North Carolina
Broncos Warned Not to Draft Highly-Touted RB
Almost assuredly, the Denver Broncos will select a running back in April’s NFL Draft. However, that running back, according to Bleacher Report, should not be North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton.
The digital media giant recently categorized Denver as the “worst fit” for Hampton, a fringe first-round prospect.
“Back-to-back running backs near the top of the draft isn’t normal by today’s standard, unless we’re discussing fantasy football,” the BR article states. “Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs were outliers in the 2023 draft. Ashton Jeanty and North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton aren’t as explosive as those two. Beyond that blip, two running backs haven’t been drafted in the top half of the round since Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey in 2017.
“Hampton’s case is more interesting than Jeanty’s because he’s more of a powerful, downhill runner who needs the right system to serve as a hammer for some squad. Make no mistake, the 220-pound ball-carrier has some juice. But no one should ask him to be working laterally then asked to burst downfield. He’s going to punish those along the way or run past them as they wear down. The two-time first-team All-American needs to be utilized in a scheme where he can be a workhorse.”
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Hampton was a three-year contributor for the Tar Heels, compiling 4,200 yards from scrimmage (3,565 rushing, 635 receiving) and 40 total touchdowns. The 6-foot, 220-pound back, “rumored to have 4.4 speed,” finished with a career 5.7 yards-per-carry average.
Expert opinions vary. ESPN’s Matt Miller ranks Hampton as the third-best RB in a stacked 2025 class, while NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein compares Hampton to Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson — that is, a “limited” one-cut runner.
“High-volume battering ram with a three-ingredient recipe of size, strength and aggression,” Zierlein wrote. “Hampton is a linear runner lacking creativity and wiggle, but once the gas is engaged, he runs like a downhill truck whose brake lines have been cut. He has the base, balance and power to batter tacklers and reignite runs after contact but he fails to recognize alternative run lanes that offer easier paths and more yardage. He needs to work on his pass protection but can create positive plays on swing passes and screens. Hampton is a tone-setting future starter who can handle a heavy workload, but he absorbs rare levels of heavy contact that could create durability or longevity issues if he doesn’t learn to pick and choose his battles.”
Pre-draft testing should ultimately determine Hampton’s value, but he’s a name to file away for a Broncos club that holds three top-100 choices (No. 20, No. 51, No. 85) and will be casting a wide-net to bolster its backfield this offseason.
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North Carolina
North Carolina man extradited to Pa. for $100,000 ATM theft spree: police
A 42-year-old North Carolina man on Tuesday was extradited to Pennsylvania after state police said he stole more than $100,000 from ATMs in Snyder and Union counties.
Between Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, Antoni J. Garcia-Cordoba, of Raleigh, North Carolina, stole from four ATMs at Central Penn Bank and Trust locations, state police said.
In a five-hour span, Garcia-Cordoba took $43,000 from three separate ATMs in Snyder and Union counties, according to a police report. On Oct. 1, he stole an additional $58,000 from an ATM in Titusville, bringing the total amount stolen to $101,000.
Garcia-Cordoba is charged with two counts of corrupt organizations – employee, a first-degree felony, and two counts of theft by unlawful taking, a third-degree felony.
After being in custody at a jail in Boone County, Missouri, Garcia-Cordoba was extradited to Union County on Tuesday.
He is being held in the Union County Prison after being unable to post $100,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2026.
North Carolina
11 firefighters and 2 others injured after North Carolina house fire and explosion
SALISBURY, N.C. — Eleven firefighters and two other people were injured in a house fire explosion in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, officials said.
Salisbury Fire Chief Bob Parnell said firefighters did not have life-threatening injuries but were getting treated for contusions, concussions and smoke inhalation following the fire Monday evening. Two other people were taken to the hospital, but Parnell said he didn’t know their conditions and couldn’t confirm whether they were in the house at the time of the fire.
The Salisbury Fire Department responded to the single-family home around 5 p.m. and found it engulfed in flames.
Eleven of the 22 firefighters at the scene went inside the house to search for occupants and “get water on that fire,” which preceded the explosion, Panell said at a news conference.
“It was enough force that the outside walls blew out, the roof came up and went back down,” Parnell said.
An investigation of the fire and explosion is continuing.
North Carolina
Harrison Bertos scores in OT to help Washington beat N.C. State 3-2 and win first Men’s College Cup
CARY, N.C. (AP) — Harrison Bertos scored 1:54 into overtime after Washington blew a two-goal lead in the second half, and the Huskies beat North Carolina State 3-2 to win the Men’s College Cup at First Horizon Stadium on Monday night.
It was the first national championship for unseeded Washington (16-6-2), who became the first team to win six road matches in the tournament — beating six seeded teams along the way under the guidance of coach Jamie Clark. The Huskies won in their second trip to the final after losing 2-0 to Clemson in 2021.
No. 15 seed N.C. State (16-3-4) made the final for the first time behind coach Marc Hubbard. The Wolfpack were aiming for the school’s first national championship since Jim Valvano led the men’s basketball team to the title in 1983.
Zach Ramsey scored unassisted with 1:12 remaining in the first half and Washington took a 1-0 lead into the break. It was only the second time this season that N.C. State trailed at halftime.
Ramsey scored into an empty net after Wolfpack goalkeeper Logan Erb couldn’t corral the ball at the top of the box. It was Ramsey’s second goal of the tournament.
Richie Aman sent a cross to the center of the goal and Joe Dale knocked it in for a 2-0 lead in the 62nd minute.
Donavan Phillip answered in the 66th, scoring with an assist from Nikola Markovic to cut it to 2-1 with his fourth goal of the tournament. The Wolfpack entered 11-0-1 when Phillip scores.
Taig Healy scored the equalizer with 3:28 remaining with assists from Justin Mclean and Calem Tommy.
Egor Akulov had an assist on Bertos’ winner.
Huskies keeper Jadon Bowton, the only remaining player from the 2021 squad, had five saves.
Erb saved six shots for N.C. State, which was the last school to concede a goal this season.
The temperature was 28 degrees when the match between two teams that had never faced each other began.
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