Decisions.
When Ryan Houston was cleared to play following a what was essentially a five game suspension for “something academic related” which may or may not have included wrongdoing, the idea of a redshirt was plenty clean cut. In fact, I think most of us sort of blew off Butch Davis saying that Houston might be pressed into service if injuries played a role in the season. I mean how bad would UNC’s luck have for injuries to make Houston’s redshirt kindling? Wait, don’t answer that. As it turns out, the Heels’ win in Tallahassee exacted a huge price. Senior TB Johnny White was lost for the game and season with a broken clavicle. Fellow seniors Shaun Draughn and Anthony Elzy suffered maladies of some sort with Elzy missing a few plays before coming back. That left UNC leaning on Hunter Freaking Furr who turned out to be the 2nd coming of Natrone Means, for at least three plays anyway.
When asked about Houston’s status on Monday, Butch Davis said it is possible the senior ends up playing in the final four games of the season. That decision would be predicated if Draughn is able to play on Saturday versus Virginia Tech. With Draughn, UNC have two deep at RB with Furr as the backup and Elzy backing up fullback Curtis Byrd. If Draughn is unable to play then matters get dicey. Does UNC move Elzy back to RB with Furr as the backup and use other personnel to backup Byrd? Or do you leave the fullback depth intact and bring Houston in as the start at RB? Given the factors it is a tough call to say the least, all of which Butch Davis has to weigh before making a decision.
The first factor is Houston himself. There is no doubt in my mind Davis would love to do right by Houston by affording him a full season in 2011 instead of having his senior year be comprised of three regular season games and a bowl. Houston would probably love to come back next season and be “the guy” in the backfield. The problem with burning the redshirt is it comes off as extremely unfair to Houston. It just does not seem right to have him only play a few games in his last season. However the unpleasantness which consumed multiple players this season created this dilemma. Now, I have no idea whether Houston did anything wrong or not. The honor court had, at their disposal, the option to put a player on probation while permitting him to continue to represent UNC on the field. What would obviously mean Houston did something wrong to warrant discipline. Then again he may not have, we just do not know. Regardless, I do not necessarily subscribe to the idea that a player is not entitled to his redshirt if found guilty by the honor court. That being said, there is less sympathy for Houston flaming redshirt if the mess was a his own doing. Since we do not know, that is a non-factor and I doubt enters into Davis’ deliberations on the matter. In short, the fair thing for Houston is to get the extra season giving it would be his last.
Another factor in all of this is next season. UNC is staring at serious attrition in the backfield via graduation. There will be other options coming off injury like A.J. Blue and Giovani Bernard. Jamal Womble will also be rejoining the team after spending some time in junior college. Put these guys together with Furr and you have a lot of questions about running game. Fortunately, UNC will bring back good receivers and hopefully Bryn Renner will be as good as T.J. Yates has been this season. Still, having an experience back like Houston would help tremendously. Having Houston as an option for next season would gives the Heels a little more stability in the rushing attack than they will have otherwise.
The final angle on this discussion is the here and now which might be the only relevant factor where this discussion is concerned. When it comes to personnel decisions like this, any head coach’s primary responsibility is to the team and season in front of him right now. That does not mean a coach is heartless or is adopting a win at all costs attitude. However, there is a tremendous obligation to the current players to do everything possible to validate the work they have put in since August by making the most of the season. In other words there is a little Star Trek II in play here with “the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few or the one.” As much as it would be nice to give Houston his senior season back and set the table for next season, there is no way of knowing what the next season will hold. One interesting note from Davis is the fact Houston appears to fully understand his obligation to his teammates and the importance of the current season. Davis said Houston told him had he been in Tallahassee on Saturday, he would have gone into the game. That is a stand-up move on Houston’s part. It speaks volumes about his loyalty to his teammates not to mention his competitive nature.
So what should Butch Davis do? As he noted in his press conference, it will come down to Draughn’s availability. By that you can certainly infer Davis is placing a premium on the current season even if it means Houston’s career ends with just a four game season. Hopefully Draughn will be healthy and UNC can keep Houston sidelined. Having him next season would be a boon though given the current hot streak I have no problem with all the stops being pulled out to get the most out of the current season.
