University of North Carolina Athletics
Droschak: McGill Toughs it Out
September 4, 2004 | Football
Sept. 4, 2004
by David Droschak, TarHeelBlue.com CHAPEL HILL - Ronnie McGill nervously rolled a bottle of pain pills from one hand to the other as he talked to the media following Saturday's season-opening victory. He'll likely have to use them all before taking the field against Virginia next weekend. McGill reaffirmed his status as one of the toughest players in the Atlantic Coast Conference, twice returning from a painful hip pointer to help rally North Carolina to the 49-38 win over William & Mary. The sophomore running back was injured on the first series of each half, taking a helmet on his left hip early that sent him to the locker room. After leaving the field again in the third quarter, McGill believed he would finish the game standing on the sideline. ut after riding a stationary bike for five minutes, his hip loosened up some and he gave the trainers the thumbs-up signal. McGill then unleashed his powerful running style on the Tribe, carrying seven times for 100 yards and three touchdowns in the final 15 minutes as the Tar Heels pulled out the win after trailing by 10 at halftime. "I have no clue," McGill said when asked how he was able to overcome his injury to pile up 133 yards on 13 carries. "I guess my adrenalin started pumping and I didn't feel it anymore. I felt like I was going to come out and cheer after I got hurt the second time." "He's a beast," added quarterback Darian Durant said of McGill. "We call him Man Child. To be so young and powerful - it's not a common combination." McGill called his performance Saturday better than the 244 yards he gained against Wake Forest last season. "You know why?" McGill said. "It's better because this was a team thing. Look at what our offensive line did." The Tar Heels didn't take the lead until early in the fourth quarter when McGill ran for 19 yards to the 4 and then scored on the next play. After the defense held the Tribe, McGill broke off a 49-yard run, then used his inside power to break three tackles and score from 10 yards out. It was yet another run by McGill that could be compared to former North Carolina star Natrone Means. "I've never had one, but I know they hurt a lot," coach John Bunting said. "He came back and played. He's a tough kid. This game will prove to our kids about being tough -- and mentally tough." McGill's third TD of the final quarter came on a 7-yard run with 2:45 left that sealed it for the Tar Heels, who ran for 341 yards and converted 10 of 12 third-down situations. "That's why they call him Ronnie Franchise," center Jason Brown said. ut it wasn't just McGill on the ground. Jacque Lewis added 123 yards as he and McGill became the first pair of North Carolina runners to gain more than 100 yards in a game since Leon Johnson and Curtis Johnson did it a decade ago. "I didn't come into the game thinking I would get 100 yards," Lewis said. "I was a little more prepared to catch the ball." "Our goal is to produce a 1,000-yard back this year," Brown said. "At this rate we're going for two." North Carolina averaged 9 yards a carry in the first half, but ran it just 18 times because of four first-half turnovers. However, Bunting told the coaching staff to stick to the game plan, which was to run it at William & Mary. The Tar Heels threw just one pass in the fourth quarter as the Tribe just wore down. "There was no doubt we would win, but there was frustration," Brown said of the mood at halftime. "Coach went over the percentages at the half and right after the game. He told us there was a 15 percent chance of a win with four turnovers. Overcoming that type of adversity just shows our mental toughness and our mental focus to be able to go out there and execute." "We've got the ability to run," Bunting said, "but we've got to maintain that. And guys that touch the football have to give it respect. If we understand that we'll be a good football team down the road." Durant said he heard some fans booing the team as they went to the locker room trailing by 10. "Half the people in the stands gave up on us and I don't think that's cool," Durant said. "That's a tough feeling to go through when your home crowd is booing." unting called them "cat calls" from the crowd. "I didn't blame our fans because it looked ugly out there at first," Bunting said. "Our players overcame that, give them some credit and give our coaching staff credit for keeping them upbeat at halftime. It's great to have our fans there at end of the game." The team ended up leaving the field to cheers, and McGill put on a happy face after the game despite his pain. "These things hurt a lot," he said smiling. "I give credit to all the people who make it through with one of these things. I came back because I'm a team player and I wanted to help us win." Would McGill play next Saturday in the team's ACC opener? "This is a horrible feeling, but I finished this game off so I have no doubts about not being able to play next week," McGill said. David Droschak is the former sports editor for the North Carolina bureaus of the Associated Press, the largest news-gathering organization in the world. In 2003, Droschak was named the North Carolina Sportswriter of the Year. He currently works in public relations at Robbins & Associates International, based in Cary.
