University of North Carolina Athletics
CAR-O-LINES: Secondary Shows Promise Against Tulsa
September 4, 2000 | Football
Sept. 4, 2000
Previous Car-O-Lines Columns
The return of quarterback Ronald Curry grabbed most of the attention in North Carolina's 30-9, season-opening win over Tulsa Saturday evening, but a solid defensive effort was equally as impressive.
That's not to say the Tar Heels didn't make mistakes. But, limiting the Golden Hurricane to just 242 total yards certainly gives Carolina something to build on for the future.
Tackle Ryan Sims and linebackers Brandon Spoon and Sedrick Hodge were especially outstanding up front. However, it was the Tar Heels' promising secondary play that may have been the most pleasing to Coach Carl Torbush.
Considering the way most teams now throw the football, winning in college football today requires solid play in the defensive backfield. Carolina made some mistakes there against Tulsa, but showed it has the ability to have an exceptional secondary.
Free safety Billy-Dee Greenwood, a 6-2, 185-pound junior from Norwalk, Conn., made plays all over the field. He was in on a team-high 14 tackles, including one for a six-yard loss. He also was credited with breaking up two passes.
Greenwood became a starter late in the 1998 season and then was a regular a year ago. He had 118 hits last fall, the most ever by a Carolina defensive back. The previous high had been 110 by Rondell Jones in 1992.
Greenwood came to Carolina after winning prep All-America honors at King & Low-Heywood School. He starred there both offensively and defensively. But, Carolina coaches targeted him for the secondary.
"He's a bright kid who's our leader back there," says Torbush. "He has the ability to recognize what's happening up front quickly and make adjustments. He's become a more physical player which is what we need in our free safety."
The major breakdown in the secondary on Saturday came when cornerback Errol Hood slipped and fell down on the wet field, allowing Tulsa to complete a 78-yard touchdown pass.
"It's one of those things that unfortunately happens when it rains like it rained Saturday night," says Torbush. "We know Errol is a solid cornerback.
"People always say a mistake by a defensive lineman can go unnoticed, but an error by a defensive back is seen by everyone. That was one of those instances."
Actually, for most of the game, Tulsa tried to pick on Carolina's other cornerback-- sophomore Michael Waddell, a sophomore from Ellerbe, N.C.-- who was playing his first collegiate game.
Waddell responded well by batting away three passes and making six tackles. He did drop a couple of balls that he might have intercepted, but at least kept them from being completions.
In fact, the major problem with the entire secondary was holding on to the football. At least four balls were thrown almost directly to defensive backs, but none were caught.
"We had our hands on at least six passes we could have intercepted," says Torbush. "Those are plays we're going to have to make in order to be a truly good defensive team. We only forced one turnover, a fumble, and we need to create more than that. We had our chances against Tulsa, but just didn't take advantage of them."
That may have simply been first-game jitters or the fact the ball was so wet. When you're not expecting a wet football to come straight at you, it's certainly more difficult to hold on to it.
The other starter in the secondary, senior strong safety David Bomar, had four tackles. Backups Kevin Knight, a sophomore from Suffolk, Va., and Dexter Reid, a red-shirt freshman from Norfolk, Va., also saw extensive action. That had been planned, as Carolina coaches wanted to see them under fire. However, with Tulsa launching 30 passes, the Tar Heels also needed them for their various nickel defenses.
Other than the one long play when Hood slipped on the wet field, Carolina was able to keep the Tulsa passing game fairly under control. Only one other completion covered more than 15 yards. That was a 20-yarder and came when wide receiver Donald Shoals grabbed a ball which Reid had tried to knock away and instead tipped into the air.
"Overall, for a first game, the secondary played pretty well," says Torbush. "But, we know offenses are going to get better as the season progresses and we have to improve back there, too. We also need to hold on to some of those interceptions we had in our hands last Saturday."
The next test comes immediately this week. Wake Forest quarterback C.J. Leak was a highly-acclaimed high school star in this state and the Deacons have a history of playing well against the Tar Heels.
One season doesn't make a season and the Carolina secondary needs to be ready for another challenge Saturday night in Winston-Salem.
