University of North Carolina Athletics
Pace: Deep Receiving Corps An Asset
August 12, 2014 | Football
By Lee Pace, GoHeels.com
They call themselves "The Freaks," these aberrations, geeks, monsters, curiosities of the football field. They lay their bodies out mid-air and extend their arms toward a spiraling football, exposing their flesh and bones to the jackhammers of flying linebackers and safeties. They tip-toe along the sideline paint, managing their eyes, hands and feet as one. In the stats book they're rewarded with receptions, but in the film room they're graded on clearing out defensive debris on the screen pass to a teammate or when the tailback bounces the inside zone play.
"Blocking, that's how you get on the field," says one of the most freakishly talented, Quinshad Davis.
The Tar Heel receiving corps is one of the deeper reservoirs of ability on the 2014 roster, with plenty of speedsters with good hands and eyes and a proclivity to bang around in the middle of the field.
Davis is an established expert on the outside and is about 15 pounds heavier and can bench 50 more pounds than a year ago.
Bug Howard displayed his height and raw catching ability as a freshman and now is more nuanced in reading coverages and running tight patterns.
Ryan Switzer dazzled all of college football the second half of 2013 with his shiftiness and elusiveness returning punts, but he was playing receiver for the first time ever. Now he's truly at the starting line.
Those three form an outstanding trio of starters-with Davis and Howard on the outside and Switzer in the slot or "A-Back" position. For depth there are a handful of quality returning players, most interesting of whom is Mack Hollins, who Brewer says "could be the David Thornton of this team," referencing the walk-on linebacker of more than a decade ago who had a huge career at Carolina and in the NFL.
And there are three scholarship freshmen-Austin Proehl, Josh Cabrera and Devin Perry. Proehl has stood out most in camp simply because as the son of a former NFL player and current Carolina Panthers coach in Ricky Proehl, he has a degree of football savvy beyond his years.
"And he catches everything," Brewer says.
Davis was the first big recruiting snare by Fedora and Brewer in the early winter days of 2012, plucking him out of Gaffney from the likes of South Carolina, Tennessee and Wake Forest with Carolina hardly on his radar the previous fall. As a freshman in 2012 he had a record-setting night at Virginia, catching 16 balls for 178 yards, and as a sophomore he showed his immense athleticism with catches like one he made at N.C. State-spinning 180 degrees in the corner of the end zone, leaping over a Wolfpack defender and reeling the ball in while touching inbounds.
A stronger and slightly thicker Davis-he's put on about 15 pounds of muscle-should help his durability in 2014.
"He's really developed himself physically," Fedora says. "He's in great shape, he's one of the guys that runs that room. He should have a great year. With (Eric) Ebron no longer here as a big target on the inside, we may look to Quinshad more to make some plays on the outside. He welcomes that. He's a very competitive person."
Howard, at 6-4 sharing the same height as Davis but working hard to put on bulk, introduced himself in Raleigh last fall as well, setting up a touchdown with a 24-yard reception along the State sideline when he looked to be pinned to the boundary by Juston Burris, slipped inside and underneath Burris and soared at the proper millisecond to rake in the pass.
You cannot have enough 6-4 guys who can elevate to the ball.
"We look for taller guys who have that basketball skill to go up and rebound the ball and take it away from someone, guys who can play the ball in the air," Brewer says.
Howard fit that mold when he was recruited out of Rochelle, Georgia, in 2013. After a year at Carolina, he's refined his body and his game.
"It's one thing to be tall, but not all guys like to play up there," Fedora says. "Bug likes being up in the air. He's comfortable with his body in the air and does a great job concentrating on the ball. He can do some special things. The area he's grown most in running routes. He has no trouble catching the ball. He's fearless in the air. He's grown in the way he's able to run routes and get in and out of his breaks."
Switzer made 32 catches for a 10.7-yard-per-catch average and scored three touchdowns as a freshman, most of that production coming down the home stretch as he began to feel more comfortable and ride the crest of confidence from his punt-return successes. He admits he was "just trying to survive" in training camp last August.
He's blossomed on the cusp of 2014 and it will be a major storyline watching his development as a receiver.
"Most people don't understand Switz never played receiver until he got here," Brewer says. "He's not yet been an offensive weapon in college. He's been a special teams weapon. Last year we worked him in, brought him along, and he a made a few really good plays. Old Dominion stands out. This year, we've given him the whole offense and let's see what he can do."
Watch for No. 13 this fall as well. Mack Hollins was a special teams dynamo and the walk-on now on scholarship is getting more reps at the outside receiver positions.
"He plays hard, gives great effort, has a lot of talent," Brewer says. "Hopefully he'll be the David Thornton of our team if he continues to improve like he has."
Hollins visited Chapel Hill several years ago from his home in Rockville, Maryland, when his older brother was touring colleges.
"I fell in love with Carolina immediately," he says.
His father was friends with Marcus Berry, at the time Carolina's director of player personnel, from their days at West Virginia University, and Berry suggested Hollins prep one year at Fork Union and then walk-on with the Tar Heels. Hollins has played every game in 2013 in all kicking-game phases and was named special teams captain. He now hopes to see the field as a receiver.
"Special teams are my main focus," Hollins says. "There it's all about effort. You can be the least talented guy on the field, but if you give super effort, you can find a spot. This year, if I can help the team offensively, catch passes and score touchdowns and make plays, that's great. Whatever I can do to help."
