University of North Carolina Athletics
Wednesday Practice Notes
August 9, 2006 | Football
Aug. 9, 2006
By Adam Lucas
During the summer, both Trimane Goddard and Kareen Taylor mentioned the luxury of having two experienced starting safeties. With Goddard's injury, the Tar Heels have gone from two very experienced players to one very experienced player and some uncertainty.
D.J. Walker--a special teams captain as a freshman--has been on the field often during his Carolina career, but not always in pressure situations. And the coaching staff has had little time to evaluate Taylor and Walker working together, because Walker went down with bruised ribs almost as soon as Goddard's injury was announced. The senior was in red Wednesday morning.
That leaves the other safety position open for competition, and also impacts Taylor.
"With Trimane being out, that leaves room for another young guy to come in," Taylor said. "If another young guy is coming in, I have to be more vocal with him and with the entire secondary. And when Cooter comes in, I'm going to strong safety. At that point, my role switches."
Goddard and Taylor had an unspoken communication that allowed them to be confident in what the other one was doing. There was no second-guessing about whether they were in the right coverage or more subtle nuances of secondary play.
Now, he has to build that communication with someone else.
"It starts over," Taylor said. "A young guy will show more quickly rather than disguising. And if he shows, I have to show. There's no point in me disguising if he's not. That can be a big advantage for offenses if they know what we're in right away. But we will get it fixed during camp."...
Fans hear John Bunting talk often about "fitting" plays on defense. But it's not just on defense where all the parts have to fit. Tommy Thigpen worked extensively with several young players--including Anthony Parker-Boyd, Hakeem Nicks, and Shaun Draughn--during a kickoff coverage drill Wednesday morning trying to teach them how to correctly fill lanes...E.J. Wilson is listed as number-85 and a fullback in the 2006 media guide, but he's actually wearing number-92 and working at defensive end...Darrius Massenburg is another young player seeing significant snaps with the first two defenses...
Bunting wasn't pleased with the morning session, which was held in the coolest weather the Tar Heels have seen during camp. "We've had great practices up until today," he said. "Today was a little lackluster." That usually leads to a more intense evening session...Johnny White sat out again Wednesday morning...Remember a few years ago, when it seemed like the Tar Heel defense could always bat down passes but never picked them off? Granted, it's just practice, but so far during camp they've shown the same stickier fingers that they've had under Marvin Sanders's tutelage. Larry Edwards had a nice interception that he snagged off to the side away from his body during a team portion of practice...There has been some chirping from other head coaches about the new NCAA rules designed to shorten games. The Tar Heels haven't yet changed the flow of practice to accommodate the new rules, but they'll begin getting adjusted during Saturday's scrimmage...Thanks for all the questions emailed in for tonight's Q&A. If you've got something you want addressed, include it in an email and each evening practice notes column will feature a selection of reader questions, including a more in-depth examination of the kicking game.
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.
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