North Carolina running back Khris Francis will miss the remainder of the season after learning that he has torn the MCL, ACL, and meniscus in his right knee. The sophomore injured the knee during the second quarter of the team’s 40-35 win over Pittsburgh. Francis returned a kickoff in the midst of the quarter and was seen in significant pain after the play.
“It was very sad for me. Khris Francis is somebody I’ve been close with since he came in. I remember me and him used to talk about how great it was just to be in the backfield together,” redshirt junior quarterback Marquise Williams said. “It hurts, man, because that’s the one guy I’m close with on this team, and I can stand for that and say that he will get better, and he will come back stronger than ever.”
Over his first two seasons, Francis has been a consistent contributor for the Tar Heels carrying the ball 63 times for 236 yards during his rookie campaign to only 12 times for 26 yards his sophomore year. Despite the drop off in production, Francis has appeared in every game for North Carolina and looked to be a big part of the team’s plans moving forward. Still, the severity of the injury will limit Francis’ ability to improve within the off-season and could allow other running backs to rise up the depth chart.
The North Carolina native was a major in his home state and was subsequently ranked the 29th– best running back by ESPN.com during his senior season. He was outstanding that year totaling 2,100 yards on 251 carries for 27 touchdowns.
Head coach Larry Fedora utilizes a committee of running backs and shouldn’t be too hard-pressed to find production from the tailback position. Romar Morris and Elijah Hood should return to the sidelines in coming weeks providing an instant impact in the running game.
The Tar Heels take on arch rival Duke this Thursday- the first major test for the new look backfield.
*Section Photo credit to Liz Condo, USA Today Sports; Featured Photo (above) credit to Rob Kinnan, USA Today Sports
