They haven’t earned any nicknames yet, but if they carry their excellent play from training camp into the regular season, that may change in the very near future.
Elijah Hood and T.J. Logan are expected to give this year’s UNC football team an electric one-two punch at the running back position that could take this year’s offense to new heights.
While some offenses like to slow the tempo and hand the ball off to one running back all game long, UNC Head Coach Larry Fedora needs to constantly rotate in multiple backs due to the breakneck pace his teams play with.
But that’s not all that matters. With these two unique runners, defenses will always get different looks from the Tar Heel backfield.
“Well, there’s a size difference, a strength difference, a running style difference,” Fedora said. “One of ‘ems a big, physical, ‘pound you’ kind of guy, and the other one’s a slashing [back], got great speed—all those kind of things.”
Elijah Hood is known for his physical, bruising running style. (NBCsports.com)
The NFL’s Carolina Panthers, in recent years, have rotated (now-departed) speed back DeAngelo Williams with power back Jonathan Stewart. The two earned the nickname “Thunder and Lightning” as they found great success together for seven years.
Hood, a 6-foot 200 pound sophomore from the Panthers’ backyard in Charlotte, has shown plenty of people this summer which of those roles he’ll be in.
“I definitely can make some plays based off my physicality,” Hood told reporters after practice on Wednesday. “That first run in the scrimmage (an 80 yard touchdown run) was a pretty physical play. That’s how I broke it. Physicality’s definitely our thing this year—from an offensive and defensive standpoint.”
He came to Chapel Hill last year after being ranked number 47 on ESPN’s list of the top 300 high school prospects in the nation—and de-committed from Notre Dame before choosing UNC. However, injuries held Hood to just 67 carries in his debut season—which allowed the 5-foot-10-inch speedster, Logan, to take the reins as the team’s top running back for the second straight year.
With Hood healthy, Logan mentioned a goal they’ve set for themselves this season.
“We talk about getting at least 200 yards a game,” Logan said. “I feel like if we do that, the rest is just gonna come down to us just clicking as an offense, and on defense as well. So 200 yards for us, as a running back group, is where we need to be.”
Although no runner for the Tar Heels (outside of quarterback Marquise Williams) averaged more than 10 carries a game in 2014, Logan said that he hopes to get at least 15 per outing this season. Coach Fedora hasn’t made any promises there, but he has noticed one skill his best running backs have in common that could help them each get the ball a little more.
TJ Logan uses his speed to get away from potential tacklers. (UNC Athletics)
“It’s nice to have that punch, and that changeup–that not all the backs are exactly the same,” Fedora said. “One good thing is [Hood and Logan] both catch the ball very well. So that’s a big asset for us.”
The possibility of seeing either Logan or Hood get some time as a slot receiver is also something Fedora will not rule out.
“You could see anything,” Fedora said with a slight smirk on his face. “We’re gonna try to always put our good players on the field. We’ve got all kinds of things working, actually, right now.”
One thing is for certain about this year’s running backs. For that area of the offense to really show improvement, the quarterback can’t lead the team in rushing—something that has been the case the past 2 seasons. While Logan has talked about the importance of keeping Williams healthy–Hood is a little more matter of fact with his thoughts on the subject.
“Personally, as a running back I would hate that,” Hood said. “I would not want the quarterback to lead the team in rushing. I definitely think that should be a running back’s duty to lead the team in rushing. That’s why we’re the running backs.”
Camp Notes:
- Williams led the team in rushing last season with 788 yards on 193 carries from the quarterback position. Logan finished second, but led all running backs, with 582 yards on 119 carries.
- Hood missed 5 games last season due to various injuries–totaling 259 yards on 67 carries.
- Coach Fedora has had Logan on the first team kickoff return unit so far in camp. Logan returned 16 kicks last year, but none of those came after Week 6 on the road against Notre Dame
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