University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heel Football Notebook
September 29, 2005 | Football
Sept. 29, 2005
By Adam Lucas
There was a lot of confusion about exactly which Tar Heel wearing number-9 was in the game at the end of Saturday's win over NC State. That was Jesse Holley--yes, playing defense--and not Quinton Person. Holley is part of Carolina's "Victory" package, which they use in Hail Mary situations. His height and jumping ability make him a good candidate to swat down passes in the end zone. But the confusion will come to an end starting Saturday, as the reshuffling of some special teams has resulted in Person switching to number-3 effective immediately...
The key vocabulary words for the weekend: triple option and speed option. Utah uses both--triple option includes the possibility of a dive play up the middle, whereas the speed option eliminates the dive and heads straight to the perimeter. "They put a lot of pressure on everybody on the defense," Bunting says. "You have to be absolute in terms of the integrity with the dive, the pitch, and the shovel. It's difficult to defend." Because of the various assignments that must be kept, the Utah offense also eliminates many potential blitzes. "People who have blitzed them with 6- or 7-man pressure have gotten burned," Bunting says. "You can't play a whole lot of different defenses against it. It forces you to be somewhat simplistic. That helps their quarterback know where people are in terms of the throwing game."...Because of the numerous reads Utah must make at the line of scrimmage, Tar Heel fans have a legitimate opportunity to impact Saturday's game. "They're going to do a lot of audibling at the line of scrimmage," Bunting says. "We can really get a big boost if our fans get into the game and hurt what Utah tries to do with their cadence and verbal audibles."...
The Utah two-deep on the offensive line averages 303 pounds per man. Their physical play was a major problem for Carolina last year, as the Tar Heels largely were shoved around the field. But an improved rotation on the defensive line could provide some relief against the burly Utes. "Having athletic and quick linemen can help you," Bunting says. "Keeping players fresh so they never have any doubts about their ability to play helps you. Sometimes when you play teams like that you want to activate some blitzes, but you can't do that with them because they have too much deception and movement. So you have to be as physical as you possibly can be up front and stay fresh."...
Nebraska transfer Joe Dailey spent some time as the scout team quarterback this week, giving Carolina an effective way to simulate the run/pass problems presented by Utah quarterback Brian Johnson. But Mahlon Carey says the defense has handled the offense better than they did in practice a year ago. "It was so complicated last year, with people going this way and that way," Carey says. "We're much more tuned in this year and anything is easier the second time around. We know how they got to us last year and we've been more attentive this time."...Utah's new offensive coordinator is Andy Lugwig, who has imported a handful of new wrinkles from his previous coaching position at Oregon. One personnel change: the Utes used the 2-tight end, 2-receiver set only for short yardage last year. Now they also use it in max protect situations on third down...
There's been plenty of talk about the Utah offense, but precious little about a Utes defense that ranks 59th in the country, just 9 spots behind Carolina. "They play physical and tough," Bunting says. "They're sound. They have some schemes they'll use and a number of different dogs. They brought the corner off the edge last year and hit the quarterback. We've got to be ready for anything there is."...After being called for two procedure penalties on the punt team last week against NC State, Carolina coaches positioned a camera on the line of scrimmage this week to make sure everyone is lining up correctly...
The best quote of the week comes from Tommy Richardson. "We have to be on the offensive on defense this week," he says. "We can't sit back and let them dictate. We want to be the dictators this week."
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.
