UNC's Yates goes from interception machine to completion machine

North Carolina senior quarterback T.J. Yates has the lowest interception percentage in the country at .063. Last year there were only three games in which he did not throw an interception.

UNC coach Butch Davis says Yates is not as overly protective and cautious with the ball. He says that from last year to this year, Yates has a greater understanding of the Tar Heels offense and what it takes to be successful in it.

He's also been healthier. "For the first time in his career, he's really had kind of a consecutive 15, 16, 17 months of health," Davis says. "You cannot underestimate how important it is to go through an off-season where you can lift, and you can get bigger and stronger and quicker.

"And you can go through spring practice with the fractured ankle that he had and missed seven weeks, then with the shoulder surgery, I think those two things really kind of somewhat limited his ability to improve himself."

Yates has only one interception in 160 attempts and that was a tipped pass off the hands of a receiver at Rutgers. The one interception is the fewest of any quarterback in the ACC. He had a string of 117 passes without an interception and has since thrown 61 passes without being picked off.