UNC football's Ed Montilus looks to boost run game against his hometown Miami Hurricanes
CHAPEL HILL — Ed Montilus could have easily been standing on the opposite sideline from North Carolina on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
The Tar Heels (4-1 overall, 1-0 ACC) will play the Miami Hurricanes (2-2) at 4 p.m. (ESPN2) in game that could be pivotal to the outcome of the ACC Coastal Division race. The Hurricanes were the preseason pick to win the Coastal over defending champion Pittsburgh and UNC.
For North Carolina's starting right guard, the game also will be a homecoming of sorts. Montilus, a graduate student, grew up about 250 miles North of Miami in Apopka. But despite the distance, Miami was one of the teams Montilus followed and he seriously considered joining the Hurricanes.
"I think they were my first (scholarship) offer,'' Montilus said Tuesday.
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Miami was indeed one of the early contenders for Montilus and his Apopka High teammate William Barnes. Barnes, now UNC's starting left guard, had been friends with Montilus since the sixth grade and they were considered a package deal as their senior year at Apopka approached.
Both made multiple unofficial visits to Miami during their junior season and were on hand to watch the Hurricanes practice in December 2017 for the Russell Athletic Bowl in nearby Orlando. Two months later they attended a Junior Day function in Miami.
So serious were the Hurricanes about landing the duo, they sent then-offensive line coach Stacy Searles to Apopka to visit. Searles would later coach the pair at UNC where he served as offensive line coach from 2019-2021.
"They were highly considered and I enjoyed it down there,'' Montilus said. "It was really fun. I got recruited by coach Searles, who was here last year, when he was at Miami. It's a great campus. I like the football team and the coaches.''
Barnes and Montilus would eventually trim their list of possibilities to Auburn, Miami and UNC before choosing the Tar Heels. Now, after three seasons as an on-again, off-again starter, Montilus heads to his home state a prominent member of a North Carolina blocking corps that is tied for sixth nationally in scoring with a 45.4-point average.
Although Miami suffered a surprising 45-31 setback against Middle Tennessee State in its last outing two weeks ago, Montilus is still expecting a major challenge from the Hurricanes.
"They have a whole lot of talented guys on their D-line,'' he said. "We have to work very hard this week to prepare for this game. They have some great talent and a lot of depth. A lot of times they just play it straight and try to beat you. They might not have played their best against Middle Tennessee State, but we're expecting their best Saturday.''
Montilus' biggest problem Saturday may be finding tickets to accommodate all the friends and family wanting to attend. "I only get four tickets and I told them that,'' Montilus laughed. "But it will be good to see some of my family members. My brother will be there supporting me. That will just make the game more fun.''
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: UNC football's Ed Montilus looks to boost run game against Miami
