"He'll continue to receive diagnostic treatments and evaluations from the UNC medical staff," Kevin Best, UNC's Director of Football Communications, told Inside Carolina. "A determination on whether surgery is necessary will be made following final exams."
Yates, a native of Marietta, Ga., played just two years of high school football -- and only one in a passing offense -- prior to coming to North Carolina. The injury has been diagnosed as being a result of "wear and tear" and is not the result of a single event.
Yates started all 12 games for UNC this past season, after winning the job in fall practice. He completed 218-of-365 attempts and set the UNC single-season passing yards record with 2,655. Yates also had 14 passing touchdowns, which ranks second on the UNC single-season list, and had two rushing scores.
He finished second in the voting for both the ACC Rookie of the Year and ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year awards and was named to The Sporting News All-ACC Freshman Team.