By BJ Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com

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If the final two thirds of the 2010 season is any indication, North Carolina’s Dwight Jones is ready to rise above the rest.

In the southeast last season, there were a number of receivers who grabbed national headlines. Alabama’s Julio Jones, A.J. Green of Georgia and Alshon Jeffrey of South Carolina were the top names in the SEC. Leonard Hankerson and Torrey Smith were the leading names in the ACC. With four of those five perimeter playmakers now preparing for the NFL Draft, who is the next in line?

If the final two thirds of the 2010 season is any indication, North Carolina’s Dwight Jones is ready to rise above the rest. As a junior, he caught 50 passes for 842 yards in the final eight games of the year alone. For point of reference, Jeffrey, who received All-American attention and for good reason, had 48 grabs for 827 yards over than same span. Unheralded nationally, Jones compiled numbers comparable to some of the best around.

His breakout game a year ago came against ACC Atlantic Division champion Florida State in Tallahassee. Jones put on a show against the Seminoles, catching eight passes for 233 yards and a touchdown. His play was a major reason why the Tar Heels upended the nationally-ranked ‘Noles 37-35. Jones showed off his athleticism at 6’5’’, 215 pounds, but also displayed his elite speed against a talented FSU secondary. Quarterback T.J. Yates found Jones on an 87-yard hookup that Saturday in northwest Florida.

The rising senior stepped up in North Carolina’s rivalry games, catching a combined 23 passes against Duke, North Carolina State and Virginia. Jones went for 198 yards and a touchdown against the Cavaliers in the South’s Oldest Rivalry. In that contest, Jones scored on the first play from scrimmage via an 81-yard touchdown strike.

“It felt good. I was in the zone from the beginning of the game, from when I first stepped on the field. There was a lot of adrenaline, and it felt good out there,” he said after the game. “I haven’t felt like that since high school, it was different. I felt like a beast out there on the field.”

This season Jones will look to join current NFL star Hakeem Nicks as the only receiver in UNC history to reach 1,000 yards in a single season. After 946 yards in 2010, he will have to meet that mark without the aforementioned veteran quarterback Yates. Jones, and the rest of the Tar Heels receivers, will turn to highly-touted underclassman Bryn Renner as he steps in as the heir-apparent under center. He must replace a standout in Yates who threw for 3,419 yards and 19 touchdowns a year ago.

Renner has completed just one pass in his college career but the 6’3’’ Virginia-native came to Chapel Hill with impressive prep credentials and has patiently been waiting his turn. He takes over the reins of a program that has won eight games each of the last three seasons. Jones, perhaps the most physically gifted receiver in the ACC, will be one of the playmakers expected to lessen the learning curve for the sophomore star. Starting later this month, Renner will officially transition into the starting lineup and look to develop chemistry with his receivers in spring ball.

Despite his gaudy numbers, Jones was overshadowed by more prominent players for much of last year. With him returning as one of college football best big play threats, however, Renner won’t be the only person looking his way this fall.