Friday, December 18, 2009

Tar Heels QB Paulus to transfer

Reserve quarterback Mike Paulus won't be with North Carolina when it plays in the Meineke Bowl on Dec. 26 -- or next season.

Coach Butch Davis announced that the sophomore will transfer and plans on attending William & Mary, where he will be able to play immediately next season.

“Mike came to me a few weeks ago and asked to be released from his scholarship so he could transfer to an FCS school,” Davis said in a prepared statement. “Mike is seeking an opportunity where he can receive more playing time and I respect his wishes."

Paulus, a former four-star recruit, played in four games at UNC as a redshirt freshman in 2008 and was 4-for-13 for 33 yards. He did not play at all this season, slipping behind Charlotte Latin's Braden Hansen for the back-up job.

Playing time will be at a premium against next season, what with starter T.J. Yates returning for his senior year, star recruit Bryn Renner expected to compete for snaps after redshirting this year, and tailback/quarterback A.J. Blue expected to return to the lineup after an injury this season.

“I’m ecstatic about the possibility of attending the College of William & Mary in January,'' said Paulus, who thanked UNC and its coaches for helping him narrow down his choices, and choose a program. "It’s a great academic institution with a top-notch football program. I look forward to playing for Coach (Jimmye) Laycock and competing for the quarterback job.

"I will not travel with Carolina to the bowl game, because I feel it is in my best interest from a competition and preparation stand point to start working toward my goals immediately.”

-- Robbi Pickeral

2 comments:

juggsmurf said...

I hate that this happened. While Yates was more comfortable w/ the offense last year, I saw enough of Paulus to see he was considerably more mobile and easily had the stronger arm. I was wondering what happened to him because the way we struggled on offense played against Ga. Tech & then Virginia before Shoop dumbed it down for the FSU game Paulus had to think he'd get a shot to play- and he should've gotten one. Butch is a good recruiter but a terrible in game coach and I'd love to see someone like Weis come to Carolina.

Anonymous said...

Weis to Carolina
Holy Crap, that is a bloated sense of self-value