Talking smack! Former UNC, NC State players saying they REALLY don’t like each other.
How serious is the North Carolina-N.C. State rivalry for former Tar Heels QB Marquise Williams?
He wouldn’t let his wife wear red this week, ahead of the teams’ big game Saturday in Chapel Hill.
Williams, who played at North Carolina from 2012-15, was not the only former Tar Heels or Wolfpack player who was pumped up about Saturday’s nationally televised game.
N.C. State came into Chapel Hill ranked No. 23 in the nation and North Carolina was No. 14. Both teams had one loss.
And both sides poked some good-natured fun (we think) at each other all week on social media.
Some of the N.C. State faithful used the hashtag #GTHC (or go to he... Carolina). Of course, some of the Tar Heels’ faithful had their own hasthag, too: #GTHS (or go to, well, you get the picture).
Some highlights.
▪ Williams played at Mallard Creek High School in Charlotte. So did former N.C. State player Jaylen Samuels, who is now with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Samuels played at N.C. State from 2014-17.
Unlike Williams, Samuels had an entirely different view of Saturday’s game.
▪ New York Giants defensive end BJ Hill played at State from 2014-17. Cardinals defensive end Kareem Martin played in Chapel Hill from 2010-13.
The two had a pretty good exchange on Twitter Saturday just before the game.
Martin made reference to the Tar Heels having an easy time playing their rivals from Raleigh.
Hill shot back with a reference to North Carolina fan support.
▪ Tremayne Stephens ran for 3,558 yards and 23 touchdowns in his N.C. State career. He signed with the Chargers as a free agent in 1998. He weighed in.
▪ Nyheim Hines played at N.C. State from 2015-17. He’s now a running back with the Colts.
Fans seemed to be enjoying the back and forth, too.
▪ Now, on the other side, current Tar Heel assistant coach and former Tar Heels All-American Dre Bly let his flag fly early Saturday morning, about five hours before kickoff.
▪ Minnesota rookie Myles Dorn dropped a reminder of the big Tar Heels’ win last year.
UNC won 41-10. Sam Howell threw for 401 yards and three touchdowns. Dorn had an interception.
▪ Former Tar Heel Eric Ebron, now playing for the Steelers, had a simple message (repeating our hashtag from earlier)
And to wrap up, we’ll go back to where we started, with Williams -- the former Tar Heel QB -- who left one final pregame tweet with his thoughts — to match that same hashtag
This story was originally published October 24, 2020 at 1:22 PM with the headline "Talking smack! Former UNC, NC State players saying they REALLY don’t like each other.."
