University of North Carolina Athletics
Tate's Heroics Helping Other Receivers
September 17, 2008 | Football
Sept. 17, 2008
By Sergio Tovar
The outstanding performance of Brandon Tate, who is leading the nation in all-purpose yards with 308 per game, has affected the way defenses have to game plan against the Tar Heels.
The extra defensive attention to Tate has benefited other members of the Carolina offense, including junior wideout Hakeem Nicks.
"Brandon doing what he's doing has definitely taken some pressure off of me," Nicks said. "They can't just line cover two up on me and play Brandon single cover because of the things that he's doing."
And with the big play threat that Tate consistently brings to the field, opposing defenses can't be blamed for paying more attention to the Burlington native.
"Brandon is one of those guys that anytime of the game he touches the ball he can make something happen with it," Nicks said.
Tate is dangerous in every facet of his game. The Cummings High School product, who was mostly touted as a kick return specialists his first two years at UNC, leads the team in rushing, receiving and returning yards.
"He's just a football player in my opinion," coach Butch Davis said. "Through his own hard work and effort, he has demonstrated that he's much more than a kick returner - he's worked hard to be a complete player."
Tate has 125 rushing yards, 173 receiving yards, 146 punt return yards and 114 kick return yards so far this year.
Although Nicks, who was a second-team All-ACC selection last years, hasn't received as much media hype as Tate, he still has had good numbers during the early part of this season.
Nicks has had 12 catches for 173 yards and two touchdowns during the first two games. The Charlotte native's two touchdowns both came during the 44-12 win at Rutgers Thursday.
Nicks's first score against the Scarlet Knights came during the second quarter of the game when T.J. Yates connected with the receiver for a 9-yard touchdown. Tate's option route during that play drew in two Rutgers defensive players, which left Nicks wide open in the back of the end zone for the score.
Yates connected with Nicks, who set the UNC single-season receptions record with 74 for 958 yards and five touchdowns last fall, for a second touchdown during the third quarter of Thursday's game. Again, the extra attention to Tate left Nicks open in the end zone.
"They bit down on Brandon each time," Nicks said. "That takes the focus off of me and it also lets people know that our offense has playmakers all around."
Nicks added that the Carolina coaching staff has done a good job in recognizing the mismatches that Tate creates and have run plays that can create some confusion by using Tate as a decoy, as was the case with both of Nicks's scoring plays.
Nicks, who ranks eight in UNC career receiving yards with 1,791, emphasized that the extra attention that both he and Tate will see this year could open up the way for senior Brooks Foster to have some time in the limelight.
"He's definitely a guy who can shine," Nicks said. "Brandon and I have the attention right now, so Brooks is definitely going to see some time sooner or later."
Foster, who was second on the team with 417 receiving yards on 29 receptions last year, has caught five passes for 23 yards and one touchdown this season.
With a win against the Virginia Tech Hokies Saturday, Carolina could improve to 3-0 for the first time since the 1997 season, the last year Mack Brown coached at UNC.
The Hokie defense has allowed 334 yards per game during the first three games of this season. Virginia Tech ranks sixth in pass defense in the ACC, allowing an average of 177 passing yards each game.
The Virginia Tech defense allowed 212 yards per game during the season's first two outings against ECU and Furman, but the Hokie backfield did a much better job of shutting down the Georgia Tech receivers last weekend and only allowed 109 passing yards.
"Their defense is always going to be aggressive - that's Virginia Tech in my opinion," Nicks said. "They're definitely not somebody we can overlook."
On Saturday, the big question will be whether the Hokies will pay so much attention to Tate that others in the offense - such as Nicks and Foster - will be open for a Yates pass.
Macho Harris and Stephan Virgil - the Hokie starting cornerbacks - as well as safeties Davon Morgan and Kam Chancellor will be entrusted by Frank Beamer with the dreaded responsibility of containing the Tar Heel receivers on Saturday.
One of the areas where the Hokies have not had much success this season is at intercepting the football. Virginia Tech has only had two interceptions this season, while the team had 22 interceptions last season.
Nicks said the Tar Heels cannot afford to overlook any aspect of the Virginia Tech defense because of how they've performed in previous games.
"They have a great secondary," Nicks said. "They have a lot of guys who can make big plays."
