University of North Carolina Athletics
Extra Points Mailbag
December 24, 2004 | Football
Dec. 24, 2004
by Lee Pace, Extra Points
The Tar Heels have broken for the Christmas holiday and will reconvene in Charlotte on Christmas evening. Coach John Bunting and his staff and strength coach Jeff Connors are hoping the Tar Heels will find time each to get some exercise each day and to watch what they eat over the Christmas holiday. That first practice after several days of grazing on Mom's home cooking can be a tough one.
In the meantime, here are some of the issues on the minds of Tar Heel fans the last couple of weeks.
With Virginia opting not to play in the Tangerine Bowl game [actually now the Champs Sports Bowl] due to exam conflicts, it seems UNC jumped on the Continental Tire Bowl a little too quickly. What options for bowls did UNC have and what is the time limit a team has to accept an invite? I think most players and fans would rather be in Orlando this time of year instead of heading up I-85 to Charlotte. Instead, Georgia Tech, a team we beat, gets the break on this one.
Dustin Powell, Greensboro
There will be times in the future when waiting on a bowl game you want might be the thing to do. And there will be a year when a trip to Orlando and the theme-park and amusements of the area would be very attractive to Carolina football and its family of fans.
But this year, the Charlotte bowl was absolutely the proper thing to do.
In the first place, the Tar Heels at 5-5 entering the final week of the regular season were not in a strong bargaining position. With a win over Duke, a bowl bid anywhere would be a major accomplishment for a team written off after a mid-October trip to Utah. So it was apparent that a fit with the Charlotte bowl would be a good one for Carolina should it beat Duke and have a 6-5 record.
Having a post-season game in the Tar Heels' backyard in their return to bowl competition after a two-year hiatus gives thousands of Carolina fans an opportunity to see the game without committing to the time and expense of traveling to Florida. The bowl game is nearing a sell-out, and it's not Boston College fans that are flocking to the ticket window. Bank of America Stadium will be awash in Carolina blue the afternoon of Dec. 30th.
The game in Charlotte with the attendant publicity will be a boost to recruiting as well. The Carolina coaching staff is working feverishly to re-establish Carolina as the dominant in-state force as it was in the early and mid-1990s. It is making inroads though is certainly not close to where it wants to be. To have newspaper stories and TV reports saturating the state from Charlotte for five days next week will be good for the program.
Finally, the Champs Sports Bowl date would have made it difficult on the Tar Heels for the same reason Virginia opted for a post-Christmas bowl. Exams in Chapel Hill ended last Thursday, Dec. 16th. Preparations for the bowl game would have been very limited through that date. The football staff could have made it work, but a post-Christmas date was preferable.
Add all these elements together and Tar Heels and the Continental Tire Bowl in 2004 are an ideal fit.
What will the effect be on the bowl game and the 2005 team from the departures of Alden Blizzard, Dauntae Fields and Stephen Green?
Franklin Marion, Mocksville
There will be no effect for the bowl game, as Blizzard and Fields were reserves and Green was being red-shirted as a freshman. Green's return to his home in Little Rock, Ark., is the one that stings. He is an outstanding athlete with good football bloodlines (his brother, Greg Wesley, plays for the Kansas City Chiefs). But he was homesick from the beginning of training camp in August and never felt comfortable so far away from home. Unfortunately, that happens the further you go away from home to sign players. Quarterback Nick Cangelosi left after his freshman season in 2003 to return home to Pennsylvania for the same reason.
The offensive line has clearly been one of the Tar Heels' strengths this year. With the loss of center Jason Brown and tackle Willie McNeill, how do you see the line stacking up for next fall?
Stanley Craven, Boone
Obviously the news that senior tackle Skip Seagraves would be granted an extra year of eligibility following his foot injury early in the 2004 season is huge for the Tar Heels. Next year they'll have four potential starters with plenty of game experience -- Seagraves at right tackle, Brian Chacos at left tackle, Kyle Ralph at left guard and Charlston Gray at right guard.
Steven Bell has played extensively as a backup center and guard and will get an opportunity to start at center. Also in the mix will be Arthur Smith and Scott Lenahan. Ben Lemming, who played as a true freshman this fall in a reserve tackle role, will get a look at center this spring as well.
In the case of the seniors graduating in December -- Madison Hedgecock comes to mind -- what will those guys be doing to prep for the upcoming NFL draft? I know in the past that some players, like Jeff Reed, stay in the Chapel Hill area to utilize the training facilities on campus. Are the coaches available to help those individuals who are wanting to improve their skills prior to the NFL workouts and the draft? As a Ledford High School and Carolina graduate, I'm looking forward to seeing Madison next year in the "Tar Heels in the NFL."
Joyce Chambliss, High Point
Players whose eligibility has expired are welcome to use the training facilities in the Kenan Football Center for as long as they wish. Strength and conditioning coach Jeff Connors and his staff are available to help those players plan and implement conditioning programs as they travel to NFL combines and to various NFL cities for interviews.
Where Bunting and the coaching staff are most helpful to the graduating players is in using their contacts within the NFL on their behalf. A good word from a player's college coach can make the difference in what team selects a player and in which round. Those contacts can also help a player get a free-agent tryout and contract that he wouldn't have gotten otherwise.
What is the process for the players to receive the feet on their helmets? Are they for individual accomplishments or team goals? Playing football at a young age, we got them for individual accomplishments, and I think each player should get them for team goals reached!
Matthew Hanback, Warrenton Va.
John Bunting shares your philosophy. When Bunting arrived in 2001, he discontinued the practice of giving players the little "Heel Print" decals earned for big plays -- fumbles caused, interceptions, domination blocks, etc.
"Players are supposed to do those things," Bunting said. "Why single them out for individual reward for things they are supposed to be doing?"
This year, Bunting instructed the Carolina equipment staff to put two decals on each helmet after every victory. So every player has 12 decals on his helmet, two for each of six wins in 2004.
