University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Tate Injury About More Than Offense
October 13, 2008 | Football, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Oct. 13, 2008
By Adam Lucas
Brandon Tate's All-America campaign was to begin on Monday.
His Carolina career ended on Saturday.
In many ways, the loss of the senior wide receiver to a torn ACL is the most disappointing Tar Heel football injury since Ronald Curry tore his Achilles. Sure, it costs the Carolina offense its most dynamic big-play threat, a key component of the unit's best position group, and a quick-strike special teams weapon. It costs Tate much more than that.
When a player suffers a critical injury, there's a tendency to view it through the prism of the team. How does this affect the depth chart? Which young players will receive more snaps? Does this change the offensive game plan?
Those are questions for the Carolina coaching staff, which spent much of Sunday debating those exact subjects. But before we move on to discover the next talented, young receiver, let's pause just a moment to recognize this: this particular setback is one of the most cruelly timed injuries imaginable. In most cases, midseason is the time of year to think only about the team. For just a few minutes, however, consider this situation from the perspective of an individual.
The senior from Burlington was having the kind of breakout season--for a breakout team--that turns unknown prospects into hot NFL Draft candidates. On Monday, the athletic department was set to roll out a brand-new "Tate in '08" national publicity push across multiple platforms. You already knew Tate the kick returner; you were about to know Tate the national superstar.
Now, he'll be in injury rehab, trying to regain the burst that made him a singular player, when other draftable receivers are working out for prospective employers. When scouts attend Tar Heel practices over the next two months, jotting down notes in their team-issued notepads, he'll be on the sidelines--or, knowing him, he'll be standing beside a young receiver, offering a tip on the best way to create separation from a defender.
Even in the afterglow of Saturday's remarkable win, Tate's teammates were already finding the right perspective.
"We lose a teammate and we lose a friend," said quarterback Cameron Sexton, who knows a little something about adversity. "First of all, we're concerned about him. Second of all, we know someone has to step up."
First of all, they're concerned about him. And they should be. Tate is a player who spent his first two seasons exclusively as a special teams player. That's two seasons given away of compiling the type of statistics and highlights that make a player move up a draft board. He never once complained publicly, never told an eager writer that he thought he deserved more touches.
You know what, though? He did deserve more touches. In years when Carolina's offense sometimes sputtered, Tate would have been a nice remedy.
Once Butch Davis and his coaching staff arrived, Tate was finally given a shot at wide receiver, and something remarkable happened--despite reports to the contrary, it turned out Tate had terrific hands. As a senior, he had evolved into more than just a fast runner who could accelerate past a diving tackler. He was a true receiver, a complete player who could make a tough catch on 3rd and 7 or stretch the defense for a big play on 1st and 10.
These words--Brandon Tate has the ball in the open field!--were the most exciting words in Carolina football. Every time he caught the ball, the entire stadium caught its breath.
That sense of anticipation is impossible to replace. But it's far from being the most excruciating part of this injury.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of four books on Carolina basketball.
