University of North Carolina Athletics
Friday Practice Notes
August 26, 2005 | Football
Aug. 26, 2005
By Adam Lucas
Friday was a landmark day--it's essentially a getaway day for the football program, as players have the weekend off following this afternoon's team lunch at Maggiano's. The Tar Heels capped their second week of training camp with a simulated half of football in full pads Friday morning. The plays were live but the spot of the ball was scripted, meaning that even if a play went from the 20 to the 38, the ball wasn't necessarily spotted at the 38. John Bunting also used the occasion to drill his team on some specialty situations such as getting the defense on the field after a turnover. "It's going to be just like this in Atlanta," the head coach told his team, "except it's going to be about 20 degrees hotter and about 20 percent more humid." Chapel Hill is seeing some fairly pleasant weekend weather after a scorching weekend last weekend...When the Heels return to work on Monday, it will be for a slightly different version of training camp. "To me, next week is training camp with school," Bunting said. "We'll continue to do everything we need to do to get ready for game week. We've had a good first phase of camp. We've planned all along to give them this time off because of the late starting date. We had 40 opportunities to get in 29 practices, and we'll get those 29 practices, but they'll get a chance this weekend to be away from football for a couple days and freshen up physically and mentally." Classes begin on August 30, so the practice schedule will shift to a more familiar game week-type slate next week...
Cooter Arnold drew some praise after Friday's session. "Cooter has had a good camp," Bunting said. "He has good vision, and from what we've seen he can put his foot in the ground and really burst...He can really take it to another gear in a quick time, and that's what you look for in a running back. He doesn't look real big, he's about 185 pounds right now, but if he stays on course he could have a great career." Although Arnold's quickness has been effective, one element of his game will remain unknown until Sept. 10. "That burst you can simulate in a practice session," Bunting said. "Lowering your shoulder (and running over someone) comes from games. Hopefully he has it, but you never know until he gets into a game."...
With two weeks of camp down, there are no major medical updates to report. John Bunting expects a more detailed status report on Cameron Sexton and Ronnie McGill at some point next week. Chase Page returned to practice on Friday. Tommy Davis sat out again...We neglected to mention in yesterday's practice notes that Roger Heinz's back surgery went well on Wednesday. "It was very successful and he should be perfectly fine," John Bunting said...One of the advantages of coaching at Carolina is the wealth of resources available. In the past few days, Bunting has spoken with Roy Williams and Anson Dorrance regarding practice routines, especially as it relates to conditioning...With two days of rest ahead, players almost unanimously had the same plans for the weekend: sleep. One exception was cornerback Cedrick Holt, who said he can't go two days without football and plans to go to Winston-Salem to watch a pair of former high school teammates of his play against each other in the Catawba-Winston Salem State game on Saturday. Another senior, Chase Page, will have a slight delay in his plans to sleep the weekend away--he's been recruited by Dawn Bunting to serve as a model in tonight's Ladies Clinic. Even the coaching staff is squeezing out a day off. They'll be in the office on Saturday but Sunday is an off day for them.
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.
