Here’s why UNC’s receivers are reminding Mack Brown of the best receiving season ever

In an 8-part series, the News & Observer and Herald Sun will be examining UNC’s football depth chart, position by position, as the season opener on Sept. 3 in Blacksburg, Virginia, draws near.

Sophomores Emery Simmons and Khafre Brown, North Carolina’s leading receivers returning from last season, caught a total of 15 passes each a year ago. Yet ask head coach Mack Brown about his group of receivers heading into the Tar Heels’ season opener at Virginia Tech and he’s likely to reveal a Cheshire grin.

His confidence is based on the last time Carolina had a group of untested and inexperienced receivers — who were more known for dropped passes than for catching them. That season, they produced one of the most prolific receiving seasons in school history.

“The fun thing is, we’re more like we were two years ago when people weren’t sure about Daz (Newsome) and they weren’t sure about Dyami (Brown) because they dropped too many balls and weren’t consistent,” Mack Brown said on a video call with reporters. “So we’re kind of like that now. ‘Who is this guy? Who’s gonna step up?’ But there’s enough bodies there that have talent.”

The proof is in the snapshots from last season.

Sophomore Khafre Brown, the younger brothter of Dyami, had two receptions for more than 70 yards, including a 76-yard score at Virginia. He wrestled with injuries, but when healthy, he’s one of the fastest players on the team and he’s shown he can be a deep threat for the Heels.

Simmons, a junior, started eight games last season and caught a career-high five passes in the Heels’ win over N.C. State. He’s also shed the ‘slow” tag his teammates would joke on him about. Measured by a GPS tracker the team uses during practice, Simmons logged the fastest 40 times at one point last week on four out of five days.

Sophomore Josh Downs shined in the Orange Bowl after Dyami Brown opted out of playing. Downs caught four passes for 91 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown in the loss to Texas A&M. Downs previously had just three receptions for 28 yards in the regular season. That game was a springboard for Downs into this season.

“I really realized that I can do this,” Downs said. “(My confidence) it soared tremendously and I started looking at the game as more like, ‘It’s time to take over,’ than ‘I’m a new guy here let me just try to fit in.’”

Super seniors Beau Corrales and Garrett Walston figure to be bigger targets in the passing game, too. Corrales is the most experienced receiver returning, having made 18 starts. Injuries limited him to just five games last season, which is prompted his senior year do over. Mack Brown said he’s been limited in fall camp. Walston, a tight end, was fifth on the team last year with 19 catches, 11 of which came in the last five games.

Sophomore Justin Olson has never caught a pass, but has worked his way into the rotation. Senior Antoine Green may be in store for the biggest breakout of them all. Green has never caught more than eight passes in a season, but now figures the path is clear for his production.

“I look at it as opportunity — for not just me — but all the other guys as well,” Green said. “I mean, it’s the system, everything keeps rolling. And just because however many people left, we still got guys who can play a little too.”

With Newsome and Dyami Brown now in the NFL, it’s easy to revise history, like they were going to make it all along. But during Mack Brown’s first spring practice of his second tenure in Chapel Hill in 2019, he inherited a trio (Newsome, Dyami Brown and Corrales) that ranked among the top 12 Power 5 Conference receivers for the most dropped passes the 2018 season, according to Pro Football Focus.

Add to the fact that Brown and Corrales did not catch more than 20 passes and questions permeated every discussion of Carolina’s receivers heading into the 2019 season.

Those doubts, of course, were all erased. Newsome went on to catch 72 passes for 1,018 yards with 10 touchdowns and Brown had 51 catches for 1,034 yards with 12 touchdowns. It marked the first time in school history that teammates had more than 1,000 yards receiving.

As UNC receivers coach Lonnie Galloway pointed out, there is a common thread between Newsome and Brown’s production in 2019 and the potential for the Heels’ receivers this season.

“When you got a special trigger man, you know quarterbacks make players that are unknown look good,” said Galloway, of UNC’s junior quarterback Sam Howell. “That will be the thing for us with Sam. You’ve got to want to go out there and play with him because if he has confidence in you, then the ball will find you.”

Projected UNC WR depth chart

Projected UNC TE depth chart

Other Triangle ACC previews

This story was originally published August 23, 2021 at 5:20 AM with the headline "Here’s why UNC’s receivers are reminding Mack Brown of the best receiving season ever."

C.L. Brown

The News & Observer

C.L. Brown covers the University of North Carolina for The News & Observer. Brown brings more than two decades of reporting experience including stints as the beat writer on Indiana University and the University of Louisville. After a long stay at the Louisville Courier-Journal, where he earned an APSE award, he’s had stops at ESPN.com, The Athletic and even tried his hand at running his own website, clbrownhoops.com.