University of North Carolina Athletics
One Thing to Watch: Miami
October 30, 2014 | Football
By Turner Walston
Miami junior running back Duke Johnson is the latest in a long line of terrific tailbacks at The U. In the last 15 years alone, Miami has produced Frank Gore, Willis McGahee, Clinton Portis and Edgerrin James, yet Duke Johnson moved into the Top 10 on the schools all-time rushing yards list in just the first game of his junior season.
Carolina's open-field tackling woes collide with Johnson on Saturday.“That could be a problem,” Larry Fedora acknowledged on Monday. “It's been a problem for everybody that's played them.”
Johnson is just 5'9 and 206 pounds, but he's a load of strength and elusiveness in a compact package. He's tough to bring down as he seems to simply slide off defenders and run through contact. Johnson can take a direct snap with quarterback Brad Kaaya out wide. He also has to be accounted for out of the backfield, as Johnson can find space and hurt a defense with a run after the catch. Last Thursday against Virginia Tech, Johnson ran for a career-high 249 yards and scored both on the ground and via the catch.
“He's really good. He's really good,” Larry Fedora said, twice, for emphasis. “Good Lord willing he stays healthy, he'll play for a while at the next level.”
Carolina did a much better job in the second half at Virginia of fitting run gaps and forcing the Cavaliers to take to the air. If they can do that against Miami, it'll be Kaaya, the freshman quarterback, that will be tested. “As he goes, he's more posted every week. He's very calm,” Fedora said Kaaya showed composure in leading the Hurricanes to a 31-6 win at Virginia Tech last Thursday. “He handled every aspect of it just like a junior or senior. He wasn't rattled by the noise or the hype. He did a nice job of just handling the game.”
Unlike some recent Hurricane signal-callers, Kaaya is not a threat to run. Miami has allowed 13 sacks on the season, so if the Tar Heels can stifle the Hurricane ground game, they can make Miami one-dimensional. It won't be easy, but limiting the damage Duke Johnson can do would go a long way toward getting a win in Miami Gardens.
