UNC worried about more than Nate Sheppard's rushing ability

Bill Belichick wasn’t sure whether Nate Sheppard leads the nation in rushing or in all-purpose yards (for the record, he leads in both), but he knows his North Carolina defense will have a tough task stopping the Duke running back on Saturday.

“He’s a good receiver,” Belichick said. “He’s very good at breaking tackles, making yards after contact. Tackling’s going to be, as it always is really important for us. But particularly with him, he looks very, very good, very productive. As I said, both catching the ball and running with it.”

The second-year Tar Heels‘ coach brought up the play Sheppard made on Duke’s final drive of its loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday when he caught a short pass and turned it into a 42-yard gain down to the Yellow Jackets’ 23-yard line. It set up the game-tying field-goal attempt that Gavin Strange sailed wide left.

While the Yellow Jackets held Sheppard to 99 rushing yards, the sophomore broke out for 91 receiving yards, showing he can be explosive no matter how you get the ball into his hands. Still, Belichick and his staff know where Duke’s offensive bread and butter is.

“It starts with the running game,” he said.

This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: UNC worried about more than Nate Sheppard’s rushing ability