University of North Carolina Athletics
Athletic Freshmen Begin Carolina Careers
August 5, 2000 | Football
Aug. 5, 2000
The official start of the 2000 college football season got underway today as 20 University of North Carolina freshmen went through a battery of physical tests and a one hour and 30 minute practice session at Francis E. Henry Stadium.
The day started early with a 6 a.m. wakeup call and meetings began at 7:45 a.m. The players went through a series of tests conducted by Strength and Conditioning Coordinator George Smith that lasted for more than an hour and a half. A few minutes before 11 a.m., the players donned UNC shoulder pads and helmets for the first time and began a 18-period practice.
"I said it last year and I will say it again this year, after one practice I can already tell you that we saw enough athletic ability out there this morning to say that if had to do it all over again, we would sign each and every one of these young men," says head coach Carl Torbush. "That's the biggest compliment I can give to them. They were in pretty good shape, not enough for what we want but they have a couple of days before the varsity gets here. I was very impressed with the strength of the players, especially (quarterback) Darian Durant and (fullback) Kitwana Jones. JoVon Lewis was outstanding in the conditioning run. This is the hardest practice for the freshmen. It certainly is the longest."
Torbush said right now the positions freshmen could make the quickest impact on the varsity roster look to be punter, fullback, tailback and defensive line. "When we signed Madison Hedgecock we knew he could play tight end, linebacker or fullback and we are going to give him a hard look at fullback," sayts Torbush. "Kitwana Jones could also play linebacker or fullback, but right now he's a fullback. Those two have a chance to play this year. A lot of guys out here could play another position. We knew Madison and Kitwana were athletes who could play several places.
"I was impressed with (tailbacks) Andre' Williams and Brandon Russell. Andre' has been in summer school so he has already had a chance to show the other players how mature he is. Brandon is a good athlete who was coached really well in high school. He comes from a great program. Both are mentally ready to go, but we will see how they handle physical play next week when the varsity shows up and they get banged around."
Durant, one of two freshman querterbacks in camp along with Durham's Aaron Leak, set a UNC record for quarterbacks when he bench pressed 320 pounds. Smith also credited Wilmington's Jones, who bench pressed a rookie-high 410 pounds.
JoVon Lewis, a 6-1, 175-pound defensive back from Greensboro, turned heads by blowing away the field in the 1,000-yard shuttle run. However, the linemen also performed well. 6-6, 290-pound defensive tackle Jonas Seawright was impressive in another 'cross-field' shuttle run as he stormed from behind to finish in eye-opening fashion.
unnlevel, N.C., linebacker Clarence Gaddy had the top vertical leap according to Smith, although raw data was still being converted to account for each player's reach.
The freshmen will practice again Saturday afternoon and twice on Monday before the upperclasmen return on Tuesday.
Hedgecock was originally issued No. 80, but has been switched to No. 40. Other numbers changes involving varsity players include safety Marcus Jones (now 5, was 40) and fullback James Faison (was 47, now 48).
