University of North Carolina Athletics
Turner's Take: The Team On His Back
November 15, 2014 | Football, Featured Writers, Turner Walston
By Turner Walston
Every Wednesday during the season, Carolina closes practice with a two-minute drill. While the great majority of the session is devoted to the offense and defense working with scout teams, the practices culminates with the first team going against the first team. It's a winner-take-all, spirited way to end a hard-fought practice.
Three minutes and thirty-three seconds remained on the clock in Saturday's game when Pitt kick an extra point to go ahead of Carolina, 35-34. Tar Heel quarterback took a moment to himself, standing alone near the east end zone to gather his thoughts before taking the field. “I practice this every Wednesday,” he told himself.
This past Wednesday, the offense lost. In fact, they hadn't won against the defense in about a month, the Wednesday prior to facing Georgia Tech. Williams remembered what had happened three days ago, “but I told myself, I'm going to win this two-minute drill Saturday for the team.”
After a touchback, tailback T.J. Logan picked up back-to-back six-yard runs to move the chains. Williams got a 12-yard completion to Mack Hollins on third down, then Logan picked up 14. After two Williams carries, the Tar Heels faced 4th and 2 at the Pitt 29. Ninety seconds remained. Carolina could attempt a 46-yard field goal, but with only five field goals made on the season, and the longest at 29 yards, that seemed unlikely.
“I didn't plan on kicking a field goal,” Tar Heel head coach Larry Fedora said. “I planned on scoring. I really did.”
Carolina used a timeout to assess the situation and then sent the offense on to the field. Upstairs, assistant head coach for offense Seth Littrell decided to keep the ball in Williams' hands, giving the quarterback the option of handing off to Logan or taking it himself. Just before the snap, Logan moved to Williams' right.
The decision to give the ball or keep it is Williams', though he gets some help from his tailback. “Sometimes it's just certain keys we see. Quise is watching, and I'm watching it also. I'm like, 'Quisee, you've got to pull it or I'm going to get tackled,” Logan said. “It's just time. If he pulls it real hard, I just let it go. if it seems like he's trying to give it to me, I just clamp down and just try to protect the ball.”
The read was there because Logan had run well on Saturday. To that point, he'd had 92 yards on 16 carries, his best total since the 11th game of 2013. “He ran hard today, and I felt good that I could get in, that they were going to gash with T.J. Logan,” Williams said.
They did. Williams took the ball and put it in Logan's belly . . . but pulled it out. Logan sold that he had the ball. Pitt linebacker Todd Thomas tackled Logan, but Williams was off. He stepped out of the arms of another linebacker, Anthony Gonzalez, and picked up six yards.
“I knew they were going to gash out to T.J. Logan,” Williams said. “I felt like no one man is going to bring me down, and that's what I think when I'm running the football. That's when I just wanted to put the team on my back and let the know that, hey man, I'm winning this for y'all.”
Two plays later (a big completion to Quinshad Davis and a Logan run), and the Tar Heels were in the end zone with the lead and 50 seconds to play. With Pitt quarterback Chad Voytik scrambling desperately, Malik Simmons forced the day's first turnover when Shakeel Rashad pounced on the football to seal the win.
It's a quick turnaround for the Tar Heels, who face Duke in Durham on Thursday before closing out the regular season at home against NC State. With just five days until the next kickoff, the calendar will be accelerated a bit. Wednesday won't be 'Wednesday' for practice purposes, but you can be the team will get in a two-minute drill at some point, perhaps Monday. After all, that drill three days prior may have won the game on Saturday.
“I knew it was going to come to a win for us today on this game and it felt good,” Williams said. “It's just the preparation we have every Wednesday, and it shows out on the field.”
