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The Daily Tar Heel

Don't flip out at football quirks

Saturday's football game wasn't pretty. When a team lets down its fans the way North Carolina did against Louisville, those fans might stumble through a murky haze of depression and resignation to second-tier status.

It's time, therefore, to go Reader's Digest and say laughter is the best medicine.

There are some quirky guys on the football team.

How do I know?

The magic of the media guide, my friend.

It all started when I arrived early for the season opener and browsed through the media guide while gorging myself on barbecue and hot dogs.

I stopped on Ronnie McGill's profile.

There's an information box below most players' stats with a "Did you know?" factoid.

I now know UNC's starting running back can do back flips.

Curiosity killed the cat, and it got me the story from the man himself.

"When I was about 7, my cousin took me outside," McGill said. "(He) told me to put my foot in his hand, and he was like, 'On the count of three, you just start rolling backward.'

"He counted to three, and he threw me and I start rolling. I did one, and ever since then I've been able to do one."

McGill, from Clover, S.C., also is a fan of the Dallas Cowboys. He's just one of many Tar Heels to support teams from the NFC East - the Redskins and Giants appear in several bios.

But McGill denies that affinities for NFL teams cause rifts among teammates.

"Nobody ever argues with me about the Cowboys," McGill said. "Because they know they're going to win the Super Bowl this year."

Tyson Graham, a Giants fan since childhood, is a 21-year-old freshman linebacker.

Wait a second - 21-year-old freshman?

After being selected in the 40th round of the 2001 MLB draft, Graham spent two years toiling in the Florida Marlins' minor league system before suffering a season-ending broken jaw.

"That pretty much set me back," Graham said. "I missed football, and I just thought it was the right decision (to return)."

Graham also enjoys bowling once in a while, even though he claims he's not good.

However, fullback Madison Hedgecock isn't modest about his hunting prowess.

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Asked about the success of his last trip, Hedgecock responded, "I usually kill stuff when I go, so it went pretty good."

And since no set of random team information is complete without a good nickname or two, Hedgecock is "Mad-Dog," and cornerback Lionell Green is "Woobie."

While Hedgecock earned the moniker from his third-grade coach, Green's was handed down by his grandmother.

"She still hasn't told me the reason why she gave it to me," Green said. "It's just a name that's stayed with me from my childhood."

Green hails from Wharton, Texas, and has his head in Houston's underground rap scene - he listens to freestyles before games to get pumped up.

A fan of the scene's recent success, Lil' Flip, Green said to look out for Houston artists like Z-Ro and Mike Jones.

While you're all waiting for those guys to blow, I'm still itching to see my first McGill back flip.

McGill said that he did one earlier this season during team photos, but he's saving the next one for the right moment.

"If we win against the right team to go to a bowl game, I might do a couple of them," he said. "It's going to be worth 15 yards."

Contact Ben Couch at bcouch@email.unc.edu.