In 1994 Jason Stanicek led the North Carolina football team to a 6-3 record before being injured providing an opportunity for junior quarterback Mike Thomas to finally show North Carolina football fans he had what it took to lead the team. In Thomas’s two starts he led North Carolina to a 50-0 win over Wake Forest and a thrilling finish at Duke edging the Blue Devils 41-40. Fast forward to 2013 and the Tar Heels have lost starter and record setting quarterback Bryn Renner to a shoulder injury. Will Marquise Williams shine in the last four games the way Mike Thomas did almost twenty years ago?
Marquise Williams was a highly recruited quarterback prospect out of Charlotte, North Carolina who many Tar Heel fans believe fit Larry Fedora’s offense better than Bryn Renner who was the first North Carolina quarterback to throw for back to back 3000 yard seasons. Off field issues forced Williams to leave the program for the summer and when he returned this fall he worked hard to win the back up position.
Since Williams return he has been saying and doing all the right things and now it is time for his hard work to pay off on Saturday. Williams started his first game earlier in the year at Blacksburg filling in for an injured Renner and played well enough to give the tar heels a chance at winning against the Hokies. The decision by the Tar Heel coaching staff to increase his reps in the past three weeks was a smart move consider the offense will be purely on Williams shoulders to execute.
North Carolina has implemented the Turbo Package and other conservative plays to highlight Williams talent however it is time for Blake Anderson to take the training wheels off and let his dual quarterback truly be a threat both through the air and on the ground. The Cavalier coaching staff will be ready for the designed quarterback runs however no one has any good film on Williams running the complete package that this offense is capable.
Blake Anderson cannot forget about Bug Howard, Eric Ebron and Quinshad Davis all who can beat their defenders one on one for the football. Williams deep ball is probably better than Renner however there was no question he needs to improve his accuracy. Williams couple of misses last week came from his mechanics being a little off. On the throw over the middle that sailed above Eric Ebron Williams rushed his throw never settled his feet under him. This is a minor thing that can be corrected in practice, but can be the difference in sustaining a drive on Saturday if not corrected.
Mike Thomas finished 1994 with a furious pace that created a lot of optimism for the next season. With Virginia coming to town Marquise Williams can create the same buzz the question is can he carry it for the remainder of the season?
