The North Carolina football program has been all over the national radar during the offseason with a pending NCAA violation and the firing of former head coach Butch Davis.
But the Tar Heels haven’t cleared all the necessary hurdles to get the season under way just yet, as three players have decided to take their talents elsewhere.
Just days before practice began and shortly after Davis was let go, junior running back Hunter Furr asked for his release to transfer. Reports say Furr will play for East Carolina after sitting out a year.
The departure takes another body out of a backfield that needed extra players last season, but it more importantly takes away experience.
“It just makes us a little bit younger,” running back Ryan Houston said.
“We got a little bit of experience in the games but since Hunter left I’m really the only running back left with any game experience. It’s kind of, I don’t want to say put pressure on me, but for my sake I’ve got to be a more vocal and verbal leader to the younger backs and just teach them how the offense works.”
Despite the timing of Furr’s decision, it’s not something Houston has time to take personally.
“It kind of drops us off a little bit, but we’re going in to the mindset that we just have to keep moving forward,” Houston said.
“There’s nothing we can do to get the players back or anything to cope with it but to just keep going forward with our program.”
