Off to the races

Just before Giovani Bernard trotted onto the field Saturday to take his place with the rest of the special teams unit, coach Larry Fedora offered his brand new punt returner a small word of motivation.

“You know what?” Fedora said. “You could take this back if you want.”

It was the second quarter of North Carolina’s season-opening matchup with Elon. The tailback had already scored a pair of touchdowns. So Bernard gave Fedora a confident reply.

“Watch this.”

And he was off. Bernard received his third career punt at the 30-yard line and immediately cut across the field. He noticed the bright yellow penalty flag lying on the 50-yard hash but kept on going. He turned around only for a quick over-the-shoulder glance as he crossed the threshold of the end zone.

Bernard only played in the first half of North Carolina’s 62-0 win against the Phoenix. But on nine carries, two receptions and three punt returns he recorded 203 all-purpose yards, the second-highest total of his career.

When asked if he was pleased with his performance Saturday, a humble Bernard played it cool.

“Eh, a little bit,” he replied. “But for me, I was just eager to get back on the field.”

He had just 67 yards in North Carolina’s 2011 season-ending Independence Bowl loss to Missouri. Bernard, one of only 15 Tar Heels to have recorded 1,000 rushing yards in a single season, was disappointed he didn’t go out with a bang.

But on the first play from scrimmage in UNC’s second drive of the afternoon Bernard made sure he came in with one.

With 9:44 left in the first quarter, Bernard took a handoff from quarterback Bryn Renner 59 yards for UNC’s first touchdown of the season. Five minutes later, he caught a slant pass from Renner and shook off two Elon defenders as he fought his way into the end zone.

Responsible for managing the tempo of UNC’s new fast-paced offense, Renner wasn’t as quick as Fedora would have liked Saturday. The quarterback conceded that, a couple times, he caught himself sitting back and watching the play unfold instead of running back to the line of scrimmage.

It was just too hard to take his eyes off Bernard.

“(He was) unbelievable,” Renner said of his teammate’s performance. “I think that was Heisman worthy.”

Bernard didn’t play in the second half after he reportedly experienced “knee discomfort.” Fedora said Monday that the tailback’s second-half absence was merely precautionary, adding that Bernard will be right back at it Saturday against Wake Forest.

“We’re not going to lighten (his load), I can promise you,” Fedora said. “We’re going to load him up.”

The thought puts a twinkle in the coach’s eye.

“If you touch the ball nine times and do what you did, just think if you get it 18.”

Contact the desk editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.