UNC Football: Elijah Hood returning for senior season

Some big news on UNC junior running back Elijah Hood including his status for the Sun Bowl in a week

While we await the decision for North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Mitch Trubisky, another junior has made up his mind.

Tar Heels running back Elijah Hood is returning to UNC for his senior season. The announcement was made Thursday afternoon.

The News & Observer’s Andrew Carter first reported the news:

That’s big news for the Tar Heels who are losing senior running back T.J. Logan after this year.

Now Hood will be the featured back in the Tar Heels backfield for 2017. But with the good news, comes the bad.

Hood also announced he will miss the Tar Heels Sun Bowl against Stanford a week from Friday due to medical issues. He’s the second starting running back to miss the game, joining Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey.

With Hood out, the senior Logan will get the workload in his final game. UNC will likely try to throw the ball on Stanford’s defense but establish the play-action with Logan’s speed.

Hood will finish the 2016 season with 858 yards on 145 attempts and 8 touchdowns. He also caught 25 passes for 147 yards.

UNC is prepping for their game against Stanford on Dec. 30. The Tar Heels are seeking to end their disappointing 2016 season on a bright note and avenge an embarrassing bowl loss to Baylor last season.

Check back with Keeping It Heel for more on the Tar Heels football team.

More from Keeping It Heel

    This article originally appeared on