University of North Carolina Athletics
Countdown to Camp: Battles to Watch
August 11, 2005 | Football
Aug. 11, 2005
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By Adam Lucas
Carolina's varsity football players awoke this morning to something they won't hear much for the next ten days: the sound of silence. Air horns will announce the early morning wakeup calls beginning tomorrow at 6:30 a.m. and continuing until players move out of their temporary dorm and into permanent housing on August 21.
Today is check-in day for all members of the varsity. It will be a day full of details and meetings, with the first practice scheduled for Friday afternoon.
When the Tar Heels finally hit the practice field, we'll have daily practice reports, quotes from head coach John Bunting and various other coaches and players, and practice photos. We're also going to do something a little different this year, as TarHeelBlue.com will be taking you behind the scenes into some of the lesser-known aspects of training camp.
One of the continuing stories of camp will be the battles for playing time at several key positions. What follows is a list of five position battles to watch. We'll update these battles as camp progresses.
Strong safety: Trimane Goddard, Mahlon Carey, Martel Thatch
This race won't get the daily attention of some of the other more marquee attractions on this list, but it's probably more important. Carolina quietly returns significant experience from the 2004 defense (granted, it's experience from a defense that ranked 109 out of 117 Division I schools). But for all the pieces to fit, the Tar Heels have to find a replacement for leading tackler Gerald Sensabaugh, who turned one year in Chapel Hill into team co-captain honors and a fifth-round selection by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
"We're better up front, we have depth up front, we're faster and have more depth at the linebacker position, and we have experience in the secondary," John Bunting says. "The question mark is the strong safety position. Who will win that job? It could be Trimane Goddard, Martel Thatch, or Mahlon Carey. It could be any of those guys. Great competition at positions makes other players better."
Goddard and Carey are physical opposites (Goddard stands 5-foot-11, 185 pounds; Carey is 6-foot-2, 215 pounds) but should get many of the early first-team repetitions.
"Mahlon is a very talented player who just needs to refine his play at the safety spot," says defensive coordinator Marvin Sanders. "The thing about Trimane is that he is fearless. He will stick his nose in anywhere and he understands our defense."
Strong side linebacker: Jeff Longhany, Larry Edwards
There's little question that Edwards seems to be the fan favorite here, but Jeff Longhany--while not as fast or athletic as Edwards--seems to have a knack for making plays. While Edwards was playing his way out of the starting lineup last year, Longhany quietly made 36 tackles, including 6 for loss.
Both players started with a clean slate with new linebacker coach Tommy Thigpen this spring. If Edwards is going to return to the form he flashed as a freshman, he'll need to do it early in training camp.
"This is the year we're looking for some real special things from Larry Edwards," Sanders says. "He is the caliber of linebacker who can help you win an ACC championship."
Backup tailback: Wide open
It's a mark of Carolina's shallow depth at tailback that we're conceding the starting spot to Barrington Edwards, an LSU transfer who has never played one snap for the Tar Heels. But Edwards was impressive on the scout team in 2004, so he gets the nod as the starter.
The players battling behind him will all need nametags during the opening weeks of training camp. Vince Wilson is gone, which means if Bunting had to make out his tailback two-deep right now (at best, Ronnie McGill will be back in mid-October) it would probably include Edwards and redshirt freshman Antwain Carey--two players who have never carried the ball for the Tar Heels.
Carey will have to fend off some talented true freshmen. There may have never been a more opportune time for the NCAA to allow freshmen to enroll for summer school, as Cooter Arnold and Richie Rich have had five weeks worth of exposure to a major Division I football program.
"We've got to find out about those two tailbacks," offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill says. "We've got to do that as quickly as we can."
Backup quarterback: Roger Heinz, Joey Bozich, Cameron Sexton
At some point in almost every season, the backup quarterback becomes very important. Matt Baker is less elusive than Darian Durant and will spend more time in the pocket--every extra second spent in the pocket is another second for big hit-hungry defensive linemen to try and track him down.
If the Tar Heels do have to turn to a backup at some point this year, it will be--stop us if you've heard this one--someone very untested. John Bunting maps out an unsettled rotation behind Baker this way:
"I've got a guy who hasn't played at all in Roger Heinz. I've got a guy we thought would compete to play who is injured, Cameron Sexton. And I've got a guy, Joey Bozich, who has a big question mark as to what he can do. Coming out of spring practice I still had questions about what will happen with the backup quarterback. Roger could do it, but he's got to prove he's the guy. We're waiting on Sexton to get well. And of course Bobby Rome will play eventually, but he's never taken a snap yet."
Heinz is the leader right now for one simple reason: he understands the offense and could go into a game and run Carolina's system. The physical progress of the players competing with him in August might be less important than their mental progress.
Punt returner: Quinton Person, Jarwarski Pollock, wide open
The Tar Heels simply must do a better job in the punt return game this season, especially against a tough schedule that will likely lead to numerous close games.
"We've got to make it happen with returns," says incumbent punt returner Jarwarski Pollock. "There are hidden yards there that can really help the offense. We want to start at our 40 rather than our 20. That's the kind of thing that will help Matt (Baker). We want those hidden yards and I think it's something we'll emphasize more than we have in the past."
Freshmen--including Rich and Arnold--will get a chance to return punts, as will cornerback Quinton Person. The Greenville native was a key special teams contributor last year and has impressed coaches and teammates with his fearless attitude and aggressive style of play, two essential ingredients for a punt returner.
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.
