University of North Carolina Athletics
Tuesday Practice Notes
August 12, 2008 | Football
Aug. 12, 2008
By Adam Lucas
With one segment left in Tuesday's afternoon practice--the first time the Tar Heels have practiced in the afternoon since last week--Butch Davis gathered his team and allowed them to take their pads off for the day's final 15 minutes. Somewhat surprisingly, at least one player would have rather kept the pads on. "That's my weapon right there, the pads," said safety Melvin Williams with a smile. "I like to hit, so I felt like one of my weapons was gone. But we had played hard today, so he gave us a little break."...Freshman Quentin Coples echoed the same sentiment--and showed a good, aggressive nature for a rookie. As he jogged to his next assignment after the pads had been removed, Coples said, "Man, this is for the birds. I want to hit something."...Williams has been pairing with Da'Norris Searcy as the second-team safety and says they already have good chemistry. "We have the same style of play, because we love to hit," Williams said. "We've gotten to where we understand what the other guy will do in most situations."...
ACC commissioner and former UNC athletic director John Swofford took in part of Tuesday's practice before walking across the street to get a first-hand look at the Boshamer Stadium renovations...Pass-blocking isn't always the favorite part of practice for most running backs, but the UNC backs went through a boisterous pass-blocking session against Tar Heel linebackers. Anthony Elzy was especially enthusiastic--and backed up his talk with several solid blocks. Ryan Houston also dropped a pancake block on an unsuspecting defender that drew several shouts of approval...
There is some talk in the Carolina weight room that Brooks Foster might be the strongest wide receiver in college football. The senior is now bench pressing 405 pounds, but he says he's most proud of his power clean of 360. "My goal is to be the strongest receiver in college," Foster said. "At the combine, I want to try and get the bench record." The South Carolina native has come a long way from the freshman who admittedly didn't like to do any football conditioning activities. "I've learned you need to be good in the weight room to be good at football," he said. "As a receiver, it keeps you from getting injuries, helps you get in and out of cuts better, gives you more power and more endurance."...
The highlight of Tuesday's practice was a spirited short-yardage goal-line session between the offense and defense. Luckily, officials were on hand to rule on whether the offense was able to get into the end zone--calls that were fiercely contested when they went against the defense...Tomorrow's practice notes will come after the evening session rather than the morning practice.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of four books on Carolina basketball.
