University of North Carolina Athletics
Youth Not A Depth Deterrent
August 3, 2007 | Football
Aug. 3, 2007
By Lauren Brownlow
Out of 84 scholarship players on the 2007 Carolina football team, 43 are either true or redshirt freshmen. Another 19 are sophomores, and just 24 are upperclassmen, including ten seniors. Some coaches might think that would make for a thin depth chart, benching the inexperienced players in favor of their more experienced counterparts.
But Butch Davis has a different philosophy, and he will coach this team the same he would any Carolina team in the future - breeding depth through competition and experience. He plans to play as few as eight and as many as ten players on the offensive and defensive lines, and wants to keep fresh bodies constantly shuffling in and out of the game.
"Their preparation, their practice habits, their attention to detail, the way they go to class - if they know that the outcome of the game may actually rest on their shoulders, their preparation is a lot different than if they think, `The only way I'm getting in this game if so-and-so sprains his ankle in Game 6.' That creates a huge sense of urgency which I think this football team needs," Davis said on Friday's opening day of training camp.
And he got specific. He told his second-string offensive line that not only would they see action in the first half of the first game, but also that in some games this season, they could see as many as 15-20 plays.
Garrett Reynolds, a junior and returning starter on the offensive line, said that not only is the depth not threatening - it's a relief.
"I'm excited about it, because last year we had a lot of problems with playing only five or six. You have this thought in your head that if you hurt something and if I go out, this guy [the back up] might not be ready and I'm hurting the team, but if something happens, you're still hurting the injury," Reynolds said. "Most of the guys will still stay in as long as they can, but they're not going to be nervous for the team when they know they need to go out. Another guy comes in their place and they have confidence in him."
Despite the assurance that many will play, there is still a strong sense of competition in fall camp because according to Davis, there are only 6-8 players that he and his staff have identified as definite starters. Everyone else will be competing hard for not only remaining spots, but also playing time.
There is potential on this young team, but much is still unknown. As Davis said, it's one thing to watch a player play well in practice and have a good work ethic, and it's something else entirely when that same player goes on the field in front of 60,000 people in front of an ACC team.
Even though many in the ACC don't have very high expectations for Carolina this season, Davis's mantra has been "Nobody is going to define for us what success is except us."
"I fully expect, and I believe this with all my heart, that this is a football team that has the opportunity to get better every day at practice and then certainly every game as the season goes along. I don't want to see us in a roller-coaster mood. I don't want to play emotionally, psychologically, physically at one level one day and one game and then we're down the next week or the next day at practice," Davis said. "Every single day I'd like to see this football team continue to get better, and I think with young football players, that opportunity exists."
Leaders have been emerging all over the place, both among the seniors and even some of the sophomores like Hakeem Nicks. Senior defensive lineman Kentwan Balmer relishes the competition but also willingly accepts his role as a leader, and knows that he must excel in both areas.
"That's what you want, competition. That's what drives this team. I'm going against Cam Thomas, knowing I'm trying to beat him out, knowing he's trying to beat me out, and we're still going to be friends off the field," Balmer said. "I'm just making sure those guys get into the film session like they need to, study their playbooks. I think those guys are hungry for it. Everybody is leading themselves as well as others, and when you have a team of leaders, you can't go wrong."
Lauren Brownlow is the managing editor of Tar Heel Monthly.
