University of North Carolina Athletics
Extra Points: Parsing The Positions
August 27, 2006 | Football
Aug. 27, 2006
by Lee Pace, Extra Points
CHAPEL HILL -- The template for the 2006 Tar Heel football team is not complicated: Ride a solid defense and kicking game to early season stability while the offense finds its sea legs.
The defense is populated with enough older players to provide cohesion while two newcomers at middle linebacker and free safety develop. The experienced and talented legs of Connor Barth and David Wooldridge will provide some points and help control field position, and return specialist Brandon Tate is an explosive force.
Winning those two phases week after week would give the offense time to mature. And it will need it with a new coordinator, new playbook, two new quarterbacks, three new linemen and at least three new receivers.
Following is a position-by-position look at the 2006 Tar Heels.
QUARTERBACK - Thomas and Stanicek. Keldorf and Davenport. Curry and Durant. The Tar Heels have used some degree of a two-man quarterback combination at various times over the last 15 years. They'll apparently start this season with one as well.
Everyone involved would like to have one player among Joe Dailey and Cam Sexton step forward and seize the job. But through five weeks of spring practice and three of August training camp, Dailey and Sexton are in a dead heat.
"Would we rather have one?" Bunting asks. "Sure. But they both have attributes to help you win football games."
"Both are intelligent and know how to prepare mentally," says coordinator Frank Cignetti. "They can run. They can play within the pocket as well as outside the pocket."
Dailey is more nimble afoot; Sexton is more reliable dissecting coverages with his arm. Key numbers might be these: Dailey will be 23 years old in November and started 11 games at Nebraska in 2004, throwing for 2,025 yards. Sexton will turn 20 in October and spent last fall nursing his broken foot. In any event, both are sure to get early playing opportunities. The job is there for the taking.
"This is the most fun competition I've ever seen at quarterback in the six years I've been here," Bunting says. "It's been like an NFL camp. It's exciting every day."
Meanwhile, walk-on Ben Johnson is the No. 3 quarterback. True freshmen T.J. Yates of Atlanta and B.J. Phillips of Columbia are both tall, well-built kids with good arms and throwing ability. Both figure to redshirt and likely spend the fall with the scout-team offense.
RUNNING BACK - What a perfect year to have the Tar Heels resurrect one of their most storied traditions, that of the thousand-yard rusher. It's been nine years since a Carolina tailback clipped that line in the turf, and it took a 199-yard day by converted fullback Jon Linton against a 2-9 Duke team in 1997 to eclipse the thousand-yard threshold by a mere 144 inches.
"A thousand-yard rusher would be great," Bunting says. "It takes a load off your quarterbacks if they can rely on the running game."
Only once since then have two tailbacks combined for a thousand yards, that being Chad Scott and Jacque Lewis teaming for 1,353 in 2004. With a new offensive system that relies on timing and precision in the passing game and two new quarterbacks, it would indeed be a luxury to have Ronnie McGill, Barrington Edwards et al provide a consistent ground attack.
"We want to have a hard-core running attack with no mistakes," says Sexton.
McGill is a senior and his goal is a year of good health and consistency. His sophomore year was blemished with an ankle injury, his junior season dampened by a pectoral muscle tear. The coaches have been conservative using him in fall camp, and a minor foot ailment has been a distraction. But he should be full speed and ready for a banner year come Sept. 2.
Edwards has played well in August and could provide the necessary backup support to McGill.
"I think Barrington has matured some," Bunting says. "If that continues, I think he has a chance to be very good as a football player."
Nick Starcevic is the starting fullback, but the position is developing some depth with the shuffling of two former quarterbacks into the slot in the persons of Joey Bozich and Bobby Rome. The former is sturdy and powerful and an excellent blocker; the latter a more athletic version of fullback who has proven a capable receiver out of the backfield.
RECEIVER - One senior, two sophomores and a true freshman form the nucleus of a position vacated by the departure of four veteran receivers from the 2005 team.
Jesse Holley, we know all about.
The effervescent senior from New Jersey brings his chatter and chutzpah and 15 newfound pounds to one wideout position. Holley, who snared 47 balls in 2005, weighs 220 pounds and feels he can fend off bump-coverage at the line of scrimmage better and hold up to the wear of catching balls over the middle.
Defensive coordinator Marvin Sanders, for one, has been impressed.
"Jesse catches everything in sight, I don't care how close the coverage is," Sanders says. "He's going to give defenses fits this year."
If Sanders were preparing his defense to play the Tar Heels, he would certainly double-up on Holley until someone else proves they deserve attention. That's where Brandon Tate, Brooks Foster and Hakeem Nicks enter the picture.
Tate burst onto the scene last fall as a true freshman with a 96-yard kick-off return for a score against Utah. Now he needs to take his explosiveness to the receiver position. With the graduation of Derrele Mitchell, jersey No. 1 became available and was plucked up by Foster, the redshirt sophomore who can hopefully bring some game to vouch for such a conspicuous jersey number. And then there's Nicks, who was quick to drop some jaws the first day of practice with a one-handed, behind-the-back catch of a Sexton pass.
