University of North Carolina Athletics
Woofter Ready For Big Season
August 5, 2001 | Football
Aug. 5, 2001
by Adam Lucas
TarHeelBlue.com
Greg Woofter was the most popular player in camp during his freshman year in Chapel Hill.
Not for a good reason.
"I got housed in one-on-one drills," the redshirt sophomore said. "Guys were fighting over who got to go against me. It was embarrassing. I called my mom on the first or second day and told her to keep that bed ready for me because I was coming home."
Quite a bit has changed since then. The scrawny true freshman has morphed into the starting left tackle.
The redshirt sophomore from Tennessee saw some playing time in 2000, but it wasn't always pleasant. He spent most of the year as a backup, but got on the field long enough to give up a game-turning sack against NC State that he still remembers with a wince.
"I had to learn the hard way," he said. "That probably led to our loss. I run that play in the back of my mind, but there's nothing I can do about it now.
"I kind of feel sorry for Ronald [Curry] sometimes. I have to go against Julius Peppers every day in practice, so I can imagine what it's like to have a guy like that on Ronald's back because of my mistake."
Curry was sacked 36 times last year, a figure that has to improve in 2001. This year's line has four new faces, but the most scrutinized may be Woofter, who has to protect the quarterback's blind side every Saturday against some of the most talented defensive ends in the nation.
He's getting an early crash course in quarterback protection in practice, where he lines up against Peppers.
Those twice-a-day practice matchups with the potential All-American defensive end have quickly become one of the early practice highlights. At least, that is, for those who don't have to line up across from Peppers.
"Wouldn't you love to be Greg Woofter?" head coach John Bunting asked with an intense smile after one practice. "I'd love to be him."
"I just look at it as an opportunity," Woofter said. "The guy is a freak of nature. I'm going to have to face good defensive ends in games, so this is an opportunity."
He's got the bloodlines for it. His father played for the University of Tennessee, where he was a 230-pound defensive tackle. His uncle played for Penn State and won a national championship.
Woofter entered Carolina weighing 245 pounds. He played last year at 255 and currently checks in at 280. Some of that weight came from his mother's made-from-scratch lasagna, which he brags is an outstanding dish. But most of it came from the weight room, where he has been a frequent guest.
"Greg Woofter has really worked hard," Bunting said. "He is a different person than when I first met him."
He's also a starter now, one of four sophomores on the starting offensive line. The group is made up of some distinct personalities, and it isn't the typical group of rambunctious buffet-killers. Jupiter Wilson is quieter, while Adam Metts is quickly developing a renown set of sticky fingers.
The senior center pilfered Will Chapman's playbook on Friday, leaving Chapman without a playbook, a cardinal sin under the new Bunting regime. That left Chapman scrambling to find it, an amusing scene to all those who knew where their playbooks were.
"I've got mine under lock and key," Woofter said.
Those hijinks are necessary to keep Metts at bay. But Woofter is well aware that the only attention he will get from the casual fan will be when he gives up a big sack, as he did against the Wolfpack.
"No one is going to get the big head playing on the offensive line," he said. "We never look for glory."
Even if they look for glory, they won't find it, unless offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill shocks everyone and suddenly installs a tackle-eligible play. ut the once-undersized Woofter knows his role.
"I was thinking about it the other day," Woofter said. "I'm going into my third year here. All the guys I know, the James Wagstaffs and Allen Mogridges, are gone. I'm one of the oldest guys here. Basically, I've just got to go out there and hit someone. That's all you can do."
