University of North Carolina Athletics
Coach Caldwell On The Offensive Line: Part I
June 12, 2001 | Football
June 12, 2001
By: Joe Bray
TarHeelBlue: Could you please brief us on each of your players and how they did this spring?
Coach Caldwell: "The good part about my players is that all of them are here this summer. A couple because they have to, but most of them because they want to, and that's exciting.
"Greg Woofter was by here today, he's a little over 270. We've got him on a weight gaining program. He needs to get bigger.
"He's excited, that's the thing I like to see. He's excited about the season, he wants to do well. He played all spring with a hurt wrist, which is kind of hard for an offensive lineman to do, as much as you use your hands to punch.
"I was impressed with the progress he made, I look for him to have a good year. He and I have talked about how we've got to get him more aggressive, more physical. He will hustle and play hard.
"I think with added weight and more strength, his confidence level will rise. If he puts forth the effort, which I know he will, he'll have a chance to do well for us.
"He'll be a leader in there. It's very important to him that the team does well.
"Behind Greg is Willie McNeill. Willie's a freshman. He made some progress this spring, but the biggest thing is Willie got sick this spring, some kind of bacterial problem right before he reported, and he lost a lot of weight.
"That may turn out to be a blessing because now he's putting it on in the right way. He's got to get stronger and more physical. I'm going to end up saying that about almost all of them, due to their youth and inexperience. This whole group, with the exception of Adam Metts, is basically sophomores.
"Willie's not really comfortable yet with what he has to do, he's having to think a lot. Hopefully, by hanging around with these other guys this summer, he'll begin to learn things a little better.
"He's got the frame to get bigger and stronger. We've just got to get him to turn loose, 'Hey, let's play.' I think a lot of that will happen as he gets more comfortable with what to do.
"I really think Willie can be a good player for us here before he's done.
"Jupiter Wilson was over 300 before I got here, then he lost some weight, now we want to add some muscle to him with less body fat content.
"Jupiter can be a good player for us as well. He's also just learning the system. He gets a little hyper some times, he needs to relax and control his body.
"He had a couple of injuries that kept him out of the lineup some last year, which hurt his progress, but I look for a solid year out of Jupiter.
"Riko Feemster hurt his knee at the end of spring, plus this new system has been a bit of a struggle for him. We've got to get his weight down and his quickness up.
"He is beginning to lose weight. We're probably going to have to get him in the 285-290 range to see if he can pick up a step in quickness.
"He's got to really improve on his mobility. He's a little stiff right now. He's having kind of a hard time now, since he just had his knee scoped. ut, he should be back to full speed in a couple of weeks.
"He's got to get in better shape.
"Adam Metts is our only senior on the line, and he's never been redshirted. What Adam has to do is not just get in the weight room, but learn to love the weight room.
"At his size, constantly banging into those big bodies, he's got to become a weight room rat. He's always lifted, but he needs to build other parts of his body besides just upper body. He's got to protect his legs. I'd like to see him around 275 or 280.
"He's had a chronic shoulder problem, but Adam's a tough young man. He never missed a practice, he continued to go at it hard.
"More than anything, Adam's a good player. He's the type you want, he'll fight a chain saw with it running. He's aggressive, sometimes too agressive instead of just taking care of business. He's got that mean streak in him that you love, but we've got to control that.
"The big think for Adam is to set an example and lead. We need for him to be a leader, not just for the offensive line, but for the team as well. He's very capable of doing that. I think he can.
"Behind Adam we switched Isaac Moorford and Marcus Wilson. Isaac moved from guard to center, and I think that's been a good move for his career. Isaac is very smart, he probably knows the system better than any of the other linemen at this point.
"We've just got to get him to keep his head up, to be a physical player. That was the biggest problem he had last year, particulary in pass protection. He needs to move his feet, be strong and confident.
"He's probably in the best shape he's ever been in right now. I hear all the players bragging on him about the way he's running. Now I want him to tone that up into some muscle and be more aggressive and physical.
"I think this is going to be a good move for him. I'd like to see him take over that spot when Adam graduates.
