University of North Carolina Athletics
Lee Pace's Extra Points
August 21, 2000 | Football
Aug. 21, 2000
If strength and 40-yard-dash times are any indication, the Tar Heels will field one of the best teams ever this fall.
The squad averages a power-clean lift of 290 pounds (highest in the eight years strength and conditioning coach George Smith has been at Carolina), a squat of 435 pounds (third best), a bench of 330 pounds (third), and a vertical jump of 30.4 inches (second).
Carolina will also field a team with some two dozen players running a 4.5 or better in the 40. "We've never had that many," says Smith. "I can't give you exact comparisons, because our timing methods have changed and we've not always timed everyone. But that's incredible team speed."
Smith bestowed the coveted "Summer Warrior" status on 58 players for meeting and exceeding standards set at the end of the spring semester for off-season conditioning work.
In addition, he and his S&C staff had some fun with the players.
One day in July Smith gave everyone off from weights and running in 90-degree heat and took the team to Emerald Point, a water park in Greensboro. There they donned swimsuits and acted like eight-year-olds at summer camp.
"In order to have a great team, you've got to feel like a family," says cornerback Errol Hood. "That was just a way to have fun as a team away from the football field, away from school. It was a great bonding experience."
Smith also put the players through an innovative and entertaining team competition. They were divided into four teams of approximately 18 players each, with an equal number of linemen and skill-position players. They had a team tug-o-war, they had a truck-pulling contest, in which they were timed pulling the Spurling Eastgate Gulf tow truck from the Ram's Head parking lot, up the hill to Manning Drive, and they ran obstacle courses individually with times added for team totals. Linemen, for example, pushed one of the grounds crew's mini-tractors 45 yards and then moved a stack of hundred-pound plates.
"It was taken very seriously, but we had a lot of fun with it," says Willie Parker, a member of the winning team. "It pulled us all together and will help on the field this fall."
Joining Parker on the winning "B" team were Kory Bailey, Chris Bender, Chesley Borders, Jason Bradley, Donti Coats, DeFonte Coleman, Ronald Curry, Riko Feemster, Michael Harris, Cam Holland, Derrick Johnson, Ross McAllister, David McIntosh, Issac Mooring, Merceda Perry, Isaiah Robinson, David Scott, David Stevenson, Andr? Williams, Domonique Williams and Jupiter Wilson.
All of the recruiting hype during the 1998-99 campaign for tailbacks centered around Daniel Davis, who committed in October to the Tar Heels, and Nick Maddox, who opted for Florida State on signing day.
Meanwhile, Tar Heel assistant coach Ron Case was still keeping a close eye on Parker, a standout at Clinton High School.
"He wasn't a tailback in a traditional sense, though he touched the ball a lot," says Case. "He was more of wingback. Maybe that's why he wasn't as visible as other kids."
Case saw Parker's speed (4.5 or better) and his character (honor student, great work ethic) and wasn't deterred by his trouble passing his board scores. The Heels lured Parker away from East Carolina at the 11th hour and now are delighted they did.
"He will be as good as anyone we've played with," says running backs coach Darrell Moody, counting in that group Kennard Martin, Natrone Means and Leon Johnson.
Indeed, when have you ever heard of a red-shirt freshman, who's never taken a snap in a college game, benched in a scrimmage in order to allow other players (some older with plenty of experience) a chance to show what they can do? That's what happened last Saturday when Parker had the night off and freshmen Brandon Russell and Andr? Williams and juniors Rufus Brown and Domonique Williams shared carries.
Parker, however, isn't getting the big head.
"I've not done anything yet," he says. "I've got a long way to go."
It seems QB Ronald Curry is getting some motivation from the success and accolades heaped on Virginia Tech freshman sensation Michael Vick. They were seniors in Virginia's Tidewater area in 1997, Curry the highly acclaimed star at Hampton High and Vick playing in the shadows at neighboring Warwick High. Curry played parts of 1998 as a true freshman and was the starter for five games last fall before a season-ending injury at Georgia Tech.
Curry's had two unfulfilled seasons, while Vick took Virginia Tech to the national title game last January before losing to Florida State, 46-29.
"I just want to make myself better," says Curry. "But I'm not in competition with anyone else."
Sports Illustrated's recent profile of Vick included an insightful comment from Tommy Reamon, Vick's high school coach:
"Ronald Curry was thrown to the wolves, while Michael Vick was groomed the right way. These were two great high school athletes who came from different programs with different support casts. Curry played in a high successful program, Vick in an average one. But a critical decision was made concerning Vick's future, and that was the red-shirt year. No high school kid today can walk into a major college football setting and perform without difficulty. No matter how good he is--and Curry is a perfect example--he needs time to adjust, to grow and to expand his talents."
