Running back awaits start of football season

After transferring to UNC last year, running back Barrington Edwards became ineligible for the 2004 season and could only play football as a member of the scout team.

“On Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Thursdays, it was game day for him against our defense,” UNC football coach John Bunting said.

Now it’s likely that Edwards will become the starter for the Tar Heels on Saturdays — the real game days — after Ronnie McGill tore his left pectoral muscle while lifting weights last week.

Since McGill’s recovery after Friday’s surgery is expected to take four to five months, Edwards is concentrating on the Sept. 10 season opener against Georgia Tech.

“I’m sorry that it went down like that at a bad time for Ronnie, but right now I’m ready to do what I came here for,” Edwards said.

At a press conference in Kenan Stadium, Bunting said Edwards was more than ready to play last fall.

The coach recalled a conversation he had with Edwards as the Tar Heels prepared for the 2004 season without him.

“Barrington, you know what? You’ve only got one year to wait,” he said.

“Oh no-no,” Edwards replied. “I’ve only got three months.”

His excitement about practices in spring as an eligible member of the Tar Heels culminated on April 2 in the annual Blue-White game.

He carried the ball 12 times for a team-high 69 yards as a member of the white team.

Bunting said the 6-foot, 210-pound running back was also enthusiastic during practices in 2004, although NCAA regulations regarding transfers made him ineligible for the season after he left Louisiana State University for UNC.

Edwards will begin the 2005 season in fall as a sophomore with three more years of eligibility.

“I have never seen anything like what I saw last fall in terms of a player participating like he did on the scout team,” Bunting said.

“Quite frankly, he at times torched us. One thing about Barrington, he was also kind of one of those guys that would like to talk about it too.”

For a running back that has the rap group G-Unit as part of his e-mail address, Edwards is not unlike rapper 50 Cent in that he was targeted for his trash talking.

“He became kind of a marked man and sometimes it didn’t matter — there was a target on him,” Bunting said.

Edwards said he approached those practices last fall as if they were game days so he could maintain his involvement with the team and its success.

“The only way I could make myself better was by trying to help the defense get better at the same time.”

Although Edwards said he enjoyed those weekly practices, he’s glad to have his eligibility reinstated for the upcoming season.

“It’s over with now. It’s time for the big leagues.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.