There's a human element to North Carolina's NCAA investigation that seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle.

At the heart of it all is a group of players who did nothing wrong and whose season has been disrupted thanks to poor decisions by their teammates and most of all, their head coach. One of the main reasons the Tar Heels didn't fold following their 0-2 start is quarterback T.J. Yates.

Yates has been one of the most heavily criticized players in the conference the past few years, and now, during his senior season, he is one of the most improved quarterbacks in the country.

Thanks to the John Blake-Marvin Austin headlines, has anyone even realized it?

Yates is No. 23 in the country and No. 2 in the ACC in passing efficiency. He's No. 23 in the country in passing. He's No. 26 in passing yards per game. He has helped his team to back-to-back nonconference wins heading into Saturday's game against Clemson, and his name has never been reported as being associated with the ongoing investigations.

And he's stuck on a 2-2 team that could have finally made a statement on the national level in the season opener against LSU had half the starting lineup not been texting from the stands instead of taking snaps on the field.

Yates has been through it all. He's heard it all. He threw 15 interceptions and 14 touchdowns last year. So far he's thrown one interception and seven touchdowns. It was only a few months ago that UNC fans were anointing Bryn Renner The Answer. A few weeks of football, though, have revealed that the supporting cast has a lot to do with how well Yates performs. Last year he was unfairly criticized because he was playing behind an injured offensive line and with a rookie group of wide receivers. Tailback Shaun Draughn was injured and so was tight end Zack Pianalto. With everyone healthy, older and wiser, suddenly Yates looks like a quarterback capable of winning an ACC title.

Instead of talking about his quarterback, though, coach Butch Davis is too busy apologizing for trusting Blake. Davis could avoid another mistake by apologizing to his players, too, starting with Yates.