University of North Carolina Athletics
Extra Points: Tar Heels Still Seeking Own True Identity
September 18, 2006 | Football
Sept. 18, 2006
by Lee Pace, Extra Points
CHAPEL HILL --
Among the highlights of the weekend in Chapel Hill were a victory by the football Tar Heels, an impressive debut by a freshman quarterback, a yeoman-like rushing performance by a graybeard tailback, more blitzkrieg attacks from the kick-off cover unit and a pleasant jaunt down memory lane for the 1971-72 Tar Heel football teams.There were many war stories revisited as some 50 coaches and players from the only back-to-back Tar Heel teams in history to collect ACC titles reunited for the weekend. One of the best came from Jim Carmody, the defensive line coach under Bill Dooley from 1967-73 who was nicknamed "Maddog" for his drill-sergeant demeanor on the practice field.
This being the late-Sixties, a band of mostly conservative, Southern-bred football coaches were constantly fighting the lure of war protests, funny little cigarettes and commune living on their football players. A defensive lineman walked in on Carmody one morning out of the clear blue and quit the team. The next morning, offensive line coach Bud Moore lost a player.
"Coach, I've got to go find my own true identity," the player told Moore, who had played collegiately for Bear Bryant at Alabama.
Later that day, Moore and Carmody were walking from Kenan Field House to the training table at Ehringhaus Dorm for lunch and commiserated on the challenges of keeping 19-year-olds focused on football during a turbulent era.
"Bud, you ever struggle with your `own true identity' in college?" Carmody asked.
"No," Moore responded. "My first day at Alabama, Coach Bryant said I was a turd. Three years later, I was still a turd.
"I knew my identity all along."
Would that the Tar Heels be able to establish their true identity three weeks into the football season. In games against Rutgers, Virginia Tech and Furman, Carolina's seen two up weeks for the offense against one lemon; it's had two defensive duds and one gem. The kicking game's been outstanding in covering kick-offs, returning kick-offs and punts and in launching field goals; it's been suspect in punting and protecting the punter.
"At some point very soon, I think this football team can deliver a complete game," says coach John Bunting, whose team clipped Furman 45-42 Saturday night in Kenan Stadium. "That is certainly our goal, and it's something we must accomplish with the schedule we're facing."
Indeed, the Tar Heels cannot play the kind of defensive game they turned in against Furman when they face off with Clemson and Miami in the coming weeks. Furman scored touchdowns on six of 11 possessions Saturday, rolled up 521 yards of offense on 7.1 yards a snap and slapped the Tar Heel defense down to 11th in the ACC in total defense with 369 yards a game (Boston College is last at 464 yards).
The Furman coaching staff played its offense close to the vest in opening victories over Jacksonville State and West Georgia, then unveiled a "flexbone" attack against Carolina that gave the Tar Heels fits. The "flexbone" is a wishbone-hybrid attack that uses slotbacks and a fullback in the backfield with a nimble quarterback running the show. QB Renaldo Gray, tailback Cedrick Gipson and fullback Jerome Felton were outstanding, the latter barreling for four touchdowns.
"It was something we talked about in staff meetings that they might do," Bunting said. "As the game went along, we did a good job adjusting to the things we knew they were going to do. What we didn't do well was adjust to things that were a surprise. Up the very end, we were making adjustments. It's difficult in three or four days to get ready for everything that an option team can do."
What was most annoying to Bunting and defensive coordinator Marvin Sanders, however, was the secondary's play against what had been a very tame throwing game from the Paladins. Gray connected with Gipson on a screen pass for 33 yards in the first quarter when a defensive end failed to cover Gipson out of the backfield (fortunately for Carolina, that play was called back for a penalty). Gray hit Patrick Sprague for 48 yards over the middle in the third quarter. He hit R.J. Webb for 49 yards down the right boundary to open the fourth quarter. He hit Justin Step for 37 yards late in the game and, four snaps later, a pass interference call on Carolina gave the ball back to Furman after a fourth-down incompletion.
"I am bewildered by a 300-yard passing game from them," Bunting said. "We are not playing well at all in the back end. We're not playing the deep ball. We're not contesting the ball. Our body language is not good. We are looking to stir things up back there this week."
Always a believer that competition brings out the best in players, the Tar Heel staff is going to give red-shirt freshmen Jordan Hemby, Jermaine Strong and Brian Dixon and true freshman Kendric Burney opportunities to earn playing time this week. Bunting also expects senior safety Kareen Taylor to return to the field for Clemson after missing last week with an ankle sprain.
"I am disappointed we were not more competitive at the back end," Bunting says. "We've got to get better there."
Meanwhile, the Tar Heel offense was pilloried all week for its woes against Virginia Tech. The coaches and players insisted they were fractions away from the intricacies of a new running game meshing into productivity. A change at quarterback, from the interception-prone Joe Dailey to red-shirt freshman Cam Sexton, might help as well.
"We're making a lot of progress," offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti said last week. "We can see it on the practice field. We can see it on tape. We can see it in the players' eyes. Now, we just need to see it on the scoreboard."
They did indeed, with Sexton confidently and competently leading the Tar Heels to scores on seven of 10 possessions. Sexton was loose, relaxed and a little cocky. He stood in the pocket with nerve and presence of mind. Most all of his throws were accurate, save one interception and one overthrown corner route to Jesse Holley in the end zone.
"Cam's poise in the fourth quarter was unbelievable," tackle Brian Chacos said. "You had to be in the huddle to really see it, really admire it. He did a great job. I'm proud of him. He reminded me of Darian Durant with some of his passes, with that aura and magic we knew from Darian. We saw some of that tonight in Cam."
The ground game notched 181 yards, with senior Ronnie McGill wearing Furman down with 114 yards on 24 carries, including a longest run of 33 yards. Barrington Edwards added 56 authoritative yards on 11 carries, including a 34-yard touchdown. Sexton was never sacked and not even hurried. And the miseries of all the dropped passes from 2005 have faded amid the sure hands and sharp eyes of newcomers at receiver like Brooks Foster and Hakeem Nicks and veteran Jesse Holley.
"Sticky fingers," Bunting says. "It's great to see the receivers making plays."
"We scored a lot of points and we didn't make a lot of mistakes," Sexton adds. "When you go 0-2, you've got to start somewhere. Hopefully, this will right the ship for us and we can build on it."
As for the kicking game, Connor Barth is 3-for-3 in field goals and the Tar Heels are almost within special teams coordinator Andre Powell's goal of being in the ACC's top four in each special teams category. The Heels are first in kick-off coverage, second in kick-off returns and third in punt returns. They are 100 percent in making field goals and extra points. The bad news is they are 11th in punting, their ranking hurt by having one blocked against Virginia Tech. Frustrated at David Wooldridge's three-step kick, the staff went with John Choate against Furman, hoping Choate's two-step kick will help the unit's operation time. Bunting said the punting job might be thrown open to competition this week.
No reasonable observer can yet anoint this a good football team. At 1-2 it stretches credulity. But the potential is there, though depth is certainly an issue on defense as the linebackers were the liability against Rutgers and the backs the weak links versus Furman. And so it's on to Clemson as the Tar Heels continue searching for their own true identity.
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.
