University of North Carolina Athletics
COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF: Heels Use Sign Language
August 14, 2003 | Football
Aug. 14, 2003
By Adam Lucas
At some point, every quarterback on the North Carolina roster has wanted to yell at offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill.
Only Landon Mariani actually gets the chance.
Despite his less-than-imposing stature, Tranquill can be a formidable practice field presence. He doesn't deal well with mental mistakes or poor preparation, and he has a way of making his displeasure known in pointed fashion.
On game day, however, it's Mariani who has to communicate with Tranquill over the headsets. Tranquill calls the offensive plays from the press box, Mariani converts them to hand signals on the sideline and then passes them on to Darian Durant.
"I like to have the play in when the play clock is at 15 at the latest," Mariani says. "Sometimes Coach isn't sure what he wants to call and I have to say, 'Come on, Tranq, let's go.'"
Very few fans can identify the guy wearing number 9 on the Carolina sideline, but the offense can't get started without Landon Mariani, who has called the offensive plays using hand signals for the past two seasons. Born just four months after Michael Jordan clinched the 1982 national championship, Mariani is a lifelong Tar Heel fan who was an all-conference performer at Freedom High School.
Although he had a couple of football offers from Division II schools, a call from Carolina staff member Rick Steinbacher had an immediate effect on Mariani's college plans.
"I had gotten into Carolina based on my grades," he says. "When Coach Steinbacher called and asked if I wanted to walk on, I told him I would have to sit down and talk about it with my parents, but truthfully, it was over at that point. It had been my dream my whole life to play college football at the University of North Carolina. We had to fill out goals during my freshman year in high school and I put play quarterback at UNC."
Most of the snaps taken by the 6-foot-2 senior have come on the practice field, although he did play three snaps in a win over Clemson in 2001. Already this preseason, he's turned over some of the backup duties to C.J. Stephens and Matt Baker and spent some practice periods signaling in plays rather than getting under center.
It's not an exact science. Mariani spent most of the 2001 preseason learning the 50 or 60 signals that running backs coach Andre Powell had prepared, and by the time the season started he had expanded his repertoire to approximately 200 signals. He admits to making a signaling mistake just twice in his Carolina career, both at Maryland in 2001. Fortunately, the versatile Ronald Curry was able to make the best of the situation.
"I couldn't really go wrong with Ronald," Mariani says with a smile.
With all the variables involved, it's easy to see how problems could develop. As any given play concludes, personnel groups are changing. In the press box, Tranquill consults his play sheets that cover every situation. For example, if it's 2nd and 5, he consults his plays for 2nd and medium. If he wants a run, he looks at the run plays. If it's a pass, he uses the pass plays.
"OK, it's 2nd and 5," Mariani hears on his headset. "Alright, Mariani, here we go. Right far fly, 492."
That play call covers formation, motion, and the play. It's then Mariani's job to translate that call into signals and deliver it to Durant, all before the 25-second clock ticks below 15.
If it sounds complicated, that's because it is. That's why most sign-stealing is reserved for baseball, although the Tar Heels will occasionally employ a dummy signal-caller next to Mariani and alternate which one is "live" if there is any suspicion of opponent sign-stealing or if they are facing a team with a coach who is familiar with Carolina's system.
But the senior sign expert says that's not the hardest part of his job. The hardest part, according to the quarterback who hopes to become a graduate assistant next season and enjoy a coaching career, is staying calm.
"Not only am I a player, I'm the biggest Carolina fan ever," he says. "When we get a big run, I'm running down the field pumping my fist just like the next guy."
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly, click here.