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I say we don’t burn the redshirt. We beat FSU with our passing game, and I think as long as TJ can limit turnovers (which he’s done pretty well so far) we can continue to win with our passing game. We face a VT team that hasn’t been terribly effective against the run, so our ground game should be good enough to keep VT’s defense honest. State has had trouble defending the pass, so Yates should be able to handle the load in that game. And dook is well… dook. Granted, I’m hoping for Yates to continue as he has been playing, but I think the reward of having Houston next year trumps having him now.
Plus, Houston hasn’t been in a game all year. We can’t assume that he is going to jump right in and play well. It might take him a game to get back in the groove, so he might only be full speed for 2 regular season games. I’d like to see us mix in some stuff with our receivers (end arounds, reverses) to help compensate. And guys like Furr and Elzy may not have the experience but they are big guys and can still block.
All in all, I think our offense will be OK. The bigger question is our defense. We face two of the top scoring teams in the league in VT and State, and dook has shown it can put up points. We can’t expect to win every game 37-35.
^^ Agree 100 percent. Have faith someone will step up. Save Ryan. He’ll be awesome next year.
What we are witnessing with this team is that Butch Davis and staff have been recruiting players who can play football, not just fill a spot on the roster. Other schools moan and groan when they have an injury and blame a poor season on injuries, because their recruiting classes and bench are just so-so, no true depth.
What’s been demonstrated this season is proof that coach Davis is building a program at UNC, and why consistent recruiting of capable players is needed to maintain a program. We will take major steps backward and lose that edge if Butch Davis does not return next season.
Good point on Houston being rusty. I meant to add that as a factor but forgot while writing it. I really hope they can wing it and save Houston.
As far as I am concerned UNC is already a winner this season.
There is nothing to gain by playing the Kid this year.
Besides, how can he be ready to play? He was held out of spring practice and has not practiced for game conditions in almost a year. It would not be fair to throw him into the mix at this late date.
Most important, It may be in Ryan’s best interest to wait…..
NO!
Elzy is very capable, period.
Why not develop Hunter Furr? He did what he did against Florida State, not a D-II school. He may lack the pass blocking skills but was that the strenght of Houston anyway?
What we know is that Draughn hurt his ankle and at least was testing it on the sidelines Saturday. Even if he misses the Va Tech game certainly he’ll be back for the State game.
i agreeUNC58. we are already winners this season. I am soooooo proud of the effort thus far. impressive recruiting!!! i hope we dont see a dropoff with the loss of Blake. he was a recruiting MONSTER.
^ and there was a reason he was such “great” recruiter.
like it or not. money is all over college athletics. and where there is money there are trolls. if you recruit and get the star athletes….what follows them..people who know that they will soon be multimillionaires and they want to facilitate that for 19yr old boys(men?)
I never thought I would say this, but we need to pull back on the reigns when it comes to this,
“Fortunately, UNC will bring back good receivers and hopefully Bryn Renner will be as good as T.J. Yates has been this season.”
I know the word hopefully is inserted in there, but I think it is very optimistic to think that Renner will be able to duplicate the season Yates is having (not understanding how I could type that). I do think that Renner will be a very good quarterback after he settles in, but Yates really has turned into really good quarterback this year. I was one of those who thought that the transformation of Yates was impossible and I will eat the crow that I deserve, but to expect Renner to duplicate Yates’ current season is too much. I think Renner will be a better “playmaker” next year because of his athleticism, but I think his numbers will be somewhere in between Yates’ ’09 and his ’10.
Burn it. Plug Tydreke Powell in at tail back if injuries pile up.
Maybe Boyd can play RB considering he hasn’t played receiver since the LSU game………..
You know, I see Boyd out there. I see him on the field when plays are run. I am not entirely sure what he is doing except he is not catching the football for some reason.
UNC58 has a great point – Houston was held out in the spring and has not seen live game action in over 10 months.
That being said, the answer is simple: you do whatever gives you the best chance to win. Does a rusty Ryan Houston give you a better chance to win over your last three games than a banged-up Anthony Elzy/Shaun Draughn or Hunter Chuck Norris Furr? Only Butch Davis can answer that question based on what he has seen on the practice field and in game film.
FWIW, Houston seems pretty amenable to the idea based on his comments regarding the FSU game. My opinion is I would hate for him to burn it at this point, but it’s still early and we’ll have to see what the week brings so far as health for Elzy and Draughn.
Is there just no chance that we could see Devon Ramsey again? I would rather see him playing FB and move Elzy to backup TB. Has anything ever been said about what he supposedly did or said that got him suspended?