Wednesday Practice Notes (a.m.)

August 17, 2005 | Football

By: UNC Athletic Communications

Aug. 17, 2005

By Adam Lucas

One of the quietest--but best--stories out of training camp has been the return to health for several members of the offensive line. The Tar Heels were so thin up front in the spring that coaches briefly considered canceling the spring game due to a lack of bodies.

Some of the injuries were thought to be potentially career-threatening. But only five practices into training camp, Hal Hunter is slowly seeing the return of the depth he considers crucial to building a quality offensive line. Skip Seagraves, Bryon Bishop, Scott Lenahan, and Calvin Darity have all worked themselves back into the rotation. None of the group are full-speed yet--with two-a-days beginning Wednesday morning, Seagraves and Lenahan are practicing in the morning while Bell and Darity sit out and then the pairs switch for the evening practice--but all are much further along than anyone expected.

"A lot of people doubted me," said Lenahan, who is battling back from a knee injury. "People told me I'd never come back and were talking about me having to take a medical hardship. I never saw that. I saw me coming back and fighting to play."

The low point for the Marietta, Ga., native came on May 5, when he had his knee surgery. That was followed by one week of complete bed rest, a time period when Lenahan said, "I just looked forward to falling asleep so I could wake up and be that much closer to being able to move around."

Darity, who suffered a broken foot in the spring, is approximately two months ahead of schedule...

John Bunting was not at Wednesday morning's practice. He and athletic director Dick Baddour were attending the funeral of Joe Maddux, a longtime Tar Heel supporter...As the routine of training camp becomes more familiar, the intensity of practices increases. The key to watching any practice is to listen for the "woo" that inevitably accompanies any big hit. The woo-meter was nudged to its highest point of camp on Wednesday morning, as several big shots were delivered...Trimane Goddard stretched for an interception and returned it for a touchdown during 7-on-7...David Wooldridge was back at practice in a red jersey Wednesday morning, his first non-street clothes appearance of the season. Roger Heinz missed his second straight practice and Jacoby Watkins was once again sidelined. Khalif Mitchell has traded his green jersey for a regular practice jersey and was in half pads...

One of the best drills of any practice is the Carolina drill, when linebackers take on running backs, first in a blitz pickup scenario and then in a short-yardage situation. Linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen's enthusiasm was catching on Wednesday, as he punctuated every "win" by the linebackers with, "That's one for the good guys!" Ronnie McGill, still hanging on to his coaching role, soon started chirping, "And there's one for the bad guys!" every time one of his tailbacks made a solid play...Chase Page claims he'd be the logical choice if a television network ever wants to mike up a Tar Heel player. "I'm 24-hour comedy," he said Wednesday morning. Then he went out and proved it by chastising Brooks Foster for a block in the back this way: "How can you sleep at night, Brooks? That's the difference between me having to come back on the field and getting to stay on the sideline and drink two more sips of Gatorade."...

Players have taken to calling Garrett Reynolds "Paul Bunyan." The source of the nickname is fairly obvious--Reynolds is a hulking physical specimen...Wednesday was by far the most comfortable day of practice, with thick clouds and a slight breeze holding down both temperatures and humidity...Bernardo Harris dropped by the morning practice...Wallace Wright continues to catch most everything thrown his way...Del Roberts returned a handful of kicks and punts last year and plans to do it again in 2005. The Florida sophomore thinks the return game will be improved. "We have a really good scheme this year," he said. "Coach (Andre) Powell took over the special teams and we've got a couple different kick returns going. It's a mindset we have--we just feel like we're going to be better."

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.