Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
GoHeels Exclusive: Spring Football Notebook
March 28, 2018 | Football, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
In a freshman season that consisted of multiple memorable plays, one still sticks out to North Carolina tailback Michael Carter.
En route to a season-high 157 rushing yards against Virginia, Carter broke free for a 56-yard run, his longest of the season, early in the third quarter. It initially looked like he'd score a touchdown. But he couldn't outlast the trailing safety, who tackled Carter at the Cavaliers' 11-yard line.
Although he scored just two plays later, Carter criticized himself after the game, a 20-14 loss, for not finishing the run. And he's still frustrated by that five months later.
"That type of thing bugs me," said Carter after Tuesday's spring practice. "What's (11) more yards? That's big because we lose by a touchdown. Well, if I score earlier … then we have more time left in the game. Those are momentum-swing plays."
That one in particular, Carter said, has provided some extra motivation this offseason. So in addition to refining the aspects of his game that allowed him to rush for 559 yards, the most by a UNC true freshman since Ronnie McGill had 654 in 2003, he's working on his top-end speed.
This time last year, Carter, then an early enrollee, was learning the playbook. But with a year of experience, he's also spending this spring focusing on the intricacies of each play, specifically when it comes to blocking.
"You go look in the NFL, (Tennessee Titans tailback) Dion Lewis is probably my size; I probably weigh more than Dion Lewis," Carter said. "But Dion Lewis is one of the best blockers in the league because his technique is perfect.Â
"All blocking is is wanting to and technique. Just trying to perfect it every day, that's one of my goals for spring, probably my biggest goal."
Life without Brewer
During Tuesday's media availability, Larry Fedora was asked about the departure of former co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach Gunter Brewer, who was hired as the receivers coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in March.
"It's kind of bittersweet," Fedora said. "You hate to lose a guy that's part of your family and who has been with you for 10 years. But at the same time, you're excited for him because it was a goal of his to do. So you're excited for him and you wish him well and you move on and he moves on."
In Brewer's place, Luke Paschall – who spent two seasons as an offensive graduate assistant at UNC before serving as the receivers coach and special teams coordinator at Arkansas State for the last four years – is now coaching the Tar Heels' receivers.
"I've been around Luke for a long time," Fedora said. "He GA'd under Coach Brewer at Oklahoma State. He's done a great job. He was here as a GA. So I felt very comfortable moving him into that position because he knows all the terminology, he knows everything the receivers have been taught, he knows the offense inside-out and backwards.
"It was by far the smoothest transition because he was so accustomed to everything that we do. And then on top of that, giving him the special teams."
'A young group'
After multiple departures along the offensive line, including the losses of Cam Dillard, R.J. Prince, Khaliel Rodgers and Bentley Spain, the position group is undergoing a significant overhaul this spring.
"They're a young group right now," Fedora said. "We've got everybody back out there except William Sweet and Jay-Jay McCargo. They're getting a lot of reps. There's a lot of young guys out there. They're learning as we go right now."
One player who could make an impact at the position is Jonah Melton, UNC's highest ranked recruit in the Class of 2017 according to 247sports.com. He redshirted last season after missing his senior season at Eastern Alamance High with an ACL injury.
"He's come a long way since he stepped foot on this campus because he missed his senior year, so it's been a while since he got out there," Fedora said. "In fact, the scrimmage (Saturday) was his most competitive reps he's had in a long time, and you could tell he was a little rusty. But it was good to have him back out there and doing it."
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In a freshman season that consisted of multiple memorable plays, one still sticks out to North Carolina tailback Michael Carter.
En route to a season-high 157 rushing yards against Virginia, Carter broke free for a 56-yard run, his longest of the season, early in the third quarter. It initially looked like he'd score a touchdown. But he couldn't outlast the trailing safety, who tackled Carter at the Cavaliers' 11-yard line.
Although he scored just two plays later, Carter criticized himself after the game, a 20-14 loss, for not finishing the run. And he's still frustrated by that five months later.
"That type of thing bugs me," said Carter after Tuesday's spring practice. "What's (11) more yards? That's big because we lose by a touchdown. Well, if I score earlier … then we have more time left in the game. Those are momentum-swing plays."
That one in particular, Carter said, has provided some extra motivation this offseason. So in addition to refining the aspects of his game that allowed him to rush for 559 yards, the most by a UNC true freshman since Ronnie McGill had 654 in 2003, he's working on his top-end speed.
This time last year, Carter, then an early enrollee, was learning the playbook. But with a year of experience, he's also spending this spring focusing on the intricacies of each play, specifically when it comes to blocking.
"You go look in the NFL, (Tennessee Titans tailback) Dion Lewis is probably my size; I probably weigh more than Dion Lewis," Carter said. "But Dion Lewis is one of the best blockers in the league because his technique is perfect.Â
"All blocking is is wanting to and technique. Just trying to perfect it every day, that's one of my goals for spring, probably my biggest goal."
Life without Brewer
During Tuesday's media availability, Larry Fedora was asked about the departure of former co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach Gunter Brewer, who was hired as the receivers coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in March.
"It's kind of bittersweet," Fedora said. "You hate to lose a guy that's part of your family and who has been with you for 10 years. But at the same time, you're excited for him because it was a goal of his to do. So you're excited for him and you wish him well and you move on and he moves on."
In Brewer's place, Luke Paschall – who spent two seasons as an offensive graduate assistant at UNC before serving as the receivers coach and special teams coordinator at Arkansas State for the last four years – is now coaching the Tar Heels' receivers.
"I've been around Luke for a long time," Fedora said. "He GA'd under Coach Brewer at Oklahoma State. He's done a great job. He was here as a GA. So I felt very comfortable moving him into that position because he knows all the terminology, he knows everything the receivers have been taught, he knows the offense inside-out and backwards.
"It was by far the smoothest transition because he was so accustomed to everything that we do. And then on top of that, giving him the special teams."
'A young group'
After multiple departures along the offensive line, including the losses of Cam Dillard, R.J. Prince, Khaliel Rodgers and Bentley Spain, the position group is undergoing a significant overhaul this spring.
"They're a young group right now," Fedora said. "We've got everybody back out there except William Sweet and Jay-Jay McCargo. They're getting a lot of reps. There's a lot of young guys out there. They're learning as we go right now."
One player who could make an impact at the position is Jonah Melton, UNC's highest ranked recruit in the Class of 2017 according to 247sports.com. He redshirted last season after missing his senior season at Eastern Alamance High with an ACL injury.
"He's come a long way since he stepped foot on this campus because he missed his senior year, so it's been a while since he got out there," Fedora said. "In fact, the scrimmage (Saturday) was his most competitive reps he's had in a long time, and you could tell he was a little rusty. But it was good to have him back out there and doing it."
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Players Mentioned
Tailback
/ Football
Center
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Center
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Offensive Line
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Offensive Tackle
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Offensive Line
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Offensive Tackle
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Offensive Tackle
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