University of North Carolina Athletics
Extra Points: Where Davis Leads, Heels and Their Fans Follow.
August 21, 2007 | Football
Aug. 21, 2007
By Lee Pace, Extra Points
Back in the 1990s and early years of this century when Extra Points was published and mailed in printed form, sure as the July humidity arrived would come a money order from Long Island City, N.Y., with a typewritten letter, single-spaced, sometimes running five pages. Bob Porter (UNC '53) was renewing his subscription and submitting his yearly missive on his life and times with Carolina football.
He wrote of the ups:
"I will never forget the great Texas-Carolina game in 1948 when the Heels were absolutely magnificent," he wrote one year. "It was a gorgeous day. The way they took Texas apart that day was my all-time thrill. The excitement, color, the buildup, was just the greatest. I still have the game on tape. It was the most fantastic high one could ever get at a football game. I guess I've been waiting for most of my lifetime for another game like that."
And of the downs:
"I was sorry to see Bobby Ross leave Georgia Tech and the ACC," Porter's missive said in 1992. "Boy, he sure broke my heart one year. I got up early that day in 1983 and drove all the way to College Park from New York only to see Boomer Esiason & Co. beat us in the second half, 28-26. That was the longest, most depressing trip in the world driving back to New York."
And through them all was the thread of aching, craving and longing for a big-time football program, one that gets good and stays good for more than a four-year eruption.
"I've wanted to scream, `I've only got so many years left! Give us a good program!' Lee, the old-timers get very frustrated."
As always, the letter ended with warm wishes for me and mine and good tidings for the coming fall:
"I think this boy Chris Keldorf might just cut the mustard. I have taken a great deal of interest in him," Porter signed off in 1996. "I hope you can bring some good news for the coming season."
***
Since that letter's posting 11 years ago, the Tar Heels have been to nirvana for two dizzying seasons (10-2 and 11-1 in '96 and '97 with the aforementioned Keldorf playing a key role at quarterback). They've lost one coach to Texas and dismissed two others. They held Virginia Tech to one field goal in a bowl game and regaled in wins over Florida State and Miami in Kenan Stadium. They've been tortured by Louisville and Utah and mortified by Maryland and Clemson on back-to-back Saturdays in Chapel Hill.
Now with the 2007 season opener against James Madison less than two weeks away, there is indeed good news for the likes of Bob Porter and scores of Tar Heel fans.
The University of North Carolina now has a proven head coach in the person of Butch Davis and is giving him the resources to do the job. No more assistants promoted from within (a la Jim Hickey and Carl Torburh); no more star-searches on hiring coaches from mid-majors (Dick Crum and Mack Brown); no more experiments on assistants from established powers (Bill Dooley from Georgia); no more forays into the ranks of blue-bleeding alumni (John Bunting). Many of those moves worked out well in the end, but each had a certain roll-of-the-dice quality to them.
"We'll have 60,000 people in Kenan Stadium on opening day, and not one will question whether our guy can coach," athletic director Dick Baddour says. "That's a nice feeling. We haven't had that in I don't know how many years."
Paul Hoolahan, executive director of the All-State Sugar Bowl and a former Tar Heel football player, strength coach and athletics administrator, spent considerable time around Davis when the Miami Hurricanes played Florida in the Sugar Bowl following the 2000 season. The Hurricanes pounded the Gators 37-20, leaving a certain visor-studded ball coach to lament his opponents that night were "better coached, more disciplined. We were embarrassed." Miami completed the season 11-1 and finished second to Oklahoma in the final polls.
"Carolina was looking for a coach last October, and somebody said, `We're thinking about Butch Davis,'" Hoolahan says. "I said, `Don't think about it, hire him ... whatever it takes, get it done.'
"Butch is a great hire for Carolina. He's got great organization skills, is a great thinker, he's obviously a tough disciplinarian, but he's fair, he's reasonable."
In this space exactly one year ago, we talked about the attention to detail being paid on the field as Bunting and his staff drilled their team toward the 2006 season opener. Davis & Co. are every bit as focused on the minutiae of technique and scheme, but what's remarkable about the first eight months of the Davis regime is watching the reverence he holds for the fine print off the field.
To wit: Davis outfitted the players and staff in coats and ties for their media guide head shots. Access to practice sessions is carefully limited and monitored. Visitors to the Kenan Football Center are asked to sign in instead of walking in unrecorded. A color-coded system in the training table defines each food item for weight gain, weight loss, muscle replenishment and other dietary goals. A photo on the bulletin board outlines how a player is to leave his locker each evening after practice. Offensive meeting rooms are adorned with images of a player carrying a football and the words "High and Tight" to illustrate proper ball protection technique. Davis has redecorated the walls on the fourth floor of Kenan Football Center to better illustrate the beauty of the Chapel Hill campus to recruits and their parents.
"There's not a stone left unturned with Coach Davis," says linebacker Mark Paschal. "It's unbelievable how many different aspects he touches of every part of the program. He makes sure everyone knows how he wants things done. He wants every detail accounted for. It's a great way to get everyone to become very disciplined."
Adds senior center Scott Lenahan: "He focuses on the details, the little things that make the difference. It might be making sure the locker room or players' lounge is clean. It might be making sure as linemen you're keeping your hands inside and not getting the holding calls. He's a sticker for the details. He's always emphasizing how the little things make a difference, that the small things take care of the big things."
Of course, all the vision and ideas aren't worth soggy cardboard if they're not delivered with authority and confidence. The Tar Heels are well aware of Davis's resume--particularly his successes as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator with the Dallas Cowboys and head coach at Miami. Those facts combined with his physical presence and comportment of self-assurance have found a receptive audience.
"He came in from Day One and got straight to the point," tailback Anthony Elzy says. "He fed us positives, he fed us energy, and that's what we needed as a team."
