Sexton will be starting quarterback at Catawba

Starting over in a different location is a risky proposition, but Cameron Sexton is willing to gamble at this stage of his football career.

Sexton, the quarterback who saved North Carolina's season last year, is now at Catawba, an NCAA Division II program, for his last college season. He is hoping to have the best season of his career, and to walk away with no regrets.

"My first goal right now is go out and play well in our first game," Sexton said. "I came here to win. I came here to win a national championship.

"For me personally, I want to be out there on the field. I want to spend another year getting better and getting experience and refining my skills because, yes, my ultimate goal is to play in the NFL. I don't really care what anybody says. I'm going to set out to do that, and do whatever it takes to get there."

Sexton has already nailed down the starter's spot for the Aug. 29 season opener at Saint Augustine's. He has been on campus almost every day since mid-May, after graduating from UNC, and has enrolled in graduate school for sports management. A great amount of his offseason time was spent on watching Catawba game video and working out with new teammates.

He often thinks about Chapel Hill and his old teammates. He was upset to hear that Carl Gaskins, an offensive lineman, had suffered a season-ending knee injury. The other day T.J. Yates, his rival at quarterback in the last two seasons, called and left his cell phone on during a quarterbacks' meeting so that Sexton could again hear the voice of John Shoop, UNC's offensive coordinator, and relive what goes on in the meetings.

He didn't want to leave UNC but decided his chances of playing in his final season might be better elsewhere. Sexton led UNC to a 5-2 record last season while Yates was recovering from a broken ankle, but Yates started the last three games, including a bowl game.

Yates beat out Sexton twice in the last two seasons at UNC for the starter's job. Sexton decided that unless Yates was hurt again, he would likely spend his last season standing on the Kenan Stadium sideline, not playing and not getting better.

"It was easily the hardest decision that I've made to leave," Sexton said. "I miss it. I'll always miss it. I'll always be a Tar Heel.

"I stay in close contact with my teammates. I pretty much spent the weekends of the summer in Chapel Hill. I still have my place in Chapel Hill and when I'm done here I'll head back that way, but right now I'm fully focused on getting it done here."

No hidden reason forced Sexton's hand. Outsiders have pointed to last season's N.C. State game, when Yates regained the starter's job, as the indignity that pushed Sexton out the door. Sexton said that the game had nothing to do with his transfer.

He said he bears no animosity or bitterness toward the UNC coaching staff. Coach Butch Davis offered to help Sexton find a school where he would have a good chance of starting. Other UNC coaches offered their help.

"Everybody wants to point to the State game but the wheels had been in motion for a long time," Sexton said. "After the season I sat down and said, ‘Can I take the chance of going back into a competition and maybe not winning the job?'

"I felt like the best thing for me was to get on the field. Did I want to leave? Not necessarily -- no, I didn't. But I felt like it was the best for me. Everybody there understood where I was coming from. Whether they liked it or not, I think they at least understood."

Inquiries were made to numerous Division II schools. Sexton had to move down at least one division, under NCAA rules, in order to play immediately. Catawba's coach, Chip Hester, had good quarterbacks in his program, but was interested in what Sexton might offer.

Hester remembered Sexton from his high-school playing days in Laurinburg. Hester remembered watching Sexton in 2004 at Shrine Bowl practice and thinking then that he didn't have a chance of signing Sexton. Hester didn't want to miss again.

Hester knows many of the UNC coaches, starting with Kenny Browning, a longtime assistant and a former high-school coach in the state. Hester talked with several UNC coaches and each said that Sexton would help and would not be a problem.

Sexton and Hester agreed that no move would be made until Sexton got his degree. Sexton next visited the Catawba campus and sat with Hester to watch game video of last season's team. After the preliminary discussions ended, Hester had no reluctance about adding Sexton to the program.

"One hundred percent of the people we talked to raved about his character, his work ethic, his attitude," Hester said. "It was a no-brainer for us."

Hester soon realized that another decision had to be made quickly. He didn't want to upset his other quarterbacks, but decided that if Sexton was going to join the program that he had to be the No. 1 player at the position heading into summer practice.

"We were not going to bring him in to not be a starter," Hester said. "We felt like if we were going to bring him in he needed to get a lot of (plays) early to get his timing. That's not to say that he doesn't have to produce like everyone else."

Catawba runs an offense similar to UNC's, so Sexton would not have to learn a new system, only different terminology. One possible problem worried Sexton, however.

He was concerned that his addition might cause resentment among his new teammates. He did not want to offend the other quarterbacks. He sought to blend in quietly after arriving on campus and felt that the other quarterbacks would soon realize that he was like them, only he had spent four years, including a redshirt season, in the ACC.

"It was a big concern because it happened to me," Sexton said. "I've been in a situation where a guy transferred in; Joe Dailey transferred in (at UNC from Nebraska). I've been in a quarterback battle my entire life, it seems like, so I wanted to come in here, be quiet, go about my business and learn.

"I didn't want to get in anybody's way. I've gotten along with the other quarterbacks. They've been very understanding. I try not to rub anybody the wrong way and do my job."

Hester is confident that the other quarterbacks have improved their play and decision-making after having been pushed in practice by Sexton and by watching what he does.

"He is determined," Hester said. "He's a hard-working guy. He's an impressive young man. He's got his act together. He's the right kind of guy."

Sexton has 16 games of experience and 11 starts in major-college football, and passed for 2,110 yards and 13 touchdowns at UNC. He hopes his experience will provide a boost to his new team.

"I want to help this team in any way I can," Sexton said. "I can give them experience more than anything. I've played four years of college football. I hope that I can bring that here.

"The two important things are experience and leadership. I hope through my experiences I can provide the leadership. I just hope that I can do here what I did last year at Carolina. We had a lot of success. Hopefully I can bring that here."

■ Bill Cole can be reached at bcole@wsjournal.com.