University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Seagraves Steps Up At Left Tackle
April 8, 2002 | Football
April 8, 2002
Wanted: burly college student willing to battle fire-breathing defensive linemen, sometimes two at a time, every Saturday from August through December. Experience a plus, notoriety highly unlikely unless you are inept at the job. If you struggle, expect to receive plenty of blame.
It's not exactly an easy job that Skip Seagraves walked into this spring. Starter Greg Woofter walked away from football over the winter, leaving his left tackle position vacant. The starting role has fallen to Seagraves, a 6-foot-5, 282-pound sophomore from Burlington.
Although just a sophomore, Seagraves shouldn't have any trouble fitting in on an offensive line that is-yet again-young. Three sophomores and two juniors are working with the first team, and true sophomore Jason Brown is still in his first few weeks of practice at center after shifting from tackle.
It's a move with which Seagraves is familiar. He moved from center to guard last spring before moving to tackle last fall. With the youthful depth across the line, the constant position-shifting may not be finished.
"There's a lot of pressure trying to perform every day," said Seagraves, whose father Al is the football coach at Elon. "Spring ball is all about fighting for position. We've got a bunch of other guys, and Coach Hunter says he's going to put the best five players on the field. Somebody might practice at guard but step in at tackle. You have to play hard every down."
Hunter is in his first year as offensive line coach at Carolina and has already made some much-appreciated adjustments. After taking over a group that has been the target of intense focus for the past few seasons in Chapel Hill, Hunter tried to simplify the assignments.
"It's taken a lot of pressure off the line as far as picking up blitzes," Seagraves said. "We'll double-team more, and do some quick doubles just to help out on the initial punch off the ball. For the new guys coming in this summer, it's going to be a lot easier for them to pick it up."
There are a couple of talented new guys coming in with the freshmen, but most, if not all, of the burden this fall will be carried by players already on campus. Since the offensive line is one of the few position groups that truly has to function as a cooperating machine at all times, the players have already taken steps to form a tight-knit group.
Part of that process has involved weekly Friday-evening dinners out. And the linemen don't mess around with the middle man-they usually go straight to the top.
"We always see the chef when we're finished eating, and he says we clean him out every time," Seagraves said.
The hope is that cleaning out a few Chapel Hill dining establishments leads to cleaning up defensive linemen this fall. It's a job that doesn't get many accolades when it goes well, as it did for much of the middle of last season and again in the Peach owl, but gets plenty of blame when it struggles-as it did at the beginning of 2001.
If things go perfectly for Seagraves this fall and he effectively shields the blind side of the quarterback, it's entirely possible that no one will know his name. Conversely, if he gives up a few early sacks, he'll be a household name among Tar Heel football fans.
It's all part of the job description. And Seagraves is happy to be trying to fill it.
"I feel really comfortable playing under Coach Hunter," he said. "He's real confident with this group, and he's a great coach and a real motivator."
