A UNC running back in Berlin

Just like he has done so many times before, running back Anthony Elzy puts on his football uniform to face the Blue Devils.

This time, though, he’s not in a Carolina blue Tar Heel jersey. He’s donning the all-black everything Berlin Rebels uniform. This time, the opponents have arrived by bus not from Durham but from Hamburg.

From Chapel Hill to Charlottenburg

Elzy, class of 2010 after five years at UNC, has taken his football talents to Germany. He had been on the Buffalo Bills practice squad before. “There was a culture shock for sure because everything was different and new”, Elzy reveals. “But it got better after a week.” Now, he feels right at home with his team in Berlin, which plays in the German Football League.

“The knowledge of the game is more advanced in the US,” Elzy, nicknamed “The Hammer” at Carolina, says about the differences to the college and NFL game. “And it’s faster in the US.” Realizing that football is a small but growing sport in Germany, Elzy seems to appreciate being able to promote football in Europe.

football1

UNC: Love at first sight

In the US, North Carolina is now home for the Warren, Ohio-born Elzy. “It’s my base now and I’m still in touch with people from UNC, too.” Becoming a Tar Heel was not inevitable for the Midwestern high school standout. “After visiting three or four schools mostly up North with my dad, he just said: ‘Well, let’s try down south just for a change as well'”, Elzy reports. “After I had seen the campus and the town, I knew this is where I wanted to be. I knew this is where my heart was.”

Player-coach

Carolina helped a lot in preparing Elzy for his stint abroad, both culturally, as well as athletically. “It’s just so diverse. You can meet people from all ethnicities and backgrounds there.” Not to mention what he brings to the locker room at Mommsen stadium in the Charlottenburg neighborhood of Berlin. The Rebels team is made up of a lot of young players who look up to Anthony Elzy because he has experienced college and professional football in the sport’s home country. That’s why the running back also sees himself as a teacher who can support Rebels head coach Kim Kuci.

“I share my knowledge on drills, preparation or game day set-up. I’m just bringing that football mentality.”

football2