North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick gave tight end Jelani Thurman his flowers for his role in the Tar Heels' season-opening 15-10 win over TCU from Dublin, Ireland, in Week 0. Thurman was UNC's leading receiver, with four receptions and 94 receiving yards. If Tar Heels quarterback Billy Edwards had been more accurate, Thurman could've had over 100 yards and a score.
Belichick believes Thurman gave the team a necessary kickstart in the potentially era-shifting win for North Carolina.
“Jelani gave us some explosive plays, especially early in the game, to kind of get us started there, and then the pass and on the naked and on the flat, you know, that was a big first down there, and at the end on the last drive," Belichick said postgame.
Thurman blocked for the run well for the Heels, too. He gave a complete effort after never having good health in Columbus during his three years with the Buckeyes. Thurman had the kind of showing that makes you wonder if he'll be the next Ohio State rotation player to morph into a star with an expanded role on a less talented roster.
Ultimately, though, there's a ceiling to what he can do at UNC that wouldn't exist at OSU.
Jelani Thurman doesn't have the QB to become the star he could be
Thurman left one of the best QB situations in the country, with Heisman finalist Julian Sayin under center, passing for program records in his first year starting, for a situation with a ceiling that's not even in the same stratosphere. He left Central Ohio and found so many things he was looking for in Chapel Hill, but he may not be able to truly reach his ceiling because of the QB room he ended up with.
Edwards was okay against TCU. He got the job done and didn't turn the ball over. While he could've been better in the pocket evading the pass rush, his chemistry with the offensive line will build over time.
What won't happen is Edwards' ceiling drastically rising any more from where it is. Bobby Petrino's offense will prop him up, but he won't have the kind of monster days that Sayin could've had with Thurman, and will probably have anyway without him. Jordan Shipp, a receiver with an All-ACC First Team ceiling, will find out the same thing Thurman will this fall:
Edwards can't game-manage his weapons to greatness. Just close wins because he played it safe and did just enough.
Jelani Thurman had a great home at Ohio State
The timing just wasn't right with Thurman and Ohio State. It certainly wasn't a personality mismatch with Ryan Day and Co. If anything, Day saw the potential in both the physical traits and the mental game.
Day didn't see enough of that potential not to give Thurman competition at tight end. Ultimately, Max Klare was more ready for the receiving-heavy tight end role last season, while Thurman was nowhere near the run-blocking tight end Will Kacmarek was.
It was a numbers crunch that cost Thurman chances in Columbus. In an alternate universe, he'd be the kind of gravity-absorbing receiving threat that'd propel Jeremiah Smith and Co. to historic numbers in Arthur Smith's offense this year.
Instead, Thurman will be as great as he can possibly be with Edwards as his QB1. Which is to say, below the caliber of production Thurman is capable of.
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