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CHAPEL HILL -- There will be times when you'll want to leave your seat or reach for the clicker during a North Carolina football game this season. Just make sure you pick your spots the way Brandon Tate picks out his blocks.

Nobody covered more ground in the ACC last season than Tate, the wide receiver and return man whose 147 all-purpose yards per game led the league. When he touched the ball by his various means, he took it upfield an average of 17.83 yards a pop -- good for sixth in the country.

And, like the return jobs themselves, the origins of his success weren't planned.

"I like making people miss in the open field," said the senior from Cummings High School. "So when I got my chance, I made the best of it."

For nearly three seasons at Cummings, Tate longed to return punts, kickoffs and anything else imaginable, but the coaching staff, wary of the injury risk, held him out. It's not as if they thought he couldn't contribute; he did amass more than 1,200 yards receiving as a senior for the Cavaliers. He just suspected there was something else out there in the 48,150 square feet of space between the goal lines.

Curiously enough, it took an injury to his brother, current Lenoir-Rhyne player Barry Tate, to facilitate the enhanced job description.

"My brother had gotten injured, and I told the coaches to put me back there," Brandon Tate recalled. "I took the first punt I saw back for a touchdown."

That was against Lincolnton in a second-round playoff game in 2003, and it came on a night in which the younger Tate caught three balls for 127 yards and another score. A precedent had been established.

Tate became a catch-all performer as a senior and signed with Carolina, but the opportunity wasn't automatic at the higher level, either. Tate had decided he would do anything to contribute as a true freshman, and the presence of veteran wide receivers Jarwarski Pollock and Jesse Holley inclined him to volunteer again.

"When I got here, all I heard was about the other receivers," he said. "So in my mind, I was thinking I would redshirt. But I knew I wanted to play, so when they asked freshmen who wanted to be on special teams, I went out there. The coaches said, 'Special teams win games,' and I was going to try to help my team as much as I could."

Tate was an instant hit, establishing himself as the ACC's third-ranked punt returner and placing second in kickoff-return average as a rookie. He hasn't slowed since as the Tar Heels prepare for their opener against McNeese State one week from today.

"To make a good return, you have to go out with no fear in your heart," he said. "You have to trust your teammates to get their blocks, and then you do what you do."

Returns were his only responsibilities as freshman, but it didn't take long to integrate him into offense from scrimmage. As a junior, Tate averaged 19.2 yards per pass reception, the second-highest average in the league. Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe refers to Tate as one of those "sleep-deprivers" for opposing coordinators.

The all-purpose yardage category is one of those esoteric football stats that can go overlooked or ignored altogether, but it's a good measure of a generalist's contributions. It includes yardage gained by rush, reception and returns of punts and kickoffs.

What's next? Tate wouldn't object to a few more reverses. Of his 12 carries a year ago, only two resulted in a loss of yardage. The upside included a 64-yard TD and a 32-yard gainer on another -- enough to make you wonder if the Tar Heels are adding any wacky stuff to the 2008 play book.

"You'll have to wait until the season starts," Tate said.

Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rob.daniels@news-record.com