University of North Carolina Athletics
Droschak: Despite Tough Schedule Bunting Looks To Keep Heels Moving Forward
July 26, 2005 | Football
July 26, 2005
By DAVID DROSCHAK, TarHeelBlue.com
HOT SPRINGS, Va. - John Bunting glanced at the 2005 ACC preseason football poll Monday, saw his North Carolina Tar Heels picked to finish fifth in the Coastal Division and playfully tore it into four pieces.
"I like to have a little fun with that stuff, but we're all pretty serious about what we're up against," Bunting said. "We know that this year is going to be a very difficult schedule. We know we have some strengths and we have some weaknesses. But there is a great spirit on our team. The guys who are seniors now learned a lot from last year."
The Tar Heels weren't expected to post many wins in 2004, and were picked to finish 10th in the 11-team ACC.
The prognosticators were way off base as North Carolina went to a bowl and finished 6-6, posting impressive home wins over Miami and N.C. State.
Bunting hopes this year's team can also pull off some unexpected wins against a powerhouse non-conference schedule that includes Louisville, Utah and Wisconsin, along with ACC games against the Hurricanes, Boston College and Virginia Tech.
"I know our players don't want to go backwards," Bunting said. "With the schedule we have there could be some close games, there could be some heartbreaks, but the things that I've talked about since I've got to Carolina were changing the culture and changing the mental toughness, and I think we've got some now. The only thing I want to change is I want us to be a more consistent football team."
Bunting had little to do with putting together UNC's grueling 2005 schedule, but he points out that some of his other teams faced similar tasks and used them as motivation.
"Louisville may even be projected as No. 1, but we've never shied away from playing good teams," Bunting said. "We've never cried about our schedule and we're not going to do it again this year. It is great for our players and great for our fans to be able to see these great teams come into Kenan. I love our home schedule this year. And we've competed with some of these teams in the past."
Bunting did say future schedules at UNC may have to be lightened up somewhat.
"With the way the ACC is at this point, one thing we don't want to do is overschedule," he said. "We want to be a little more sensible about scheduling non-conference opponents."
Meanwhile, there is no new update on starting running back Ronnie McGill, who tore a chest muscle lifting weights in June and is expected to miss at least four months.
"I am going to try to pin our folks down a little more clearly on it at some point. All I know is we won't have him at the start of the season," Bunting said. "Realistically, we'll have Ronnie back halfway through the season, if at all. It is a shame it happened because Ronnie is a great kid, a tough kid. He always does all the right things, he's always in class, he's always on time. I hate to see it happen to a kid like that."
Bunting said McGill will be at fall camp and count against UNC's 105-limit despite his inability to play.
"He's too important not to have in training camp," Bunting said. "He has a great affect on everybody. He always has a big smile on his face."
With McGill out, the Tar Heels are thin at running back. LSU transfer Barrington Edwards will head into camp as the starter, while seldom-used sophomore Vince Wilson is the backup.
Bunting said he would likely look at some incoming freshmen for more help in the backfield before switching a player from another position. A prime candidate there would be senior strong safety Mahlon Carey, who rushed for 1,615 yards and 24 TDs his final season at South Cobb High School in Georgia.
"I'm not going to say that that won't happen," Bunting said of the potential Carey position change. "I'm just not going to go there right now. We can cross that bridge later."
