CHAPEL HILL
Ryan Houston might play football at North Carolina this season after all.
UNC needs help in its offensive backfield after losing Johnny White, its starting tailback, to a season-ending injury in Saturday’s 37-35 win at Florida State, and backup Shaun Draughn to an injured ankle.
Houston, a senior, is redshirting after missing the first five games while UNC and the NCAA investigated the program for illegal agent contact and academic impropriety, but Coach Butch Davis could play him the rest of the season, starting on Saturday in a home game against Virginia Tech.
“It is a possibility,” Davis said. “It’s something that Ryan and I discussed (Sunday).
“We’ve talked about it a little bit. We’ve talked about the pros and the cons. It’s something that’s probably going to be discussed again before the week is over.”
The situation will be one of the most delicate of Davis’ four seasons at UNC. He will have to decide which matter will be more important: the success of this season’s team, which is 6-3 and has qualified for bowl eligibility, or Houston’s future. If Houston comes out of the redshirt season, he will have only three games for sure in which to play, and possibly a fourth, should UNC play in a bowl, and his college career will be over. If he returns in the 2011 season, he will have 12 games in which to play.
“A lot of it will obviously have to do with the help of some of the other guys before we would make any kind of final determination,” Davis said.
“It’s a tough balancing act. It’s one of those things that’s ‘what’s best for the team and what’s best for the kid.’ It’s a confliction.”
White was having his finest season at North Carolina before breaking a collarbone when he was tackled at Florida State. He was UNC’s leading rusher with 720 yards on 130 carries and had scored seven rushing touchdowns. He had 288 yards receiving on 24 catches. He averaged 6.5 yards every time he touched the ball.
Houston did not make the trip to Tallahassee, Fla., because he wasn’t going to play and would have counted against the ACC limit of players who can travel for conference games. Davis went to Houston on Sunday and told him that he might be needed, if he was willing to return.
“He said that if he would have been on the trip that he would have gone into the game,” Davis said. “This is a conversation that we’ve had multiple times over the last three or four weeks. As each succeeding week has gone, the likelihood of us needing him diminished.”
Quarterback T.J. Yates is confident that Draughn, the starter at tailback last season, will be able to play. Yates thought Draughn’s injury was a tweak of the ankle, not a full sprain. Anthony Elzy, a senior, can move from fullback to tailback if necessary.
Yates said the decision regarding Houston is so difficult that he would not want to have to make it. Deunta Williams, a safety, said that he feels that Houston wants to return but that he would advise against it.
“It’s a very tough decision,” Williams said. “As much as a team thing that we’ve got going right now, I think the most individual decision is for him to redshirt.”
Hunter Furr, a sophomore from Lewisville and Mount Tabor High School, could play and help Davis decide to continue redshirting Houston.
Furr helped spark UNC’s last drive for a winning field goal by carrying three times for 27 yards.
“Clearly, his role will dramatically change,” Davis said. “We were very proud of what he did. He came into the game on a limited role and did an outstanding job, and he’ll get significantly a lot more work.
“It’s pretty safe to say he’s not going to be the scout team running back this week.”
bcole@wsjournal.com
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