University of North Carolina Athletics
Pace: Time For Some Football
December 17, 2001 | Football
Dec. 17, 2001
By Lee Pace
are going back to basics as preparations for Auburn get in full swing this week. |
Now, it's time for some football. It's time to get ready for Auburn.
"It will be a like a training camp practice," Carolina coach John Bunting says. "It's back to basics."
The Tar Heels were to take to the practice field late Monday afternoon as a full squad in full pads for a full two-hour session--their first wholesale preparation effort toward their meeting with Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Dec. 31st in Atlanta. To date, Carolina has juggled the coaching staff's priority on recruiting and the players' exam schedules and had a series of six one-hour practices at intermittent times over two weeks.
Beginning Monday, the Tar Heels will have a week's worth of preparation followed by a break for Christmas. The team will reconvene in Atlanta the day after Christmas.
"We're ready to get back to work," defensive tackle Ryan Sims says. "We've got a very big challenge ahead of us. Auburn's an excellent team."
The offensive side of the football will begin its preparations this week without offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill, who was hospitalized over the weekend with a lung infection. Carolina's first-year coordinator and quarterbacks coach had appeared to be in discomfort over the last few weeks with what he thought was "pulled cartilage" in his rib cage. It turned out to be more serious than that, and the 61-year-old coach had surgery Monday at UNC Hospitals to address the infection.
"I'd like to think he'll be ready next week," Bunting says. "I don't know that for sure. But it appears to be a problem that can be taken care of with the surgery."
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"You could tell coach Tranquill wasn't himself," freshman QB Darian Durant says. "You could tell something was wrong. He was not as vocal as he usually is."
Tranquill's illness is the only downbeat part of the Tar Heels' week, as they continue to look forward to playing a traditional Southeastern Conference power in front of what should be a full house in the Georgia Dome. A national TV audience will watch on ESPN against no other football competition.
"Beyond the BCS games, the Peach Bowl's about as good as you can do," says Bunting. "We have a great fan base in Atlanta and it's close to home. You're playing an SEC team on New Year's Eve. It's the only game in town that night."
The bowl preparations are actually giving Bunting an opportunity to catch his breath after a whirlwind couple of weeks. He's been to Atlanta twice, once for the ACC football banquet and once for a Peach Bowl press conference. He's been recruiting all over the Atlantic Seaboard. He's been to Charlotte for Shrine Bowl practices and to deliver a speech. He joined his former coach, Bill Dooley, and ex-teammate, Don McCauley, in New York for the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Dinner. He was with Peppers at an awards banquet in Charlotte.
"I've not stopped," he says. "It's been kind of scary."
The Tar Heels, 7-5, will face an Auburn team that finished 7-4 and has a number of similarities to the Tar Heels.
"They had some great wins just like we did--they beat Florida and Georgia," Bunting says. "They had a game or two they let slip away that I'm sure they'd like to have back just as we do. They played two quarterbacks. They played three tailbacks. They're multiple on offense and athletic on defense. They'll be a tremendous challenge for us."
