University of North Carolina Athletics
Extra Points Mailbag
October 19, 2006 | Football
Oct. 19, 2006
by Lee Pace, Extra Points
The biggest question around Tar Heel football this week is this: How will the defense attempt to replace and account for the loss of linebacker Larry Edwards? The senior from Tampa has been one of Carolina's best players this season and has led the team in tackles with 42. He played his best game of the year at Miami two weeks ago and was solid against South Florida last week.
First, they will look to Martel Thatch, a 6-2, 210-pound junior from Dudley High in Greensboro. Thatch was a prized recruit from the 2004 signing class and has been a warrior on core special teams. He originally played safety but was moved to linebacker last spring.
"Special teams have taught me the speed of the game, the physical nature of the game at this level, what it's like on the battlefield," Thatch says. "I've taken pride helping on special teams. Now it's time to do my part on defense."
"Martel can do the job," says linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen. "I have confidence in him. He has the ability. He's got good speed and he's strong. What he has to have is the mindset. That's what makes all the great players great. They know they are good and go out and play like it."
True freshman Wesley Flagg has played on special teams all year and is now in the mix to play on defense as well. He will back up Thatch at the "Sam" linebacker position. Both Thigpen and John Bunting say Flagg, from Jack Britt High in Fayetteville, is a star-in-waiting. He needs time to learn the game, to lose some weight and replace it with muscle mass.
"Flagg has got that power you're looking for like Larry," Thigpen says. "He delivers a good strike, he has exceptional speed. He is going to be an outstanding linebacker."
Bunting says Flagg could be in the playing rotation by now if he'd not missed significant time in training camp because of NCAA Clearinghouse issues.
"I would love to have had him at the beginning of camp," Bunting says. "We did not get him until halfway through. He has a tremendous amount of talent. He can be an excellent linebacker, whether it's at Mike, Will or Sam. Right now, I'm thinking of him as a Mike. He has some great instincts."
Because of his quickness and experience, Edwards remained in the game when Carolina went to its five-back "nickel" package. Now Chase Rice and Kennedy Tinsley will play his position in the nickel set along with Durell Mapp.
Coordinator Marvin Sanders has his fingers crossed that fifth-year senior safety D.J. Walker can remain healthy for an entire game. Walker has had injury issues the last three games and has played sporadically. Red-shirt freshman safety Bryan Dixon is out Thursday night with an irregular heartbeat.
One of last week's articles talked about the need for team speed to create a more successful program. The notes I have read about off-season training seem to concentrate on strength and conditioning. If speed is one of the answers to success, shouldn't our off-season training have a bigger focus on building faster players?
Greg Johnson, Raleigh
Speed development is absolutely a part of the comprehensive strength and conditioning program under Jeff Connors and, he feels, is just as important as strength development. Connors has developed a program of 12 training blocks that he uses with the Tar Heels and that he incorporated in the Willie Parker Speed Clinic he organized in Pittsburgh last summer with the former Tar Heel tailback.
Posture, acceleration mechanics, and stride technique and frequency are among the components addressed. Players run in sand, up inclines, with weighted vests and with flexi-cords. They are taught to accelerate, decelerate and re-accelerate as football is a game of repetitive short blasts of explosive change of direction.
Wintertime drills focus more on developing raw speed and the ability to generate quick bursts of speed. During the summer, as August training camp approaches, an emphasis on conditioning is added to the program.
"It's one thing to run a 4.4 in the 40 on your first sprint," says Connors. "It's another thing to run it on your 10th - or in the fourth quarter. That's what we work on in the summer."
There is no substitute for recruiting raw speed. But this very crucial component to a good team can be developed with proper training.
There was talk about specific seniors who would step up this season to fill the leadership void left by Tommy Richardson both in the locker room but also on the field regarding assignments, etc. However, we continue to post significant losses. Who is providing the leadership? In what ways are they being effective?
Theo Wu '94, Bloomington, Ind.
Among the best leaders the Tar Heels have had the last two years have been center Jason Brown in 2004 and Richardson in 2005. Brown is now a second-year center with the Baltimore Ravens, and Richardson is coaching high school ball in Miami. Both have had the opportunity to address the Tar Heels in recent weeks, Richardson prior to the Miami game two weeks ago and Brown just Tuesday afternoon as he was in Chapel Hill during the early part of the Ravens' bye week.
Knowing each of their personalities and actually listening to Brown's message after practice, I am pressed to think of a senior on this year's team with the same ability to latch a team on his back. Larry Edwards, Kareen Taylor and Shelton Bynum are good kids and solid players on defense. But none are vocal and proactive leaders. Jesse Holley is emotional and fiery on offense; but his body language at times and one recent sideline reaction to being removed from the game do not serve a true leader very well. Ronnie McGill plays hard and had a wonderful smile, but he's as quiet as a church mouse.
Carolina has also had outstanding leadership at quarterback over the last few years, with Darian Durant maturing into a general in the 2003 and '04 seasons and Matt Baker taking over last year. Though Baker had played very little entering his fifth season, he had been around so long and was so mature that taking the leadership mantel as he moved into the starting QB position was an easy transition. Both quarterbacks this year, Cam Sexton and Joe Dailey, have the potential to be good leaders as well. But both are still relatively new to the program (second year for each), and neither has played well enough or long enough so their leadership credentials remain somewhat limited.
In short, leadership has been and remains an issue.
The following letter comes from Bruce Thornton, father of Tar Heel receiver Kenton Thornton. It might be of interest to fellow parents of Tar Heel players and to Carolina fans as well and is certainly helpful in keeping this exercise of college football in proper perspective.
To our Carolina faithful parents,
I know how difficult it is to watch game after game and not see your son even get into the game on special teams or anything, I'm there right now.
We all think our sons are the best of the best, I being a former NFL player try to understand the coaches' decision for certain players to play.
My advice is to remember why our kids are at this university in the first place, we sent them because of the high academic achievements offered for our kids. My son has all of the physical attributes to excel at this level and beyond, and had previous accepted an offer to play with his brothers at U of Texas. He would have been on a national championship team in 2005, but he still chose Carolina!
What I hope is that Coach Bunting and the staff is preparing him for life after college football as well as a chance to play on Sundays.
My son is not a starter, but I hope the coaches recognize his talents and blend them with the others to present a winning product on the field. I have confidence that once given the chance to shine he will be one of the brightest stars at Carolina. I can only rest assured that the coaches make him a better person and player and not become one of those players we have heard about at the other ACC school in the news this week.
I have taught him to give his all for his family as this is what we must do in life, right now while he is at Carolina this is his Family!
I am happy to share any thoughts about my football experiences and how tough it is to become a star. Each kid needs Faith, Luck, and a Coach willing to give him a shot to shine. I want to believe we have them all at Carolina!
Go TAR HEELS!
Bruce Thornton, Dallas, Texas
Send your questions about Tar Heel football to Lee Pace at leepace@nc.rr.com. Please include your first and last names and hometown. Individual replies are not possible because of volume of mail received, and names of recruiting prospects and commitments cannot be published on a school-sponsored site until the national signing day in February . The Q&A column will appear each Friday during the season.
