Jeremy Brevard | USA TODAY Sports
Injured Starters Close to Returning for Tar Heels
Watching the film of North Carolina's victory over Duke, Mack Brown took particular note of No. 11 in a navy blue jersey making a bee-line to retrieve the Victory Bell.
"Watching Myles run, Myles was the first one to run over and get the bell and I said, ‘He looks well to me,'" Brown said. "I told on Myles, I wanted the video of that. ‘OK, Myles, you can run to the bell bud, you can run to the quarterback.’"
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That will be decided over the next few days as Wolfolk, out since the loss to Appalachian State loss with a lower-body injury, has been medically cleared to return to practice.
And that's not the only good news Carolina got this week, as starters Trey Morrison and Nick Polino are also cleared to get back on the field, while backup quarterback Jace Ruder will return, too.
Their status for Saturday's game vs. Virginia will be decided throughout the week.
"All four of them are functional and doctors have said now we can look at them," Brown said. "The question will be, No. 1 can they practice all week and No. 2, how sore will they be if they get sore, and No. 3, are they going to be confident enough to play and help us?"
Wolfolk, who leads the Tar Heels with three interceptions, would provide a major boost in a secondary that has been ravaged by injuries this season with both Patrice Rene and Cam Kelly out for the season, while Morrison has missed two games and freshman Storm Duck left early vs. Duke.
"(Wolfolk) warmed up Saturday," defensive coordinator Jay Bateman said. "I thought yesterday he looked pretty good. So I think there will be a role for him this week.
"I think anytime you get a veteran back who has got the presence that Wolf’s got, it helps you a ton. So I anticipate him being back in some capacity this week."
A much-needed return for Morrison at cornerback is a bit more of a question.
"I think we’re kind of hoping for Trey," Bateman said. "We’re probably a little more confident with Wolf, but we’ll see how the week goes."
Polino, one of two veterans on the offensive line at the start of the season, left early in the victory over Miami on Sept. 7. Since then, backup center Brian Anderson has progressed, but in all, the line has been inconsistent.
In potentially bringing back Polino, offensive coordinator Phil Longo is open to playing him at either guard or center.
"He has the ability to play both," Longo said. "So I think, No. 1, we’ve got to see where he is. No. 2, he has been snapping, so it's not like he's taken four or five weeks off snapping. He's been doing that for a while now, so it'll just be a matter of where do we think he can help us best."
