Jordan Shipp has already made his case. Now North Carolina has to act like it.
Through the early part of the season, Shipp has emerged as one of the most dependable pieces in the Tar Heels’ passing game, the kind of receiver who tends to make something happen whenever the ball finds him. The issue isn’t whether he can help UNC’s offense. It’s that he simply hasn’t been featured enough.
For a passing attack still searching for rhythm, that feels like the most obvious adjustment on the table: get the ball to Shipp more often and let him work.
Will Stein, the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats, once put the idea in plain language:
"Offensively, our job is to get our best players the ball as many times as possible. Plays are highly overrated.
It's about the players... We say 'Feed the Studs.'
That's our way to say it. It's not rocket science."
That doesn’t mean UNC has to abandon the run or suddenly ask Billy Edwards Jr. to sling it 40 or 50 times a game. It means the Tar Heels need to make their passing chances count, and Shipp is the clearest place to start.
He’s shown he can threaten defenses in more than one way. He can separate, turn short throws into extra yards and stretch the field when UNC wants to push the ball downfield. That kind of versatility gives the Tar Heels plenty of ways to build touches for him.
Screens. Quick slants.
Crossing routes. Motion before the snap.
Any of it works if it gets Shipp the football without waiting around for the perfect play to develop. The goal should be simple: easy completions, early rhythm and chances for him to do damage after the catch.
And the droughts can’t be that long. Long stretches without involving one of the offense’s best weapons make little sense when he keeps producing.
The Clemson game showed exactly why. Shipp caught six of his seven targets for 68 yards, and those catches accounted for nearly half of UNC’s receiving production.
Six catches on seven targets.
That kind of efficiency makes the next question unavoidable: why not keep going back to him?
If North Carolina is going to throw it 30 times, like it did against Clemson, seven targets for Shipp doesn’t feel like enough. Defenses will adjust, of course, and try to take him away. That’s when offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino has to get creative.
Move Shipp around. Put him in motion.
Use him from the slot. Design quicker concepts that get the ball out fast instead of leaning only on traditional dropbacks.
UNC doesn’t need Shipp touching the ball 15 times every week. But he should be getting the kind of target volume reserved for a top receiver, because that’s what he’s looked like so far.
The Tar Heels have already seen what happens when he gets a real chance to make plays. At this point, they shouldn’t be waiting for those chances to appear. They should be building them into the offense from the start.
When one of your most dangerous weapons keeps delivering, the answer is right there: keep feeding him. And if he keeps stressing defenses, everybody else benefits too.
Through three games, the offense has gone stale for long stretches.
"Feed the stud."
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Tar Heels Open ACC Play With A Road Win Fans Will Notice
Safi Hampton gave Carolina the balanced effort it needed to start ACC play on the right foot, finishing with 16 kills and 13 digs as the No. 24 Tar Heels beat NC State 3-1 in Raleigh. It was Hamptons first double-double of the season, and it came in a match where Carolina also found plenty of support at the net.
The Tar Heels set a season high with 15 blocks, a sign that their front line was dictating stretches of the night and making NC State work for nearly every point. Jackie Taylor and Bridget Malone were among the players who helped turn that into a road win Carolina will want to build on as the league schedule starts to tighten. [Read more 🡒]
UNCs Bye Week Just Made Its Quarterback Decision Feel Urgent
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Miles O'Neill, the Texas A&M transfer, is now part of a decision that feels more immediate than it did a week ago. The staff has to weigh whether continuity gives UNC the best chance to steady itself or whether a change at quarterback could provide the spark it needs heading into the next stretch of games, and the uncertainty alone has made the bye week feel anything but quiet. [Read more 🡒]
Michael Malone May Have Revealed Isaiah Denis UNC Role
Michael Malone has already offered a small glimpse into how Isaiah Denis might fit with North Carolina this season, and it starts with a nickname. The Tar Heels coach has been calling the sophomore guard Bones, a nod to former Denver Nuggets guard Bones Hyland, while also using Denis at point guard in practice. For a player whose freshman year was slowed by injury, that is a meaningful sign of trust and a reminder that the staff sees more than just another guard in the rotation.
The point-guard work matters because it hints at a larger backcourt role, one that could let Denis operate as a versatile perimeter threat rather than a one-position option. If the comparison to Hyland is any indication, North Carolina may be preparing to lean on Denis for shot-making, pace and creativity as he gets healthier and settles in. The exact shape of that role is still unfolding, but the early usage suggests the Tar Heels have a clear plan in mind. [Read more 🡒]