Two Novembers ago when the Hurricanes football season was spiraling toward a 5-7 finish, UM coach Randy Shannon found himself down to just one option at running back in the season finale against Boston College, a game Miami would go on to lose, costing UM a 10th consecutive bowl bid.

These days, Shannon doesn't have to worry anymore if Javarris James or Graig Cooper goes down. As the Hurricanes have come to learn this season: junior Damien Berry, redshirt sophomore Lee Chambers and even true freshman Mike James, used primarily as a blocking fullback in the absence of the injured Patrick Hill, are more than capable of providing quality production in a pinch.

Last week, when Cooper rushed for a career-high 152 yards against Virginia, it marked the first time in UM history three different running backs had more than 150 yards rushing in a game in the same season.

``We've never had this much diversity [in the backfield],'' Shannon said. ``It shows that you always have to continue to have depth on your football team, and you never can have too many guys at one position. Because when you think you have enough depth, you don't.

``When we had our two guys banged up, Damien came in and did a nice job and now Cooper is feeling great, back healthy, and Javarris should be ready to go fully this week. You've seen a lot of good things from those guys, and when Lee Chambers had his opportunity last week, he did good things. When guys are feeling good, they're doing good things.''

Individually, only Cooper, who leads the Hurricanes with 478 rushing yards, ranks among the nation's top 100 running backs.

But as a unit, Cooper (5.7 average), Javarris James (421 yards on 79 carries, four TDs), Berry (55 attempts, 356 yards, six TDs), Chambers (36 attempts, 142 yards, one TD) and Mike James (15 attempts, 46 yards, one TD) are adding balance, keeping defenses honest for a passing offense ranked 28th in the country.

``It's hard to keep everybody happy when everybody is as talented as the next. So we emphasize when you get the ball, make something happen,'' UM quarterback Jacory Harris said. ``Whoever's hot is going to get the ball the majority of the time.''

The Hurricanes rank 75th in the country in rushing offense but actually are averaging 2 yards more per game (136.56) on the ground than last year.

The Canes also are breaking out with longer runs: Cooper has two runs longer than 30 yards including a 70-yarder; James has long runs of 44 and 50 yards; and Berry had a 49-yarder against Florida A&M.

Position coach Tommie Robinson said ``freshness'' has a lot to do with the Hurricanes' big-play success. No running back has more than 18 carries in a game this season -- and only Javarris James has hit double digits in carries more than four times.

``I've always liked to play multiple backs,'' Robinson said. ``I've never liked to have just one guy, a so-called feature back.

``Our backs are different, and everybody has a special quality. Graig has a little more quickness, you could put him at wide out. Damien is a fast kid, speed kid you can put into bulldoze his way through the line. JJ brings power and a little better vision. He's also good in protection. And I can't say enough about Mike James.''

UM likely will turn to all five in some capacity Saturday at North Carolina. The Tar Heels have the fifth-best defense in the country and a front seven better than Oklahoma's, according to Shannon.

``We're going to need all five of those guys,'' Harris said. ``When you have different guys with different styles, you can run multiple plays and do different things with them. You don't just have that one back who can only do this and do that. You have different backs that could do anything you need in your playbook.

``It's a real nice thing to have.''