North Carolina tailback A.J. Blue has breakout game against Uva.

Tailback A.J. Blue and wide receiver Jheranie Boyd had been practicing this play all season.

Blue, a former quarterback, takes the handoff from Bryn Renner, fakes the run, then steps back and heaves a pass downfield to the speedy Boyd. Boyd, having smoked the secondary, hauls in the pass and decelerates as he crosses the goal line.

So when offensive coordinator John Shoop called that play with less than a minute remaining in the first half against Virginia on Saturday, Blue and Boyd executed it nearly to perfection. But instead of Boyd scoring his second touchdown of the game, he slowed down after beating the safety so badly and couldn’t catch up to the throw.

“We always talk about it and I tell him to run. He’s the fastest guy in college football I think. I tell him don’t stop, just run as fast as you can,” Blue said. “After the play was over he told me he slowed down a bit and I guess that’s why it didn’t work.”

The trick play was one of two passes thrown by someone not listed as QB for UNC and was among several plays that not only opened up the playbook, but also got more of the Tar Heels’ offensive weapons involved.

Redshirt freshman Reggie Wilkins recorded his first completion as a quarterback when he connected with Dwight Jones for a 36-yard gain that set up a UNC touchdown. To that point, Jones only had 36 yards in the air despite being the No. 1 wide receiver on the team.

“We got other good receivers and today Virginia focused on me in the beginning and that opened up things for Erik Highsmith and Jhay Boyd and they did a great job of catching balls and making plays,” Jones said.

Boyd, who owns the longest play in UNC history with a 97-yard touchdown reception against Louisiana State last season, talked to his mother after last week’s game against Rutgers, frustrated with how few touches he had received. Her advice: Work hard in practice and don’t worry about it.

He tallied his first touchdown since October 2010 when he caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Renner with 12:54 left in the first half. The pass floated just over Boyd’s left shoulder in the left corner of the end zone to give UNC the lead 7-3.

“Before the play I tapped Bryn on the butt and told him to just throw it. I don’t care what else happens just throw it,” Boyd said. “He did and he trusted me to make a play.”

Although Blue was disappointed with not tossing the touchdown to Boyd, interim head coach Everett Withers said the pass paved the way for Blue to gain his 40 rushing yards on the day.

“I think you saw A.J.’s success running the ball in the second half because he had thrown that pass in the first half,” Withers said. “Now they got to play a little bit truer. If there’s something there, we’re going to study it each week and try to capitalize on it.”

Blue racked up all of his rushing yards in the second half after being inserted in the backfield. He’s No. 3 on the depth chart behind Giovani Bernard, who leads the team in rushing, and redshirt senior Ryan Houston, but he understands his role on the team.

“I stayed beside (running backs) coach (Ken) Browning,” Blue said. “I followed him through the first half and up until I got in. I follow him just in case when he turns around he sees me he says, ‘A.J., go in’.”

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