The ease with which North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell completed passes for more than 20 yards last season made it easy to take such completions for granted despite UNC ushering in a new group of starting receivers.
The Tar Heels found out it their 17-10 loss to Virginia Tech in the opener just how difficult those deep connections really are. The Heels averaged a little more than four passes per game that went for 20 yards or more last season. They had only one legitimate 20-yard throw against the Hokies.
As Carolina (0-1) prepares for Georgia State (0-1) on Saturday in its home opener at Kenan Stadium, unlocking those plays may be the key to their offense bouncing back from their lowest scoring output in three seasons.
"We scheme it up to get one-on-one opportunities and expect that to win those one-on-one matchups," Howell said. "It's just a matter of me and my receivers getting more comfortable, and I think that will only come with time."
Time was something Howell didn't have a lot of in the opener. The Hokies were credited with four quarterback hurries and six sacks. That was one reason why Carolina didn't hit much on deep passes. UNC coach Mack Brown said it was important they do so in order to open up space for their entire offense to thrive.
Howell averaged 10.3 yards per attempt last season en route to throwing 30 touchdowns with just seven interceptions. Against the Hokies, he averaged 5.3 yards per attempt in going 17 of 32 for 208 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions.
Howell's 23-yard strike to Emery Simmons from their own 9-yard-line late in the first quarter of their loss was the only long pass he completed the entire game.
The Heels' other two completions that went for more than 20 yards against Virginia Tech happened because of what Josh Downs did after the catch. His 37-yard receiving touchdown was a flat pass he caught 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage and weaved his way through the Hokies defense for the score. He had a 25-yard reception in the fourth quarter that he caught 9 yards downfield and eluded defenders for another 16 yards.
Aside from the pass rush, UNC offensive coordinator Phil Longo said the receivers have to get more separation from their defenders. In some cases, they weren't able to break open because they aren't as fast as leading receivers Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome were a year ago. But Longo added some of it was a matter of Carolina receivers not using effective technique to get themselves open.
"What I have to do from a coordinator standpoint, and we've got to do from a staff standpoint, is just make sure that we're running some things that create some advantages for those guys," Longo said. "Put them in as good a position as we can to separate and make some of those plays, and I think collectively as a staff and as a as a unit, we could have done a better job in some of those areas last week."
It's not a matter of simply missing Brown and Newsome. Three of the Heels' five longest pass plays from last season and four of their top eight were from players currently on the roster. Downs had a 75-yard touchdown in the Orange Bowl against Texas A&M. Simmons had a 51-yarder against Duke.
Arguably the fastest receiver, if not player, on Carolina's roster is capable of helping the Heels break open their deep passing game in an instant.
Sophomore Khafre Brown had a 76-yard touchdown against Virginia and a 65-yard catch against Wake Forest. But Brown, the younger brother of Dyami, did not catch a pass against Virginia Tech. He'd been hobbled by a lower-body injury throughout August camp, but the sooner he returns to form, the better the Heels' deep threat becomes.
The Panthers might be the perfect opponent to get going against. Last week in their 43-10 loss to Army, they allowed three completions to go for more than 25 yards.
Downs agreed with Howell that time will help the passing game, given that it's the first time any of them were full-time starters.
"We're going to build off of this, I mean, it was the first game without Dyami and Dazz in two years — and Beau Corrales — for Sam," Downs said. "He had a whole new receiver corps out there. It was good to have one game under our belt, and we're going to come out and prove a lot in these next few weeks, so it's going to be good."
