University of North Carolina Athletics
August 14th Practice Report
August 14, 2000 | Football
Aug. 14, 2000
The University of North Carolina football team finished its first day of workouts in full pads on Monday with a two-hour afternoon practice at the Carolina practice fields.
Head Coach Carl Torbush knows that the next few weeks will go a long way in determing who plays in the Sept. 2 opener against Tulsa.
"This week will tell us a lot," said Torbush. "We'll get to see who will step forward and fill in the holes we have. We have some competition at a lot of positions. At tailback, Willie Parker still has to keep practicing and playing well to stay the starter. But we're still looking at who will be 1-2-3 at tailback and fullback. We have to figure out where they fit and who can do what in certain situations."
Quarterback Ronald Curry was sharp in the afternoon workout, zipping balls across the middle and delicately landing the long pass.
"I think Ronald is doing real well. He's made a lot of strides. I saw improvement in each of the last two practices. He's made better decisions each day and I'm excited about the possibilities on offense. Our offensive staff, and especially Mike (O'Cain), has done a good job getting the guys to understand the offense."
Still a concern entering the second week of practice is the kicking game.
"Right now we're too inconsistent," said Torbush. "Blake Ferguson had some nice punts today. However, we've still got a long way to go. The kickers we have now are a lot like Josh McGee and Brian Schmitz when they came in as freshmen. That's a compliment, but we've got to prepare to go with these guys in a couple of weeks. I'd like to see one of the punters step forward. Jeff Reed would handle the kickoffs right now and I'm not sure who we would go with as a field goal kicker. The scary part is we've got to decide who can do this in front of 60,000 people."
Torbush knows the offensive line must produce as well.
"We have less experience on the offensive line, but probably more than most people think. But if they don't produce, no one else can. You can have the greatest quarterback, running back and wide receiver on the field, but unless the offensive line responds, you're going to have problems."
Upcoming Football Activities
Aug. 20 - Fan Appreciation Day, 3-5 p.m.
