University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heel Football Notebook
November 3, 2005 | Football
Nov. 3, 2005
By Adam Lucas
Marvin Sanders has seen the depth chart. He's watched the film. And he was there in person last year at the Continental Tire Bowl.
So it's not news to Carolina's defensive coordinator that Boston College boasts the biggest offensive line in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The BC behemoths average 6-foot-6, 314 pounds. As Sanders gameplans a defense to attack that line, one principle drives his strategy.
"We have to beat them to the punch," he says. "They are big and they are going to maul you. When they are pulling, if they see you coming they will get the better of you. So we have to beat them to the punch. If a guy is pulling, our linebacker has to get there first and catch him before he gets square. We have to catch that big fullback before he gets his feet set. That's how you attack a big, physical team."...
Carolina's scheduling philosophies have been discussed often in recent years, especially as the 2005 slate places the Tar Heels among the nation's best in strength of schedule. But with the Heels needing three wins in four games to earn bowl eligibility, with two of those games against top-20 programs, another benefit may have become evident. "It's very possible (to win three of four)," Quinton Person says. "We've played some very tough opponents already this year. Great competition isn't new for us. We just have to focus on what we do as a team, be assignment sound, and not worry as much about the other teams." ...
John and Dawn Bunting welcomed a group of visitors to Wednesday's practice session. A handful of Tar Heel fans from the Murdoch Center, which provides residential care to mentally handicapped residents, visited Chapel Hill at the invitation of the Tar Heel head coach's wife. Incidentally, the Center has another Carolina connection, as former wide receiver Octavus Barnes used to work there. John Bunting and several UNC players made a point of stopping by the group during practice to welcome them to Chapel Hill...Durrel Mapp had six tackles in his debut start against Virginia, but had a tougher game against Miami last weekend. "He didn't play quite as well against Miami, but he was also the first one in the film room on Sunday watching tape of the next opponent," Sanders says. "Durrel is going to be very good. He's going to be special. He has the right mentality. He's not very outspoken but there is something about him." Fellow middle linebacker Victor Worsley is back healthy after suffering a heel injury and should see some snaps against Boston College, but Mapp is the clear starter at this point...
Carolina has four seniors starting on the offensive line this year, which means there will be numerous holes to fill in 2006. But they may try to plug one of those holes with...a current senior. The program is in the very preliminary stages of trying to obtain a sixth year of eligibility for tackle Brian Chacos.
"We have had discussions with Brian and Brian's parents about pursuing the sixth year due to what took place his first and second year," Bunting said after Wednesday's practice. "He had appendicitis his first year as a freshman and never had a chance to play. His second year he had knee surgery."
A sixth year of eligibility is fairly unusual, but the Tar Heels successfully pursued that option with Skip Seagraves last year after Seagraves's season-ending injury.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. He is the coauthor of the official book of the 2005 championship season, Led By Their Dreams, and his book on Roy Williams's first season at Carolina, Going Home Again, is now available in bookstores. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly or learn more about Going Home Again, click here.
