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North Carolina RB Elijah Hood to miss Sun Bowl and come back for senior season

Elijah Hood ran for 17 touchdowns in 2015. (Getty)
Elijah Hood ran for 17 touchdowns in 2015. (Getty)

The Sun Bowl will be a matchup of teams missing starting running backs.

North Carolina announced Thursday that running back Elijah Hood would miss the game for what the team termed “medical reasons.” He won’t make the trip to El Paso as North Carolina plays Stanford on Dec. 30.

Hood said in the school release that he wouldn’t be declaring for the NFL draft and instead return to school for his senior season.

“I’m disappointed I cannot be with my football brothers for the bowl game in Texas, but it’s best for me to stay home and fully recover,” Hood said in a statement. “I look forward to returning to the field in 2017 for my senior year and having the opportunity to represent UNC along with my teammates. I appreciate Coach Fedora and the staff for helping me make the best decision for my future.”

Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey is missing the game as he prepares for the NFL draft.

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Hood, who has been limited by leg injuries in 2016, has 145 carries for 858 yards and eight touchdowns in 2016. He had 219 carries for 1,463 yards as a sophomore in 2015 and scored 17 rushing TDs. While his rushing numbers plummeted — he had less than 20 carries in each of the 11 games he participated in — he doubled his receiving yards from 2015 with 25 catches for 142 yards.

Much like Oregon running back Royce Freeman, who also said he was returning to school in 2017, Hood would be joining a crowded 2017 running back draft class if he left school.

The Sun Bowl could be the last college game for North Carolina junior quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Despite starting for just the 2016 season, Trubisky is seen by many as a possible first round pick in the 2017 NFL draft.

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!