"Coach has a way of carrying himself," Lenahan adds. "He demands respect and rightfully so, he deserves it. Look at the things he's done at Dallas and Miami. Everyone respects him and what he has to say, how he's leading us. Nobody really questions his methods. Everything he does is for a reason. Everyone is following."
How all of this translates to the business of winning games depends on your time frame. The long-term prognosis is excellent. There are four questions you have to ask in evaluating a coach and a program he is trying to build.
One: Can the institution be successful? Carolina certainly can. It has before, and the administration today is providing Davis with the financial and infrastructure tools to run an effective program.
Two: Does the institution want to be successful (important distinction)? Carolina absolutely does. Chancellor James Moeser told Davis upon their first meeting last October that the university has let its football fans down for too long, and as recently as last week Moeser has told various groups on campus that Davis will win an ACC title.
Three: Does the head coach have a plan and system for building the program? You bet. He is not an experiment.
And four: When he looks you in the eye and says he'll be successful, do you believe him? Again, the answer is yes.
"There's been a tremendous change in morale, there's a different feel around here," senior defensive tackle Kentwan Balmer says. "It's like it's magical. We've muddled through years of losing, now the guys are energetic and the coaches bring a lot of positive energy. The players are excited and we can feel a lot of people are excited about Carolina football."
The short-term is a different proposition altogether as Carolina attempts to rebound from a 3-9 season a year ago. There are too many unknowns on the 2007 roster to speculate on the win-loss permutations. The Tar Heels have to find a quarterback--at the moment, that's redshirt freshman T.J. Yates. They're auditioning a host of tailbacks--Elzy, Richie Rich, Johnny White and freshman Ryan Houston. Davis admits it's something of "tailback by committee right now," and there's only one carry of the football in a college game among them. The all-important left tackle, who protects the quarterback's blind side on passing plays, is a newcomer named Kyle Jolly. Trimane Goddard returns at safety after a year's absence with a foot injury and could be surrounded in the secondary by three first-year starters. A freshman and a junior-college transfer are competing for punting duties. Forty-three scholarship players (more than 50 percent of the roster) have never played a snap of college football.
These unknowns are balanced by an impressive inventory at center and on the right side of the offensive line; at wide receiver; in the person of place-kicker Connor Barth; and along the defensive front, where assistant coach John Blake might have eight to 10 players who can consistently help. The defensive front with veterans Balmer, Hilee Taylor and Kyndraus Guy and newcomers like Aleric Mullins and true freshmen Marvin Austin and Tydreke Powell has a chance to develop into a team strength as it was during the 1996-97 glory run. Perish the memory of that 2002 team that had to move fullback Madison Hedgecock to the D-line just to suit up enough bodies.
Personnel issues aside, the Tar Heels are working to develop strengths in a handful of disciplines. "We can be a smart team, a team that plays all-out and flies round," Davis says. "We will play with passion and intelligence. We want to be an efficient team and one of the least-penalized in college football. We don't want to turn the ball over, and the defense is working as hard as they can for strips, interceptions, trying to scoop and score. Hopefully they are creating habits where the defense can be an opportunistic group."
One of the charms of any new season is watching the development of young players, and there have been plenty to follow as August camp has unfolded. Deunta Williams has moved from receiver to safety and has been a thorn in the quarterbacks' side with timely interceptions. Kendric Williams, who burst on the scene during 2006 spring practice with his innate ability to block field goals, has earned a scholarship and is running with the first team at cornerback. Houston has lost weight and is a punishing runner. Teammates called Powell "Freaky Ty" for his speed and strength as a freshman. Austin is noteworthy for his size, athleticism and gregarious personality.
Much attention and speculation has been riveted on quarterback Mike Paulus, the true freshman from Syracuse who committed a year ago and held fast through the turmoil of the Bunting exit last October and November. He's as good as advertised but is not yet sniffing the starting role. There is just too much to learn--for beginners, playing under center after a high school career in the shotgun.
"I thought it would be a breeze, but it really is a tough time," Paulus said a week and a half into camp. "You want to compete for the job, but it's tough to do in six or seven days. It would be arrogant to say I'm working on the starting job. I am just keeping my mouth shut and learning as much as I can."
Last year's outlook at this time was to plan on efficient defense and the kicking of Barth and David Wooldridge to give the offense time to mature. The defense was not as good as expected and the quarterbacks threw 18 interceptions against only 11 touchdowns; so much for the best-laid plans. But the blueprint isn't all that different a year later. If the secondary can mature quickly, the defense should have a head start while the offense is wading in with its quarterback and tailback.
"People don't understand how talented this defense is," says Balmer. "We may be young, but I promise we'll be explosive and we'll know what to do. We're going to be relentless, aggressive and attacking. The guys are hungry. Three-and-nine will make anybody mean. I know I've got a sour taste in my mouth. I can't wait to get out there and line up. We're going to swarm and swarm and swarm some more. We'll be exciting to watch."
***
I found Bob Porter at home Sunday afternoon and asked if hope sprang eternal once again as another Tar Heel football season loomed just two weeks away.
"It seems like we've been jinxed since `Sunny Jim' Tatum came back and then got bitten by that lousy tick," Porter said of Tatum's 1959 death to Rocky Mountain spotted fever. "When we hired Tatum, I was happy as could be. I said, `Oh boy, we're going to be big-time now. He's going to put us on the map.'
"I've got faith in Butch. I couldn't be happier. I want to have a great year before I pass on. I'm in my late 70s and time's running out."
Chapel Hill writer Lee Pace has written Extra Points, a lively and informative view of Tar Heel football, since 1990. Email him your questions about the Tar Heels at leepace@nc.rr.com and he'll answer the most interesting ones in his Tar Heel Mailbag column.
