North Carolina Tar Heels

UNC Football: Tar Heels Lose Caleb Peterson for the season

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Caleb Peterson’s injury marks another lost senior for the Heels this season.

Last season the North Carolina Tar Heels were a pretty healthy team. This season, not so much.

Just three days after learning that Senior Mack Hollins is done for the season, the Heels lose another Senior starter.

This time it is guard Caleb Peterson. The four-year starter actually had not played the last two games after suffering a back injury against Florida State. Before the injury Peterson had made 30 consecutive starts.

Like Mack Hollins, this marks the end of Peterson’s career. It also marks the second starting lineman the Heels have lost this season.

Depth was already an issue for the Heels. If anyone saw how William Sweet did coming in during the Miami game, they know the Heels don’t go very deep on the offensive line.

This will make things harder on the passing game. Mitch was effective because he was getting time to throw the ball.

The loss of another dependable man on the line will make it easier for defenses to get pressure.

This may not be as big of a deal with the loss of Hollins, but it does mean the UNC offense will need to be quicker and crisper.

Additionally, this will impact an already struggling running game. Elijah Hood is best when running up the middle and the loss of Peterson will only create more difficulties.

It may also mean fewer doses of Hood and more doses of Logan. Logan has shown the speed to get to the outside and to catch the ball in the flat.

In other news, the Heels also lost Freshman LB Jonathan Smith this week. Again depth has been an issue for the Heels.

With starter Andre Smith suspended for the first half of the Virginia game, this only makes things harder for a Heels defense that has struggled to stop the run.

Good teams can always go to the next man up. The Heels will show how good they are. However, the loss of past scholarships and inexperience make these injuries even bigger on the Heels season.