CHAPEL HILL The most important catch of North Carolina’s win at Miami on Saturday turned out to be the last catch of Mack Hollins’ college career. The senior wide receiver suffered a broken right clavicle as he hit the ground after catching a 49-yard pass from quarterback Mitch Trubisky late in the first half, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season. Hollins’ reception set up what proved to be the winning touchdown in a 20-13 Tar Heels victory. The former walk-on underwent surgery to repair the damage on Sunday at UNC Hospitals. “That’s a dude that’s brought so much to this program and team as a vocal leader, his presence, his work ethic,” Trubisky said Monday. “You can’t say enough about what he’s done for this team. Hopefully he inspires us one way or another to pick up the slack and just carry on what he helped us start.” Hollins is only fifth on the team with 16 catches this season, but he has been the Tar Heels’ primary deep threat while averaging a team-leading 19.3 yards per grab. He is also tops on the team with four touchdown receptions, pushing his career total to 20 placing him third on the all-time school list behind only Quinshad Davis (25) and Hakeem Nicks (21). A second-team All-ACC selection last season, Hollins caught 81 passes for 1,667 yards in his four seasons at UNC. Despite losing such an important part of his team’s passing attack, coach Larry Fedora said UNC’s game plan won’t change. He said the Tar Heels will still look to throw the ball downfield even without Hollins in the lineup. “We’ve still got guys that can stretch the field vertically. That doesn’t overly concern me,” Fedora said. “We’ll miss Mack’s ability to do it because that’s the thing he does best, but we still have guys who can get behind people.” That list includes top receivers Ryan Switzer, Bug Howard and Austin Proehl, along with redshirt freshman Austin Ratliff-Williams who is listed as the starter at Hollins’ spot for Saturday’s game at Virginia. Because of that depth, Fedora said that the impact of Hollins’ injury will likely be felt more on special teams, where he served as the unit’s captain while contributing on both UNC’s kick coverage and return units. As was the case in the season opener against Georgia, when Hollins had to sit out the first half as punishment for a targeting call in last year’s Russell Athletic Bowl loss to Baylor, Fedora said replacing Hollins on special teams will be a group effort. “It will be multiple guys,” Fedora said. “We’re probably a lot more prepared for it now because all those younger guys have gotten reps throughout the season and they’ve been playing and contributing. It’s time for them to go.” While the Tar Heels have players to slide into Hollins’ special team spots, safety Donnie Miles said his leadership will be more difficult to replace. “The biggest thing is his presence on the field, his voice,” Miles said. “He gets the guys going and knows what to say to get people going. He’s a high-energy guy, so when you lose a guy like that it definitely hurts.” Although he can’t contribute on the field anymore, Fedora said he expects Hollins’ presence to still be a factor on the sideline during games. “He’s been a captain on our special teams every year he’s been here. That’s the guys, his peers voting on that, not the coaches,” Fedora said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to keep him involved and help him continue to lead this football team.”