"Marcus Wilson is a physical player, even though he's small in stature. He's got to gain some weight. He worries a lot about that.
"The biggest thing with him is to get him to relax, he gets too excited, out of control sometimes. He's very aggressive. Contact is something that he loves.
"We've got to get him around the 280-285 mark. He's been there before, but holding weight is hard for him. We need for him to come through for us this fall. We've got to keep him ready.
"He is one tough guy, he will get after you.
"Behind Marcus is David Stevenson, who's going to be good competition. It could be one or the other at that position.
"David is a talented young man who's lost some of that talent because he's gotten too big. He's listed at 328 on the depth chart, but he's above that. David has to learn to control his eating. Lord knows, we've tried in every way.
"I think the biggest thing with David, and I'll tell you and the world, is his commitment to football. If he's committed this year and prepares himself, David can be a player for us. We need him to.
"He's let his body fat get out of control. He told me the other day that he's ready to get down to business, but he's told me that before. I'm anxious to see when he's going to make that commitment, because we can't wait much longer.
"The fact of the matter is that we're slim in numbers. We need everybody to be in the program full speed, excited and ready to go. We would like to be able to count on him.
"This summer is big for David. David's got to make a commitment both on the field and off, because pretty soon time's going to run out.
"At right tackle we have Jeb Terry. Jeb really impressed me by coming back from ankle and knee injuries. He's a tough individual. He had a little spell of bad luck, but we're looking for his luck to change.
"He's got to get more flexible. I think that will happen. He's been somewhat limited by his injuries.
"One thing about Jeb Terry is that he's going to work, he wants to be a good player, and he will be a good player for us. He's got a great attitude. I think he'll give us some good leadership, he likes to play, he'll get after you.
"When you've got a group where all of them will get after you, then we can start hitting on all cylinders. In the offensive line, even if you're not as talented as some team's are, attitude and effort can take the place of that.
"Finish our blocks, that's our motto. We've got to stick on them like glue, play hard until the whistle blows. Hopefully, next fall everybody will start playing hard until the back end of that whistle. That's what we're after.
"I'm excited about Jeb, I thing he'll do well.
"Right now we've got Skip Seagraves behind Jeb. Skip closed out the spring strong. Part of that was my fault. At the beginning of spring we had him playing both sides. That might have been a little too much to ask of a freshman.
"Certainly, he'll eventually be able to do that with no problem, but once we put him at that one spot and let him settle in, he really improved. Like so many of the others, he's got to get bigger and stronger. He's put on weight since he's been here, he's right on course. I don't think he could do anymore as far as that's concerned.
"He was thin coming in, he was a center. Now at tackle I think he'll fit in comfortably there since he played tackle in high school.
"He's an excited young man, he wants to be good. That's a simple phrase, 'Wants to be good', but that's important that they want to do well. They have to have pride and want to be a player.
"I know Skip will work this summer.
"When you've got the possibility of two sophomores starting and backed up by two redshirt freshmen, it could be tough, but it could be great, because they'll be there for a long time.
"Behind Skip we have Justin Barton. Justin has the size and the ability, but we've got to get the 'want to' into him. When you're that young part of it is the indecision of not knowing what to do, it makes you look timid. It's not just that he's thinking too much, but I don't see that fire in him like I'd hoped to see.
"Of course, he's not the only one, a lot of these younger guys are thinking a little bit too much. They've got to get that fire in them, they've got to develop that aggressive attitude.
"Hey, if you don't know what to do, just knock the nearest different colored jersey on his butt.
"Justin's not only got to get stronger, he's got to get more flexible. He doesn't bend his knees well, and he's got to be committed to working on that. Just every day at football practice is not enough. He's got to do that every day in the weight room.
"The strength coaches are very aware of it. He's a tall individual, so we've got to get his pads down, and the way to do that is by bending his knees. end at the knees and the hips, not at the waist. He's a little too much of a waist-bender right now.
"He has talent. We need to get him more aggressive so we can get some help out of him.
"All of these guys have got to get better, because the guys behind them aren't even here yet."
Look for Part II on Thursday, June 14.
