University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: A New-Look Line
August 9, 2006 | Football
Aug. 9, 2006
By Adam Lucas
Never underestimate the creativity of a coach.
In years past, Carolina football practices have featured receivers catching tennis balls shot from machines, punts fired from JUGS pitching machines, and a host of other practice inventions.
The latest addition is the chute.
No, not a parachute (although those are occasionally used for sprint work in strength and conditioning). This chute resides at the far corner of the offensive field, where the offensive line spends most of its practice time. It looks a little ominous, with its long metal table-looking piece swinging at just below shoulder height between four metal poles. Roughly three offensive lineman-sized humans can fit beneath the chute.
The chute is a Mark Weber special, constructed with the assistance of several Carolina football staffers. It gets only a few minutes of work at each practice, but it's the most tangible sign of the new principles imported to Chapel Hill by Weber. Offensive linemen are accustomed to using strength and power. But they're not supposed to push the chute or otherwise overpower it. They're supposed to go under it. At least once each practice, they can be spotted getting in their stance beneath the chute, then simulating firing off the ball and honing their footwork.
"We get a lot of work done there," Ben Lemming says. "It helps us learn how to stay low and keep our feet shoulder width apart. We also do the duck walk, which teaches us to get our weight on the inside of our feet. That emphasizes drive blocking skills."
The chutes aren't the only changes brought to Carolina by Weber. The Tar Heels will feature an entirely different set of blocking techniques in 2006. Most fans assume all line play is the same--try to crush the other guy.
There are actually two primary technique alternatives. There's the drop-step, which was favored by former line coach Hal Hunter. And there's the straight ahead, blow off the ball approach favored by Weber.
"They're both great coaches, but it's a different kind of coaching," Garrett Reynolds says. "Coach Hunter taught a little more of the drop-step, of reacting. Coach Weber is a fire off the ball, get in their face kind of coach. I've never had a coach that gets as enthusiastic as him. If something goes well, he's jumping around. He's great to be around."
"We'll definitely be coming off the ball more," Brian Chacos says. "Last year we were a little conservative. This year we're going to let it all hang out and go after people."
The philosophy Chacos describes sounds very much like their position coach. During one practice break earlier this week, John Bunting was standing alone in the middle of the defensive field while players and coaches gathered in the shade. Suddenly, Weber went sprinting across the field towards Bunting.
"Coach Weber, are you serious about football?" Bunting boomed as the black hightop-wearing assistant approached him.
Weber didn't have to respond. Everyone already knew the answer.
Weber's new charges include a revamped line that features plenty of experience on one side and some untested players on the other. On the left, Brian Chacos and Charlston Gray are an experienced combination. Through the first five practices, Scott Lenahan has gotten much of the work with the first-team offense at center, with Ben Lemming at right guard and Andre Barbour and Reynolds competing for the right tackle job. Ideally, the rotation could eventually expand to include six to eight players--Kyle Jolly should see some snaps at some point this season--to gain experience for the younger linemen while keeping the starters fresh for the fourth quarter.
Frank Cignetti's "downhill running game" has become one of the catchphrases of the new Tar Heel offense. Because he's accustomed to working with Cignetti, it's no coincidence that Weber's brand of offensive line play is specially suited to pair with Cignetti's offense.
"We're going to have a more downhill, aggressive offense," Lemming says. "We need to be more downhill with our blocking to do that. We have to step upfield and get a push off the ball. We're going to hit more vertical seams."
Before they do that, though, they'll be hitting the chutes. And waiting for Weber's next practice apparatus invention.
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.
