North Carolina senior quarterback T.J. Yates may have been the biggest question mark for the Tar Heels heading into the 2010 season.
That was before an ongoing NCAA investigation and a possibility of multiple subsequent suspensions. But Yates still remains a question among the Tar Heels’ other lingering issues.
The Marietta, Ga., native ranks among North Carolina’s career top two in passing yards (5,959), touchdowns (39), completions (513), attempts (855) and completion percentage (60). But his touchdown-to-interception ratio is nearly equal, throwing 39 touchdowns and 37 interceptions in three seasons.
“I’ve definitely got a lot to prove to this team and North Carolina fans that I can be the guy to take this team to the next level,” Yates said.
Yates has faced competition from freshman quarterback Bryn Renner, but  North Carolina coach Butch Davis said Yates still has the job.
“T.J. Yates is going to be the starting quarterback for the game,” Davis said. “I think he’s had a good training camp.”
However, Davis hasn’t ruled out the possibility of playing two quarterbacks against LSU.
“It’s one of those decisions that certainly will come up during the course of the ball game,” Davis said.
Yates, who started the last three seasons for North Carolina, didn’t take the conventional route to Chapel Hill. He was almost never a football player before college.
Yates had concentrated on basketball in high school, averaging 18 points, six rebounds and six assists per game. He said he decided to play football his senior year to have fun with his friends.
“I went out there and somehow got recruited by a coach that used to be here,” Yates said. “He was watching some linebackers on the other team, and I happened to have a really good game that game. They called me that next week and offered me, and I accepted right away.”
Davis became UNC’s coach in 2006 during Yates’ true freshman season. Yates said he knew he needed to seize the job after
Davis took over for former coach John Bunting.
“When new coaches come in, everybody has a clean slate,” Yates said. “I saw that as an opportunity to kind of take advantage and just try to improve myself to be good enough to play out there.”
In his redshirt freshman season in 2007, Yater threw for 2,655 yards, completing 59 percent of his passes with 14 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.
The following year, Yates threw 11 touchdowns and only four interceptions but had his season cut short by injury. He said the offense was rolling before he suffered a fractured ankle.
“That kind of put a damper on me,” Yates said. “When I came back late in that season I was real rusty. I didn’t really have my feet under me. I kind of came back maybe a little too early and didn’t play too well at the end of the stretch of the season.”
But injuries are nothing new to Yates, who had an offseason shoulder surgery the year before that. He said he took that time to learn the offense and teach it to teammates.
“I’ve been through my share of the injuries, but there’s always something you can do while you’re hurt to kind of help you get better,” Yates said.
During those first two seasons, Yates had the luxury of throwing to former Tar Heel and current New York Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks. But Yates didn’t have his favorite target last season, and he tossed 14 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
LSU plans to pressure the veteran quarterback in hopes of forcing more turnovers.
“From what we can see, he’s more of a pocket quarterback,” said junior defensive end Ken Adams. “He’s going to try to sit in the pocket. We are going to try to get in so he doesn’t have all day to throw.”
Freshman linebacker Lamin Barrow said he doesn’t want to put too much emphasis on one player, but after watching film he thinks the LSU defense can get tremendous pressure on Yates.
“He’s a very good quarterback, but when he’s pressured — if we put some pressure on him — we can be able to break him down mentally a little bit,” Barrow said. “That’s our plan.”
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Contact Rowan Kavner at [email protected]