University of North Carolina Athletics
Monday Practice Notes
August 7, 2006 | Football
Aug. 7, 2006
By Adam Lucas
Quick-hitting offenses have taken over college football in recent years. More teams have discovered the wonders of the short pass, especially against defenses designed to easily give up the 3-yard pass...passes that sometimes turn into long gains after a few missed tackles.
Carolina's defense has, on occasion, been susceptible to those short passes. But the Tar Heels are tweaking their schemes this year and returning to an old fan favorite--more press man coverage.
"We're pressing a whole lot more than we have in the past," cornerback Jacoby Watkins says. "It takes away the quick throw. A lot of teams in the ACC run that play because they have great athletes at receiver and want to let them make plays. We're going to try and disrupt those plays in the first five yards. We want to get our hands on them and take that away."
Tar Heel Monthly subscribers (And if you're not one, why not just join the Rams Club and get it for free while also supporting the very Carolina student-athletes you're reading about right now?) will get an inside look at the way the Tar Heels play press man in Lee Pace's feature in the October issue... oth receiver Brooks Foster and Watkins singled out Jermaine Strong as being Carolina's best cornerback at using his hands, an important characteristic of a man coverage corner...
Kentwan Balmer has taken all his repetitions at tackle so far in practice after also playing end during his Carolina career. John Bunting has said Balmer may get some snaps at end later in camp, but as of right now he's strictly a tackle, which is fine with the junior from Weldon. "Things happen faster on the inside," Balmer said. "You've got two 300-pound guys trying to take you down. On the outside, it's more about speed. We've got guys like Hilee (Taylor) and Melik (Brown) who will thrive there. They can win those one-on-one battles."...
Shelton Bynum on Ken Browning: "He has a warm, friendly personality. He opens up to his players and gets them to open up. You like him as a friend, not just as a coach. You can turn to him when you've got a problem." Now you know why Browning is widely considered one of the best teachers in college football...One of the most vocal players in the first four days of camp has been senior receiver Jesse Holley. He's mixed his usual brand of high-volume encouragement with occasional admonishments for players who make mistakes. "Jesse used to let us get away with stuff," says Brandon Tate, one of the receivers competing for more playing time. "Now he's harder on us. He calls us his step-sons and says it's time for him to take us under his wing."...
The trend of the floppy white hats is spreading. Bunting, Mark Weber, Jeff Connors, Andre Powell, and video honcho Darryl Sanders have all sported it at some point during the first week of camp. Practice notes providers are apparently not eligible for the floppy hat...For the second straight day, Tate hauled in a long pass during a blitz period. "I see the receivers, each one of them, making plays. That's exciting," Bunting said...While the rest of the offense and defense are going through 7-on-7, offensive and defensive linemen are squaring off in 1-on-1 drills. A highlight Monday came when Garrett Reynolds turned in several straight quality efforts. "This guy competes!" line coach Mark Weber barked to the rest of the line. Coming from Weber, that's a high compliment...Carolina will practice in full pads for the first time on Tuesday morning.
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.
