University of North Carolina Athletics
Wednesday Scrimmage Notes
August 31, 2005 | Football
Aug. 31, 2005
By Adam Lucas
Tommy Davis, Melik Brown and Brian Rackley sat out Wednesday night's scrimmage, which seriously depleted the depth at defensive end. Garrett White, who has been flopping between linebacker and end, played end to try and provide some depth at that position...For scrimmage stats click here...The legend of Brandon Tate as a returner continued to grow, as he brought back a kickoff for a touchdown. A few plays later, Cooter Arnold turned the same trick. Unfortunately, the flip side is that both those returns came against the Tar Heel kickoff coverage. That area was a 2004 weakness and still needs improvement. "We have put an awful lot of emphasis on kickoff coverage and we are not satisfied with that right now," John Bunting said. "We have to continue to work on that part of our game because we were the worst in the country last year."...D.J. Walker had a nice interception off Ben Johnson. By the way, those who want to know everyone on the travel squad might want to start familiarizing themselves with Johnson, a walkon from Fairview, NC. He has a chance to make the travel team as the third-string quarterback...With the last training camp scrimmage out of the way, a handful of freshmen appear to have earned playing time. Brandon Tate, Dirk Engram, Cooter Arnold, Nick Starcevic, Garrett White, Mark Paschal, and Richard Quinn should see snaps at some point. Carolina's renewed depth on the offensive line means the rookie o-line trio of Garrett Reynolds, Andre Barbour, and Kyle Jolly might get the chance to redshirt, but all are capable of playing as true freshmen...
Representatives from the ACC were in town Wednesday night to give the new instant replay system a test drive. Their new booth is adjacent to the main working press area on approximately the 40-yard-line. Each school is required to hire one person to help run the equipment, but the University-hired employees have no say-so on the ruling. Two people will be in the booth from the ACC, one of whom will make the decision on calls. Reviewable plays include spot of the ball, touchdown/no touchdown, in bounds/out of bounds, fumbles, and more. Field officials will be signaled that a play needs to be reviewed by way of a vibrating pager similar to the type used in restaurants...Scott Lenahan has missed the last two days of practice and Arthur Smith sat out the scrimmage with an illness, but the remainder of the offensive line remains fairly healthy...
It's always interesting to get player opinions on their biggest camp surprises. For Charlston Gray, it's been Carolina's new fullback. "I've really been impressed by Rikki Cook," Gray said. "People may not see him as being as big a factor as Madison Hedgecock, but he's stepping up big. He's reading his keys and has had a real good camp."...Bunting should have a Cameron Sexton/Ronnie McGill medical update on Friday after a meeting with team doctors...The mystery of Cooter Arnold's nickname has been solved. Sadly, it's not as colorful as it possibly could have been. Apparently Cooter's mother, Sonya Arnold, called him Cooter for no particular reason since the day he was born...The goal over the remaining days of preseason practice is to set the starting lineup in time for Monday's game week practice...A full set of game officials presided over Wednesday night's scrimmage and whistled the Heels for six procedure penalties, with several of them called on Carolina receivers. "We've got to get that cleaned up," Bunting said...
The Tar Heel head coach spent 2000 with the New Orleans Saints and has a special affinity for the disaster-stricken city. "I know every spot they're talking about on the news," he said. "I know those levees well. The place where the Mississippi levee broke is a place we used to entertain quite a bit. In fact, I took the Carolina staff out to eat with the Saints staff right there in that Lakeview area where one of the levees broke. I know it really well and hope we all try to make that situation down there somewhat right as soon as possible."
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.
