Ga. Tech O-line Aids Freshman

With its star running back Tony Hollings out for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, and his backup, Sidney Ford, out with a concussion, Tech was forced to start true freshman Ajenavi Eziemefe.

Hollings led the nation in rushing with 633 yards (158.3 yards per game), leaving Yellow Jackets with a gaping hole to fill.

But the offensive line created enough gaping holes of their own to pave the way for Eziemefe to rush for 137 yards and a touchdown in his first collegiate start.

"(The offensive line) did an excellent job," said Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey. "I thought that they controlled the line of scrimmage for the most part today. The other thing that happened was that our protection was really good, on top of being able to run the football."

North Carolina's defensive line struggled against a more focused and stronger Georgia Tech O-line. The Yellow Jackets more than doubled UNC's rushing yardage with 185 yards gained, and allowed just one sack for a loss of 14 yards.

"You can't ask for a better line," Eziemefe said. "I just got behind them, ran the ball hard."

On several plays, Eziemefe could run the ball hard through wide open spaces, going untouched for 15 yards or more, while the likes of linemen Hugh Reilly, Nat Dorsey and Kyle Wallace held off UNC's defense.

"They just made the plays," said Tar Heel defensive end Will Chapman. "We didn't."

So instead of UNC's struggling defense taking advantage of Tech's inexperienced back, the offensive line took care of business and protected what could have been a liability.

"Whenever we have a running back rush for 100 yards, we feel like we've done a pretty good job up front," Reilly said.

Reilly added that despite Eziemefe's inexperience, the offensive line didn't feel any added pressure and ran the same plays they would have for Hollings or Ford.

"It was a challenge for (Eziemefe) to come in as a freshman and play against a great team, and he responded very well to the challenge," Reilly said.

The linemen noticed Eziemefe's athleticism in the preseason, and saw him make big plays on the scout team, Reilly said.

But still, when informed of Eziemefe's final yardage, he was noticeably impressed.

"Wow," Reilly said. "That's crazy. I mean, that's amazing. That's a testament to how hard we came out as a team and played together, and tried to make things happen for him."

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.