Mack Brown was standing on the sideline at Kenan Stadium in April 2019, watching his new North Carolina football team run through a spring scrimmage. Next to him was Urban Meyer, the former Ohio State coach, in town to speak at a clinic. The two chatted casually, Brown openly wondering what the future might hold for a team he still knew little about after taking over the program just a few months earlier.
"You're going to be OK," Meyer interrupted, pointing toward the field. "No. 8 and No. 25 -- they're special."
No. 8 was tailback Michael Carter, and Meyer's praise came as little surprise.