdowns, caught 18 passes for 141 yards and two scores and is averaging 25.8 yards on 15 kickoff returns, with a long of 75. The 5-10, 200-pounder topped the 100-yard mark for the first time last Saturday, rushing nine times for 159 yards and three scores in the 56-7 win over Mercer. He also had 16 carries for 99 yards in the near-upset against No. 4 Clemson Sept. 28.

Freshman quarterback Sam Howell — The former Monroe (N.C.) Sun Valley star, who was a Rivals.com four-star, has seamlessly made the transition to college football. Howell originally picked Florida State, but following the departure of Seminoles offensive coordinator Walt Bell and the coaching change at UNC, he switched to the Tar Heels.

The 6-2, 225-pounder has gone 211-of-355 passing for 2,946 yards, 32 touchdowns and just six interceptions this season, plus has rushed for a score. The passing touchdowns are a FBS true freshman quarterback record and also a single-season school mark. Howell has thrown for over 300 yards in five games, including 376 yards and four touchdowns at Georgia Tech on Oct. 5.

Senior defensive tackle Jason Strowbridge — The 6-5, 285-pounder has 41 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and one forced fumble in 10 games played this season. He was named ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week Oct. 28 after he had 10 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in the win over Duke. He had a then career-high eight tackles, half a tackle for loss and a pass breakup against NC State last year. Strowbridge was named honorable mention All-ACC in 2018.

Junior inside linebacker Chazz Surratt — The 6-3, 230-pound Surratt was expected to be the UNC quarterback of the future coming out of Denver (N.C.) East Lincoln High. The lefty had originally picked Duke before flipping to North Carolina. The quarterback dream crashed after his freshman year when he threw for 1,342 yards and eight touchdowns, and rushed for 210 yards and five touchdowns. The injuries started to pile up, dating to the end of his senior year in high school, and he was suspended four games in 2018 for selling shoes. He moved to linebacker under coach Mack Brown and now leads in four key categories — 100 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, five sacks and eight quarterback hurries. He also has an interception, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.

1. Big-play passing attack: The emergence of Howell has masked the fact that UNC doesn’t have a deep receiving corps or a tight end who can work underneath. The Tar Heels do have two fast, athletic receivers in Dyami Brown and junior Dazz Newsome, who could hurt the Wolfpack revamped secondary.

Newsome leads UNC with 57 catches for 817 yards and seven touchdowns, plus is averaging 7.0 yards on nine punt returns. He always flashed big-play potential, but is now comfortable. The 5-11, 190-pounder had 11 catches for 170 yards and a touchdown against Pittsburgh on Nov. 14, but didn’t play against Mercer due to suspension. The other surprise has been junior Beau Corrales, who has 32 catches for 434 yards and six scores this season.

2. A lot of blitzing up the middle: Surratt and junior outside linebacker Tomon Fox, who is more of a defensive end type in UNC’s various 3-3-5 and 3-4 alignments, lead the way with five sacks apiece. North Carolina has 27 sacks this season, thanks in part to an effective up-the-middle blitz.

One of the biggest keys to nearly defeating Clemson in the 21-20 loss was the ability to get pressure on Tigers star quarterback Trevor Lawrence. UNC only got one sack but did have seven quarterback hurries. Surratt had a sack and three hurries on his blitzes.

3. A close game: North Carolina will be comfortable if the game is close in the fourth quarter because it doesn’t know any other way of playing this season. Howell has proven to be cool under pressure this season despite his age, with nine out of 11 games coming within seven points. That is the most by any team in The Associated Press poll era dating back 1936.

The lone games that weren’t within a scoring possession came in the 56-7 win over Mercer last Saturday, and the 38-22 win at Georgia Tech on Oct. 5. The six losses have been by a combined 26 points, which included overtime defeats at Pittsburgh on Nov. 14, and the six-overtime thriller at Virginia Tech on Oct. 19. UNC is tied for 10th in the FBS with a plus-48 point differential in the fourth quarter, after ranking ninth worst in 2017-18 with minus-72.

1. Get off the field on third downs? North Carolina has been effective on fourth downs, but not third. The Tar Heels are 61 of 163 on third downs for 37 percent this season. Some of the scenarios could have been two-down sequences, with UNC going 13 of 21 on fourth downs. The percentage rises to 40.2 when the two downs are combined.

NC State opponents have converted at 40 percent on third downs this season, but are also 8 of 11 on fourth downs. Collectively, opponents have extended drives at 42.3 percent.

2. Play keep away: One of the best ways of making sure Howell and UNC’s explosive offense aren’t making plays is by having them on the sideline. NC State only had four second-half possessions against Georgia Tech last Thursday, and it resulted in three touchdowns, a field goal and a good chunk of time off the clock.

The rushing attack proved the catalyst with the Wolfpack piling up 230 rushing yards and two scores in the game. NC State won the time of possession battle 34:41-to-25:19.

3. Throw the kitchen sink: NC State has effectively used redshirt sophomore wide receiver Thayer Thomas on trick plays. Thomas is 3-of-5 passing for 74 yards and two touchdowns this season, and the Wolfpack could use a steady dose of similar trickery Saturday.

NC State doesn’t have any worries, so if the Wolfpack get down in the second half, nearly anything could be on the table, from fake punts to onside kicks to possibly lining up former prep running back turned college defensive tackle Larrell Murchison as a blocking back.

9 Rushing touchdowns this season for UNC, but five of them came last Saturday against Mercer. Against FBS teams the Heels have just four rushing scores.

32 Times UNC sophomore running back Javonte Williams has rushed for more than 10 yards, which is fourth in the ACC and tied for 22nd in the country. Williams has rushed 143 times for 790 yards and three scores this season.

33 Bowl games North Carolina has played in since 1947, with the last one coming in 2016. NC State hopes that number remains the same going into its 2020 meeting.

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