"Hakeem is very, very talented," says receivers coach Dave Brock. "He accelerates so fast, and he makes plays. He's stabbing everything that comes his way. He's also a good blocker."
Dirk Engram and Kenton Thornton are also vying for playing time. It's a rebuilding position with no time to rebuild.
"I see receivers making plays. That's exciting," Bunting says.
TIGHT END - The tight end and the hybrid "H-Back" are important positions in Cignetti's offense. Carolina has a potentially exceptional player in the starting lineup and a number of younger candidates jockeying for position in the wings.
Senior Jon Hamlett has good size (6-4, 255), outstanding strength and has been a good blocker during his career at Carolina. He caught 21 passes last year and should top that number this fall.
"Jon is exceptionally strong," says tight ends coach John Gutekunst. "He's improved his blocking in space. He's always been a good in-line blocker, but now he's much better on the perimeter and downfield. He's also a very smart player. He knows his assignment and pretty much everyone else's."
Sophomore Richard Quinn will be an integral part of the offense as well, as a backup to Hamlett, as a second tight end in certain personnel groups and as an "H-Back," which could have him looking more like a wingback or fullback at certain times. Junior Rock Wells walked-on the squad and has been awarded a scholarship.
Carolina has two impressive freshmen at tight end. Vince Jacobs is 6-6, runs well and has good hands; he's made a number of good catches during pre-season camp. How well he can block with a frame that needs a year in the weight room is the issue that Bunting and staff with wrestle with in deciding whether to play him or redshirt. Ryan Taylor brings excellent size and athleticism to his roles as an "H-Back" and special-teams contributor; he is one of two true freshmen (Nicks being the other) almost certain to play this fall.
OFFENSIVE LINE - The blind side of the quarterback should be well protected with 42 starts among veterans Brian Chacos at left tackle and Charlston Gray at left guard. It's at center and the right side of the line where first-year line coach Mark Weber is mixing and matching personnel to find the right combination of guys to replace three seniors.
The most noteworthy development is the recovery of center Scott Lenahan from three surgeries - two on his knee and one on his wrist. It wasn't long ago that Bunting wondered if Lenahan could regain enough mobility and strength to keep playing the game. But the junior from Marietta, Ga., has hung tough and claimed the starting center slot through three weeks of pre-season camp.
"It's great to see Scott walking around with a smile on his face," says Bunting. "He's healthy and happy, and I am delighted to see it."
Lenahan's emergence has allowed sophomore Ben Lemming to experiment at the right guard and tackle slots in addition to playing some center. Lemming and sophomore Calvin Darity have both played extensively at right guard in August. Garrett Reynolds, who played sparingly as a true freshman, has been working with the first team at right tackle. Weber notes Lemming's remarkable intelligence and ability to learn three positions; lauds Darity's power and ability to "run like a deer;" and says no one on the line plays any harder or follows coaching directions any better than Reynolds.
"We're trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together," Weber says. "I'm seeing some good things from a lot of guys across the board."
DEFENSIVE LINE - The front four could be the strength of this team. Tackles coach Kenny Browning says the unit is collapsing the pocket better than any group in recent memory, and one of the tenets of Sanders' bedrock Cover 2 defensive scheme is to generate as much pressure as possible from the four down linemen without having to bring the linebackers.
There's plenty of maturity and experience there - with seniors Brian Rackley and Melik Brown at end and Shelton Bynum at tackle; and juniors Kyndraus Guy and Kentwan Balmer at tackle and Hilee Taylor at end. Balmer is new at the inside position after playing two years at end. "That's where he belongs," Browning says. "He's got a big body that can stand the pounding but he's also got some quickness. I think he'll do fine inside."
There's also a lot of young talent. Among the candidates for the fourth end position are Bowen Chapman, a walk-on and younger brother of Will (a Tar Heel letterman from 2000-02), and converted tight end E.J. Wilson, a redshirt freshman. Backing up Bynum at nose tackle is Cam Thomas, a 6-3, 315-pound redshirt freshman who has been one of the most noticeable developmental stories of the spring and summer.
"Cam Thomas has a great future," Bunting says. "There are times when we can't block him. You can see him single-handedly push the line back on field-goal attempts."
"It's scary how strong that kid is," says strength and conditioning coach Jeff Connors.
The coaching staff had a strong recruiting year along the defensive front. Aleric Mullins is as good as advertised; unfortunately, Mullins will be ineligible to play this fall following a ruling by the NCAA Clearinghouse Aug. 24. Greg Elleby and Tavares Brown at tackle and Darrius Massenburg and Darius Powell at end will help in the years to come.
"This is the toughest group I've gone against since I've been here," Chacos says. "They've got big bodies and are quick and very athletic. It's been tough going against them in practice. But it's great to get us ready to play the kind of competition we'll see in the ACC."
