Houston to fuse power, speed

Ryan Houston gave up one guilty pleasure in the offseason in exchange for a tastier one this fall.

The second-year running back reformatted his diet, eliminated late-night snacks and dropped more than 30 pounds from his hulking frame.

Now a slimmer, more explosive Houston believes his new physique will be the key to something even more tempting than a midnight run to the fridge.

"I'm going to be tasting that end zone in the first home game," he said. "You better believe that."

The bruising tailback from Matthews rushed for 145 yards and a score on 44 carries as a first-year. As the season ended, coach Butch Davis noticed Houston sucking wind at the end of games and practices, so he suggested that Houston get his weight down.

A spring and summer later, the sophomore back now stands at 6 feet 2 inches tall, 255 pounds, and is reaping the benefits of his work.

"I feel like I'm quicker," he said. "I feel like I explode better. Last year I'd get to the hole, but I wouldn't hit the hole like I could.

"Now I feel like when I see the hole, I can hit it, and I'm moving through it. I'm more swift and more compact."

It wasn't just giving up midnight snacks that allowed Houston to drop the weight. He focused on eating throughout the day - even when he wasn't hungry for breakfast - to keep his metabolism moving.

He also ran for about 10 minutes on a treadmill every day after already working out with the team.

"Our trainer told me that right after workouts you have this window that you can burn fat easier if you get on the treadmill and get some work in," he said.

Despite dropping the weight, Houston still expects to be the same punishing, short-yardage back who racked up playing time in 2007.

Davis said he admires the work Houston put in during the offseason, especially since he didn't lose any of the pop that allows him to run over defenders and eat up the tough yardage.

"I don't think that he's had to give up any power or strength in the course of losing the additional weight," Davis said.

"But I think what we've seen is his stamina, that he's able to play longer and harder."

It isn't just Houston's physique that changed with a year of experience playing college football. Houston also said his understanding of the offense and his vision both have improved entering his sophomore campaign.

"Last season I could see the holes, but I was still a freshman," he said. "I was thinking too much, thinking about the scheme, and trying to do it all in the backfield before the play, and it would mess my reads up.

"Now I know the system like the back of my hand, so I know the play - I know the scheme.

"Right before the play, it seems like a short period of time, but as soon as I get back there, boom, I knew the defensive scheme, I know what the linemen are going to do. I can read them a lot better."

With Greg Little as the featured running back in the North Carolina offense, Houston likely will be used this season in terms of the situation.

He might not be handed the ball on many first-and-10s, and he might not lead UNC backs in catches out of the backfield.

But he should be tops in the running back corps in bloody noses dished out. And when a third-and-short or a goal-line scenario arises, No. 32 likely will be in the huddle.

And he knows it.

"I know almost for a fact that third-and-short or if we get to the goal line, I'm going to get in there," Houston said.

"Coach Davis knows I have a nose for the end zone, so I believe that I'm going to help us on short yardage."

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