Mack Hollins catches his opportunities

You’d think teams would know better by now.

But on Saturday, against Duke, there went Mack Hollins again, streaking by the defense for another long touchdown.

Week after week, Hollins has torched North Carolina opponents, with seven touchdowns in his past six games. The junior receiver is tied for second in the nation in yards-per-catch with 26.3. Almost every time he catches the ball, it’s a huge play for UNC.

And even though defenses know what is coming, they can’t stop it. They can’t afford to change their system to dedicate extra attention to Hollins because someone else on the Tar Heel offense will burn them. On UNC’s first offensive play on Saturday, the threat of Hollins running open drew the safety away from junior receiver Ryan Switzer for an 89-yard touchdown reception.

This means inevitably there will be an opportunity for Hollins to flash what’s become his signature trait.

“Certain coverages dictate certain things, and we owe it to him to see if they can cover it,” receivers coach Gunter Brewer said.

And when that opportunity comes, Hollins makes sure to cash in. As the second quarter wound down, Hollins lined up and saw the safety lining up closer to the line of scrimmage than usual. He released off the line and saw the safety drift to the middle of the field. He then looked up with a step on his defender and saw the pass from redshirt senior quarterback Marquise Williams leading him left.

“As soon as I looked up and saw the ball, I knew it was going to be a touchdown,” Hollins said.

His success invites comparison to others. Senior receiver Quinshad Davis compares Hollins to NFL receiver Mike Wallace, who’s also known for his ability as a burner.

“Boy, they got some downfield speed,” Davis said. “(Hollins is) one of the fastest I’ve ever seen.”

Brewer adds that Hollins has some elements in his game similar to Randy Moss — a potential Hall of Fame receiver who Brewer coached at Marshall — such as his size and downfield ability.

But Brewer says Hollins is unique, specifically with his ability to jump and track the ball in the air. Hollins wasn’t always a natural hands-catcher, but he’s worked to make that a strength. At the end of every practice he’s on the JUGS machine catching extra passes.

For Hollins’ part, there’s only one comparison he makes, and that’s to his father. Richard Hollins played wide receiver at West Virginia in the early 1980s. The elder Hollins averaged 27.1 yards-per-catch, and his son holds that as a goal to beat.

On another catch later in the Duke game, Hollins broke free but was tripped up from behind. He pounded the ground in frustration as he got up. He needs to maximize every opportunity to beat his dad.

Luckily for Hollins, he’ll likely get many more.

@loganulrich

sports@dailytarheel.com