University of North Carolina Athletics
Pace: Simplify and Succeed
July 29, 2004 | Football
July 29, 2004
(This article originally appeared in Tar Heel Monthly. See below for information on how to subscribe.) By Lee Pace Jason Brown's goal each day when he goes to lift weights and run at Kenan Football Center is very simple: "I want to pass out or vomit every day," he says. Come again? "If it doesn't kill us, it will make us better," Brown says. "There is nothing here that will kill me. So there is nothing I'm afraid of. Coach Connors talks about putting a wall in front of us and we tear it down. There's no wall big enough." If there are 84 more mindsets like Brown's around Tar Heel football this summer, pencil the Tar Heels in for a bowl game come wintertime and an impressive about-face in from the two-year free-fall of Carolina's fortunes. It's impossible to peer into the minds and hearts of each player, of course, but if players like Brown and others who've been around the business of college football for several years are any indication, the will is certainly there. "The level of commitment is out of this world," Brown said in early June, referring to off-season conditioning drills--some voluntary per the NCAA and others under the direction of strength and conditioning coach Jeff Connors. "We're in what they call `discretionary period' right now, meaning the coaches can't make us show up. But on the first day, we had 100 percent attendance. There were no absences. We've set up a `buddy system.' Everyone has a partner. It's your job to make sure he's doing everything he can to win games." Winning games is something with which these Heels have had little experience--only five in two seasons. With the ACC muscling up through the additions of Miami and Virginia Tech, with the recent success of N.C. State and its ultra-talented Philip Rivers, with the juggernaut Ralph Friedgen has established at Maryland, Carolina football has faded into a blur on the national college landscape. It's getting no respect, and with good reason until it wins some games. "The pressure is on," Brown says. "The oven is as high as it will ever go for us to demand a winning season. And that's from everyone--from the coaches to the players on down. Even Jerry Green, our cook, says we won't eat if we don't get the job done. If we win, he'll cook steak and shrimp every night." There aren't many observers giving the Tar Heels and fourth-year head coach John Bunting a chance for winning this fall. The Sporting News ranks Carolina 10th in the ACC out of its new inventory of 11 teams. Athlon lists the Heels 10th in the league as well and No. 80 of 117 teams nationwide. Lindy's positions them 10th in the ACC and 74th in the country. There's only one way to gain any respect. And that's to become proficient on defense. Carolina's offense will be good this fall--likely very good--assuming that senior QB Darian Durant remains healthy. The Tar Heels have a quality line, outstanding receivers and some good running backs. They will score bunches of points. The kicking game should be fine, with young but talented kickers in David Wooldridge and Connor Barth handling the punting and place-kicking duties, respectively. Indeed, it's all about defense in 2004. "There's no way we could be any worse," says Durant, who's played for two years under the stifling pressure of knowing the offense had to score on every position to keep in the game. "I know it looked bad last fall," says tackle Chase Page. "But believe me, we were getting close." There are several ingredients on hand for an improved defense. First, the players are better. There are more of them, they are older and they've developed physically. End Kahlif Mitchell is the biggest recruiting snare in some time. "Kahlif Mitchell can really play," Durant says. "It's amazing--he's so good but still so raw. He's a big guy who can run. He'll make a difference." Freshman Kyndraus Guy could have helped last fall with his strength and quickness inside but chose to red-shirt. He's recovered from off-season shoulder surgery. Page had his best spring in '04. Senior Jonas Seawright and sophomore Isaiah Thomas have each lost more than 30 pounds and will bring more stamina and agility to stopping the running game inside. Safety Gerald Sensabaugh, a transfer from East Tennessee, is mature, tough and has a lot of football savvy. Linebackers Larry Edwards and Fred Sparkman are no longer babes in the woods. "At times last year we had five freshmen on the field. That's crazy," says Page. "It can be tough playing with freshmen. Say you have fourth-and-10, and if you stop them, we win the game. They shift a wide receiver, and a linebacker doesn't come out and pick him up. They get a gimme TD and win the game. It takes time to learn to make those reads." unting demoted former coordinator and linebackers coach Dave Huxtable after the 2003 season and fired secondary coach Jim Fleming. Huxtable then took a job at Central Florida, giving Bunting a blank canvas for finding a coordinator, linebackers coach and secondary coach. He liked the potential in a veteran like John Gutekunst and a young gun like Marvin Sanders sharing the coordinator role. Pick whichever reason or combination of reasons you'd like for the Heels' woeful performance the last two years--bad recruiting under Carl Torbush, bad recruiting under John Bunting, no speed, poor coaching, too complicated a scheme, too much youth, lack of leadership, too many injuries. Part of the problem was getting locked into a whirlwind of negativity as each season progressed and never having a chance to come up for oxygen. Sometimes it takes change for the sake of change to provide a breath of fresh air. "College football is a business," Page says. "Coaches get frustrated, just like the boss in a company would. They might take it out on their employees--or players in our case. It turns into a grind and everything becomes negative. Changing the coaching staff gives us a clean slate. Everyone's starting over." unting and the defensive staff debated long and often the last two years over the issue of how complicated to make the defensive game plan. Knowing the Tar Heels were short on speed, athleticism, age and numbers, Huxtable erred on the side of doing too much, of having the perfect personnel group and stunt and coverage for each of dozens of down-and-distance and field-position variables. The new defense is less taxing mentally. "It looks like they've simplified the defense," Durant says. "The guys don't have to think so much. They're using their talent, speed and athleticism to go make plays. If you hesitate about where you're going, where you have to be, there's no way you can make plays." Sanders seems to be connecting with the secondary. Tackling receivers in open field and snaring interceptions are two priorities this fall. The Tar Heels have been terrible tacklers at cornerback for two years and made only eight interceptions over the last 24 games. Last fall saw them pick off but two opposing aerials, by far last in the ACC. N.C. State had nine interceptions for the next-to-last total. "I've seen us get our hands on more balls this spring than I had in the previous three springs put together," Bunting says. Improving on third downs is another priority. Last fall, the Tar Heels allowed their opponents to convert on 46 percent of third downs, next-to-last in the ACC (Wake Forest yielded 50 percent). "Third-downs are the most frustrating thing in the world," Page says. "I hate that worse than anything. You have a breakdown in your pass rush. Or you have a breakdown in coverage. They get a first down and it builds up. Now, I think we've got some older guys and some better guys. I think guys like Kahlif Mitchell and Kyndraus Guy will get some heat on the quarterback we've not had before. Maybe we can force him into some bad throws and get off the field." If that happens, the Tar Heels will win some games and show the improvement needed to underscore the advances in recruiting and staff management Bunting has made since he's been at Carolina. Bill Dooley and Mack Brown proved that bad times don't last if you recruit well and are patient enough to let the young kids grow up. "I believe this group of players is probably the best combination of both talent and leadership and character than I've had since I've been here," Bunting says. "We're very close, I think, to getting back to where we want to be. I think in large part the pieces to this enormous puzzle are now in place." "And nobody's going to enjoy it more than me when we get there, believe me," he says. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly, click here.
