UNC has found a quarterback

Hi Cleveland County sports fanatics and others! I just thought I would introduce myself and tell you a little bit about me before I got started ranting and raving about everything sports...

My name is Paul Schenkel, and I recently graduated from USC Upstate in Spartanburg, SC. While there I wrote and edited our sports page for the university's newspaper. I also wrote some sports for the Herald-Journal in Spartanburg over the past year.

While I went to school in SC, I grew up in NC, living in Greensboro, Raleigh, and Winston-Salem for a combined 11 years as a child (between other frequent moves my family made.)

Having said that, I have been a Tar Heels' fan for as long as I can remember. When other kids my age were playing the original Nintendo or watching "Pee-Wee's Playhouse," I remember watching J.R. Reid and Kenny Smith playing together on the '87 team when I was five years old... and I will never forget Rick Fox's runner in '90 to beat No. 1 seed Oklahoma in the NCAA second round (I was listening on the radio with my dad while we were visiting a friend's house.)

And while my dad got me started as a UNC basketball fan because he was a Dean Smith guy, I turned him into a UNC football fan in the 90's after the team had turned the corner under Mack Brown. And for whatever the reason, I made my way over to many more UNC home football games than basketball over the years (maybe it has to do with the availability of tickets, just a thought.)

Of course, as any Carolina fan can tell you, the expectations are not exactly the same between the two programs from the outside. The basketball team has to win 20 games minimum, reach the sweet 16, and beat Duke at least once for the season to be anything other than a disaster.

As for the football team...well, just beat Duke once.

So when I watched the closing minutes of the game at Miami on Saturday, I was and still am truly hopeful that my Tar Heels may have found a quarterback---at least to fill in while normal starter T.J Yates is out with a broken ankle, and maybe longer.

The answer was clearly not redshirt freshman and brother of Duke point guard Greg Paulus, Mike (Paulus, of course) who replaced Yates at the end of the VT game last week (a game UNC lost after owning a 14-point lead in the second half) and started the Miami game the same way the VT game ended, with a quick two-touchdown deficit.

Rather, it was Cameron Sexton, yes the same Cameron Sexton who struggled to do much of anything when forced into action as a freshman two years ago.

I don't know what happened over those two years sitting on the bench, but the now junior QB seemed under control in the pocket, and his dart over the middle to Hakeem Nicks with 9:00 left woke me up from my post-VT blues to thinking we actually had a shot over the last quarter.

Then, just when I thought we would settle for a field goal and force OT against the 'Canes, Sexton's beautiful toss while rolling to his right had me and dad high-fiving like it was basketball season.

So Coach Davis, please do me a favor.

Let Duke stick to starting folks with the last name Paulus. We Tar Heels enjoy winning.