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CHAPEL HILL -- North Carolina freshman Donte Paige-Moss will miss out on the reward of a bowl game because of an incident that occurred after the Tar Heels' last game.
UNC coach Butch Davis announced Tuesday that he has suspended Paige-Moss for the Meineke Car Care Bowl on Dec. 26 in response to a run-in that Paige-Moss had with an N.C. State player after the Wolfpack's 28-27 victory over the Tar Heels on Nov. 28.
"He made a very unwise action, just pushing a guy away that was kind of taunting him and in his face," Davis said. "We had a private conversation and talked about it.
"I told him, 'You've got to have composure. It's frustrating and disappointing to lose a ballgame, but you can't lose your cool.' "
Paige-Moss, a true freshman out of Northside High School in Jacksonville, played mainly on special teams this season, collecting five tackles.
He could be a significant contributor at defensive end going forward: Paige-Moss, a SuperPrep and Parade All-American, was rated as the nation's top defensive end in his recruiting class by Scout.com.
"He was very apologetic; he understood," Davis said. "We've got a great relationship with the kids. They know there are high expectations for their actions.
"He's a young freshman who hasn't been put in that kind of situation. Like all educators, everything is a teachable moment. That's what we'll use that as."
On the mend
Paige-Moss has been participating in practice, as have a few teammates who haven't been heard from in a while.
Running back Shaughn Draughn, who fractured his shoulder on the first offensive play in UNC's victory over Duke on Nov. 7, has had a limited role in practice. The same goes for running back Jamal Womble, who broke his wrist against Georgia Southern on Oct. 10, as well offensive lineman Carl Gaskins, who has missed the entire season with a knee injury.
At this point, however, Davis doesn't believe any of the healing players are likely to be ready in time for the bowl game against Pitt.
Talking about practice
Practice has been hit-and-miss for UNC's healthy players, as well.
Davis said that because of exams and other academic obligations, the team has practiced about three times in 10 days.
"One morning we had 45 guys who had finals, and that afternoon we had another 38 guys," Davis said. "The only real negative that we've been faced with is the consistency of an opportunity to practice on back-to-back days. It just hasn't happened because of the way the schedule has been."
The schedule, however, soon will become more regular. The Tar Heels worked specifically on their game plan for Pitt for the first time in Tuesday's practice, and they'll have their first back-to-back practices since the regular season concluded on Thursday and Friday.
The Tar Heels will take the weekend off before kicking off what will be close to a typical game week, outside of an accelerated travel schedule. UNC will hit the road for Charlotte on Monday, then spend the week preparing for the Dec. 26th game (4:30 p.m., ESPN).
