Romar Morris Named ACC Receiver of the Week

If you watched UNC play Louisville on Saturday, you couldn't help but be struck by what a strange game it was. After all, it is not often a team falls behind by 29 points and by the final two minutes of the game is looking at a 4th and goal play to take the lead. That kind of role reversal between two teams takes a special brand of crazy weird. Which is why no one should be surprised that when it came time to hand down the ACC weekly awards the "Receiver of the Week" ended up being UNC's backup running back.

Ladies and gentlemen Romar Morris.

RECEIVER - Romar Morris, North Carolina, R-Fr., TB, 5-10, 180, Salisbury, N.C. Morris posted a career-high 202 all-purpose yards in Carolina's 39-34 loss at No. 19 Louisville. He had 149 yards receiving, 23 yards rushing and 30 yards on kick returns. He also blocked a punt in the fourth quarter, which led to a Carolina touchdown on the next play. Morris is the first Tar Heel to block a punt since Bruce Carter blocked one at Rutgers in 2010. Morris became the first Tar Heel running back with a 100-yard receiving game since Anthony Elzy had 178 in 2010 vs. NC State. Morris caught five passes for 149 yards and scored on a 44-yard wheel route down the sideline and a 50-yard catch-and-run that pulled the Tar Heels to within five with 4:23 remaining.

In the absence of Gio Bernard, A.J. Blue started at running back with Morris as the backup. Morris would get his carries but his most productive yards came as a receiver. In the case of his 50-yard touchdown reception, he was Bryn Renner's safety valve which one would expect to get you 10-15 yards but instead turned into a romp to the endzone from near midfield. Then there is the blocked punt. I am not sure how often offensive players get sent into games to block punts but in this case it worked like a charm. Morris got a hand on the punt which setup up a Tar Heel touchdown and shifted the momentum of the game.

Tune in next week when Casey Barth will be named offensive back of the week.