Of course, Curry wasn't thrown to the wolves by design at the beginning of 1998. Oscar Davenport's injury and the fact that Curry was the next-best QB mandated a personnel move the Tar Heels wish they hadn't had to make.
Personnel meaderings .... Freshman Kitwana Jones played several days at fullback but soon was switched to linebacker, his favored position. DeFonte Coleman, moved from receiver to free safety last spring, is a big-hit artist who's vying for playing time. "I think once he gets coached-up, he's an NFL-type player," says Hood. Would-be sophomore Daniel Davis was dismissed from the squad in July for off-the-field concerns. Linebacker Ian Alexander has left the program, citing the lack of desire to continue playing football. Incoming freshman Jason Crawford did not qualify academically and is attending Fork Union Military Academy. And safety Quinton Savage has been ruled medically ineligible for football following the lacerated kidney he suffered last fall against Wake Forest.
Freshman Russell and red-shirt freshman Jamal Jones have been two young players who've jumped out in the Tar Heels' two pre-season scrimmages.
Jones had two receptions for 63 yards on Aug. 16 and three more for 87 yards and a touchdown on Aug. 19. Russell carried the ball 13 times for 54 yards on Saturday and caught two passes for 16 yards.
The kicking game has been inconsistent but has shown flashes of potential. Jeff Reed, a walk-on from Charlotte, has hit six-of-14 field goals under the gun, making from 27, 27, 33, 42, 47 and 47 yards. Three misses were from 50. He's also kicked the ball into the end zone frequently on kick-offs.
Freshman Blake Ferguson averaged 49 yards on five punts in the first scrimmage--including a 75-yard boomer--but only 36 yards on two punts the second scrimmage.
The Heels went through their first two weeks of pre-season camp with only minor nicks and scrapes. Kory Bailey missed a day and a half last week and Saturday's scrimmage with tendinitis in his left Achilles tendon. Junior defensive tackle Willie Quick and true freshman offensive lineman Justin Barton will each miss about a month with knee and ankle injuries, respectively. Antwon Black played sparingly Saturday because of a sore shoulder, and Curry has had a sore throwing arm and turf toe.
Speaking of injuries, keeping opposing pass rushers away from Curry is the Tar Heel offense's No. 1 priority this fall. "We've just got to find a way as an offensive line to keep Ronald protected," tight end Alge Crumpler says. "Anything else is unacceptable." QBs coach Mike O'Cain says he'd much rather a quarterback be hit keeping the ball on the option or running downfield on a scramble than being sacked trying to pass. "In the pocket they're not able to protect themselves," says O'Cain. "Running the ball, they can tuck it away, the mindset changes and they become the aggressor."
Carolina holds its final pre-season scrimmage Wednesday, Aug. 23. If the Heels played Tulsa that night, the starting lineups would probably be as follows:
Offense
QB Ronald Curry, TB Willie Parker, FB Anthony Saunders, WR Kory Bailey and Bosley Allen, TE Alge Crumpler and linemen (L-R) Louis Marchetti, Cam Holland, Adam Metts, Isaac Morford and James Wagstaff.
Defense
DE Julius Peppers and Joey Evans or Ross McAllister, DT Ryan Sims and Anthony Perkins, LB Brandon Spoon, Merceda Perry and Sedrick Hodge, CB Errol Hood and Michael Waddell, FS Billy-Dee Greenwood and SS David Bomar.
Specialists
PK Jeff Reed, punter Blake Ferguson, holder Richard Moore, snapper Jason Beamon.
O'Cain will coach from the sidelines with two reserve quarterbacks signaling the plays into the quarterback on the field. One set of signals will be dummies. Also on the boundary will be line coach Robbie Caldwell and receivers coach Gunter Brewer. Tight ends coach Terry Lewis will focus on line play from the coaches' box upstairs, and Moody, who coached the 1997 season in O'Cain's system, will of course watch his backs but also key on the opponent's pass coverages.
Defensive coordinator Kenny Browning will remain on the field along with ends coach Donnie Thompson and Case. Linebacker and special-teams coach Ken Rucker will work from upstairs.
SQUIB-KICKS -- Several numbers changes of note for this fall: Marcus Jones from No. 40 to No. 5, Dexter Reid from 31 to 24, Parker from 35 to 15, and Jones from 15 to 8.
Players Mentioned