LINEBACKERS - The Tar Heels lost an outstanding leader in Tommy Richardson. They are hoping that senior Larry Edwards, junior Durell Mapp and sophomore Mark Paschal can combine to replace Richardson's passion for the game and coach-on-the-field mentality.
Edwards is touted as one of the ACC's top linebackers entering his senior season. He was a hot flash as a freshman in 2003, starting eight games. He retrenched as a sophomore under the burdens of too much weight and too little maturity. Then he blossomed again as a junior last year under the tutelage of former Tar Heel linebacker Tommy Thigpen.
"Larry's a gifted child," Thigpen says. "He has all the tools. He's a powerful kid, a smart kid. Now we've got to get him to elevate the games of those around him. That's what a great leader does. Tommy Richardson was a great leader. We need Larry to take over that role."
The most interesting development at linebacker is the emergence of Paschal, a sophomore, as the No. 1 "Mike" (or middle position). He carved a niche last fall on the kick-off cover team and enjoyed several blow-ups of wedges and return men.
"Mark's never started a game," Thigpen says in a note of caution. "But the game is important to him. He does the little things well. He's a smart kid. And you can really coach him. I love the fact he works hard and the game is important to him."
Paschal stands 6-0, a measure that is traditionally small for a middle linebacker. Bunting and his defensive staff have become willing in recent times to think outside of those size boxes.
"One thing we have totally abandoned from the last three years is putting linebackers in a size profile," Bunting says. "We did that the first two years and it was wrong. As long as he has speed and toughness and can tackle, size is not important."
Mapp, a junior, started the second half of 2005 at MLB and has moved to the weakside slot, taking with him a significant improvement in speed over Richardson. A shoulder injury kept him sidelined during spring, that following earlier issues with a hamstring and hand. And now with one week to go before the Tar Heels' first game, Mapp has been sidelined with a sprained right knee. If Mapp can stay healthy, he could have an excellent season.
Chase Rice and Garrett White are true sophomores ready to ratchet their games up a few notches. Senior Victor Worsley can lay a lick as mean as anyone but needs to remain injury-free. Wesley Flagg is a true freshman who has been impressive in August and will likely play on special teams.
SECONDARY - There is one issue in the secondary that needs no discussion: Senior strong safety Kareen Taylor. He's tough, durable, smart and has a wealth of experience. He's the glue around which a lot of questions will revolve in the defensive backfield.
Can cornerback Jacoby Watkins make a full recovery and return sharp from a lengthy layoff following his broken leg last October? Can fellow cornerback Quinton Person deliver quality performances week after week or will the yo-yo play he exhibited in 2005 prevail again? And most significantly, given the season-ending injury to Trimane Goddard, can some combination of senior D.J. Walker and sophomore Cooter Arnold fill the void at free safety?
Arnold is the newcomer to watch, no question. He started the season-opener at tailback in 2005 but had a forgettable year, rushing for 187 yards. He's an outstanding athlete with terrific speed and was moved to defense for the spring. And he's gotten something of a leg up on Walker because Walker has had bruised rib and concussion issues during camp.
"Cooter is physical," Bunting says. "He is fast. He's got tremendous range and a tremendous amount of want-to. He's very eager, and so I think he'll just keep getting better."
One freshman who's spurted up the depth chart and could likely play this fall is Kendric Burney. He's made excellent moves on the ball and has cracked some pads in collisions with ball-carriers.
"Some guys seem to have the knack of making plays," Sanders says. "Kendric Burney is one of them."
SPECIAL TEAMS - Barth, Wooldridge, Tate. This triumvirate provides the nucleus to what should be a proficient kicking game in 2006.
Carolina has two excellent kickers in placement specialist Connor Barth and punter David Wooldridge. Barth has witnessed ups and downs in his two seasons of college football, beating Miami at the gun in 2004 and starting the 2005 season with only three makes in 11 tries. But his mechanics and confidence have been polished and he should have an outstanding season. Wooldridge has averaged 42 yards a punt over three seasons; he can kick the ball a long way with good hang time. The return game is centered around Tate, who was among the top three in kick-off and punt returns in the ACC as a freshman in 2005.
There are lots of issues to work out in the supporting cast, however. Kendric Williams is a walk-on cornerback who has shown an uncanny ability to block kicks during spring and August practices. Carolina has been spoiled at gunner on the punt team with Mike Mason and Wallace Wright the last two years. Dirk Engram, Brooks Foster and Williams are among the candidates to replace them. Joey Bozich is a leading candidate to inherit the all-important "personal protector" role on the punt team.
Lee Pace's Extra Points runs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during the football season. His Extra Points Mailbag appears each Friday before games and answers your questions about the Tar Heels, so email your questions to leepace@nc.rr.com (Please, no recruiting questions as NCAA rules limit recruiting information on a school's official website.).
