Tar Heel Football Notebook

September 15, 2005 | Football

By: UNC Athletic Communications

Sept. 15, 2005

By Adam Lucas

It's not just the Carolina offense trying to streamline their communication this week. The Tar Heel defense also looked a little sluggish against Georgia Tech. They've made some technical adjustments to try and speed the tempo.

"Usually I'm the only one looking at the sidelines for the call," says middle linebacker Doug Justice, who calls the defensive signals. Then I'll call out the play twice and have to keep repeating it. Now we're going to have everyone look at the sidelines (for the call), then I'll say it once to verbalize it, and then we're ready to line up."...

The Tar Heel scout team had a slightly different look this week. Most of the normally blue helmets for that squad had a red stripe and red "W" added to try and more closely simulate Wisconsin's uniforms. Grad assistant Nick Schralli, who works closely with the scouts, suggested the idea...Ronnie McGill shed his coaching ensemble in favor of a green jersey and light pads this week. He went through some individual drills but is still several weeks away from full contact...Jesse Holley rejoined the team Wednesday afternoon after attending his grandmother's funeral. He did not practice Tuesday or Wednesday but will be full-speed for Saturday's game...Speaking of Holley, he and fellow two-sport stalwart Brooks Foster will be in the locker room, not on the field when the 2005 basketball national champions are presented with their title rings at halftime. "I'm pretty sure they'll find me with my ring at some point," Foster said...Confusing relationship of the week: Cooter Arnold is Derrele Mitchell's cousin's boyfriend's brother. Got that?...

The Tar Heels didn't just donate money to the hurricane relief efforts. Equipment manager Dominic Morelli sent 40 boxes of t-shirts and other equipment to LSU this week...All four of David Wooldridge's punts against Georgia Tech had a hang time of at least 4.0 seconds. That pleased John Bunting, who is working closely with the kickers, holders, and snappers and for the first time is requiring hang times to be reported to him immediately after each punt during games...Freshmen usually say the college game goes much faster than the high school level. But Cooter Arnold said one of his biggest adjustments this week will be slowing down. "On a couple of plays (against Tech) if I would have slowed down and let them develop more it would have opened things up a little bit," he said...

Bunting said he expects a dose of "Bludgeon Ball" against the Badgers Saturday night. He'll try to have his team draw from similarly physical battles against Virginia and Boston College last season, when the Tar Heels fell victim to more physical teams. "You've got to combat that by being absolutely almost perfect all the time when you fit your plays," he said. "You need to know exactly where you fit and do it with an awful lot of emotion and physicality. Otherwise you don't win because they blow you off the ball."...A matchup for the ages: Jones Angell and Jarwarski Pollock engaged in a heated game of PlayStation2 college football after Wednesday's practice. We can't reveal the winner, but viewers of John Bunting's TV show on Saturday and Sunday will see the highlights...Brian Chacos, Kyle Ralph and Skip Seagraves played every snap of the Tech game. Charlston Gray exited only when he suffered a cut on his mouth. With Ben Lemming out this week due to a shoulder injury, depth on the offensive line--where Hal Hunter usually likes to rotate a handful of substitutes--has become a pressing issue. "Having guys who can rotate in is incredibly important on the offensive line," Ralph said. "If a guy can step up and come in for you, then you know you can go 100 percent for 15 plays and then refuel." Arthur Smith is the lineman who will play an enhanced backup role this week...Wisconsin's receivers probably aren't as talented as Georgia Tech's, but the Badgers do have one added receiving option: tight end Owen Daniels. "At Georgia Tech we knew the tight end wasn't getting the ball," Justice said. "We're not gameplanning for (Daniels) but we know we have to be more conscious of him dragging down the middle, which means I have to go deep with him. We know he's a good blocker and he likes to get out on passes. That gives us one more thing to check."

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.