CHAPEL HILL
Donte Paige-Moss, a reserve defensive lineman for North Carolina, has been suspended by Coach Butch Davis for an incident after a game at N.C. State and will not play in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Paige-Moss, a freshman end from Jacksonville, got into a skirmish with an N.C. State player after the game, which N.C. State won 28-27 on Nov. 28 in Raleigh.
"He made a very, very unwise action, just pushing a guy away who was taunting him in his face," Davis said. "We had a private conversation and talked about it.
"As I told him, it's something that you've got to have composure. It's frustrating and it's disappointing to lose a ballgame, but you can't lose your cool and you can't lose your composure."
Paige-Moss is practicing in North Carolina's preparation for the game, which will take place in Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium on Dec. 26 against Pittsburgh.
Paige-Moss's absence should not be a blow to the Tar Heels' defense. He is listed as third team at his position. He had five tackles in the regular season, four unassisted. Two of the tackles were for losses that totaled 14 yards. He didn't play against N.C. State.
"He was very apologetic," Davis said. "He understood. We've got a great relationship with the kids. They know that there's high expectations for their actions.
"He's a young freshman. Sometimes he hasn't had the opportunity to be in a position to be put in that kind of situation. Everything is a teachable moment, and that's what we'll use that as."
The incident is the second in six months involving Paige-Moss, a highly regarded recruit in the freshman class. He was charged with misdemeanor simple assault for hitting Hunter Furr, a freshman running back from Lewisville, in a campus dormitory room on July 16.
The charges were dropped in Orange County Court on Aug. 20. Davis said that any punishment for Paige-Moss was handled internally.
The Tar Heels practiced yesterday morning for the fourth time and will take off today because of first-semester final exams. The team will practice on Thursday and Friday and then will break for the end of the semester before arriving in Charlotte on Dec. 21.
The Thursday and Friday practices will be the only consecutive practices that UNC will have before arriving in Charlotte. UNC started specific preparation for Pittsburgh yesterday, after spending its earlier three practices, spread over 10 days, working on its play.
T.J. Yates, UNC's quarterback, said that the staggered practice schedule is forcing the players to adjust, but he expects no problems in being prepared for Pittsburgh.
"It's hard to get focused with all this stuff at the end of the semester," Yates said.
"Everybody's been watching a good bit of film, even if we haven't been practicing a lot. When we do have the days of practice, we get a whole lot of work done."
Davis has used the practice time to work backup players and players who redshirted during the regular season. Shaun Draughn and Jamal Womble, tailbacks who are overcoming injuries, are practicing on a limited basis, but Davis said yesterday that he does not expect either to play in the bowl.
Draughn was UNC's leading rusher until breaking a shoulder on the first offensive play against Duke on Nov. 7. He missed the last five games, counting Duke, and has 567 yards rushing for the season.
bcole@wsjournal.com.
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