NASHVILLE – Shaun Draughn didn’t take long to introduce himself to Tennessee in Thursday’s Music City Bowl, and he was there in the end, too.
North Carolina’s senior tailback pounded the Vols for 160 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown run on UNC’s third play from scrimmage, in earning the game’s MVP honors. The 6-foot, 210-pounder from Tarboro, N.C., amassed his career-best rushing output on 23 carries as the Tar Heels posted a 30-27 victory in double overtime, and he did not sustain a single lost-yardage play.
“Obviously Shaun had a great night tonight,” UNC coach Butch Davis said. “It was great to see him back healthy. We missed him all year long, but he sure came through tonight like a complete champion.”
Draughn became the seventh player this season to rush for more than 100 yards against the Volunteers. Only South Carolina’s Marcus Lattimore (184) racked up more.
His early touchdown occurred on a toss sweep in which he got across midfield and juked safety Janzen Jackson to get into the clear.
“They blocked it well and I got up to one person,” Draughn said. “He kind of overran it, and I knew I had to put a move on him to keep going.”
He finished the first half with 93 yards on 11 carries and was the only Tar Heels tailback with any rushes during the first 30 minutes. On his first carry of the second half, Draughn had a 14-yard carry to eclipse the 100-yard mark for just the second time this season.
Draughn ended the game with rushes of 16 and 3 yards to set up Casey Barth’s 23-yard field goal in the second overtime.
This hasn’t been the easiest year to be a North Carolina tailback.
The Tar Heels entered this season stocked at the position with three seniors, a sophomore and a touted freshman, but the first setback occurred when Giovani Bernard, the freshman, tore ACL an three days into preseason camp.
Ryan Houston, the team’s leading rusher last season, wasn’t cleared in the NCAA investigation into academic fraud until the Tar Heels had played five games. Houston decided to redshirt and will return next season as a fifth-year senior.
Johnny White led the Tar Heels in rushing this season with 720 yards but fractured a clavicle in the ninth game at Florida State.
Senior Anthony Elzy began the year as the backup fullback but started at tailback the last three games of the regular season. He rushed for 118 yards in the win at Duke but was ruled academically ineligible for the bowl.
That left the load with Draughn, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury last year and had to sit out this year’s opener due to the NCAA investigation. He entered Thursday night having rushed 106 times for 477 yards with five touchdowns and a long of 30.
“We had a chapel last night, and we talked about how there have been different things at different times this season,” Draughn said. “Johnny and Elzy stepped up when it was their time, and in this game I had to do what I had to do.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.