University of North Carolina Athletics
Linebackers Fill Distinct Roles
August 20, 2008 | Football
Aug. 20, 2008
By Turner Walston
Three of the biggest names on the Tar Heel defense aren't technically listed on the roster. Sam, Mike and Will are the designations for Strong-side, Middle and Weak-side linebackers, respectively. Each role has different responsibilities, but the Tar Heels have players who are up to the jobs in 2008.
Mark Paschal started four games at middle linebacker in 2007 and won the job for 2008 in spring practice. As the man in the middle, `Mike' has a lot of work to do, communicating with both coaches and players on the field. "I'm responsible for setting the front, either to the tight end, or to the passing strength," he said. "Setting where we're coming with our pressures, setting and breaking the huddle. I'm pretty much the quarterback on defense."
`Mike' relays the coaches' call to his teammates, then must read and react to how the offense is setting up. He'll then make a call for adjustments to the situation. "I'm in charge of setting the defensive front, either to the tight end or to the passing strength, depending on what we're doing defensively," Paschal said.
In general, `Sam,' the strong-side linebacker, sets opposite the offense's tight end. Once `Mike' recognizes where the offense's strength is, he'll direct `Sam' to that side. "'Sam' is someone who makes run fits," said Bruce Carter, who started at the position in seven games as a freshman in 2007. "If I can't get to the ball-carrier, I'll either take on a block, or bounce him, trying to guide him to where there's another tackler."
Carter must also communicate with his defensive ends, deciding who will take on the fullback, for example. "I can tell the end to come in, or come out, if I'm playing man-to-man against the tight end. I just try to control the end a little bit."
Which brings us to `Will.' Sophomore Quan Sturdivant started five games at linebacker in 2007, and he will hold down the weak-side, much like the graduated Durell Mapp before him. "Who's `Will?' That's me," Sturdivant said. "It's the weak-side linebacker, who goes away from the tight end."
Setting up away from the offense's strength frees `Will' to try to recognize a play as it happens, and move toward the action. "Basically, you're tracking the ball, trying to make plays," Sturdivant said. If an offensive lineman leaves his spot to make a block on an end, `Will' must recognize it and act fast. "If the guard pulls around, I've got to get off the center and make sure I'm in the gap, where the running back runs." And when all that happens quickly, `Will' can stop plays in the backfield.
Studying under Mapp allowed Sturdivant to watch a seasoned veteran at work, and he continues to draw inspiration from that. "I'm just trying to do half of what he did," Sturdivant said. "He was all over the field. I'm just trying to make plays." Mapp's impact on the program continues to resonate, Sturdivant said. "He'd line us up and everything, because he knew we didn't know," he said. "I talked to him the other day. He just told me to keep working hard and keep staying at it."
These young linebackers are making a mark of their own, as well. Greg Little said his `Welcome to college football' moment came from Sturdivant last fall. "It was the first scrimmage we had," Sturdivant said. "He (Little) was at wide receiver then. I made a break on the ball, and he was attempting to catch it. He didn't catch it."
"I remember it very well. He put me straight on my back," Little admits.
The untrained observer may look at the Tar Heel linebackers, see two sophomore starters, and call the position inexperienced. But Sturdivant and Carter have 12 starts between them, and having the senior Paschal in the middle only enhances the position's potential. Add to that senior Chase Rice, who missed all but one game in 2007 with an ankle injury, and junior Kennedy Tinsley, to this point a solid special teamer, and it's clear that there's both depth and experience at the position. "It's going to be a good one," Paschal said of the linebacker corps. "They're still young, but they're good kids and they like to have fun. They've got a very bright future ahead of them. They're going to be linebackers here for a long time, so that's good for the program and good for the defense."
"Chase and Mark, they provide the leadership," Sturdivant said. "We have a bunch of young guys coming in, and Bruce and I are still learning the position, but they're doing a good job helping everybody learn their assignments and stuff."
Perhaps the Tar Heels gave up some experience by playing true freshman last season. But those inexperienced freshman are now veterans with seasons ahead of them, and they can only get better, Carter said. "When you come out as a freshman, you're kind of jittery, and you don't know how the speed of the game is going to be. As a sophomore, I've got a feel for the game more, so I think that helps me out in a big way."
Those young players had to grow up fast. Months of work off the field will translate to success on it, Paschal said. "I think it's unfair to call them `youth,' still," he said. "They've got two springs and a season, which is more than enough to be ready."
Neither Carter nor Sturdivant played linebacker in high school, but Paschal sees that as a positive. "They bring a willingness to learn every day, and a willingness to go out there and work hard and try to get better," he said. "The transition was a little slow at first, but every day, you can see them making more and more plays."
Enough that they've earned their own nicknames. Little calls Sturdivant and Carter `Thunder and Lightning,' though it's unclear which is which. And Paschal? "He's `The General,'" Little said.
No matter who goes by what name, `Sam,' `Mike' and `Will' will be expected to make plays when the lights come on on the night of August 30, when the 2008 campaign begins. "Youth is out of the picture after your freshman year," Carter said. "We're in college now. It's D-1 football. At some point, you've got to step up." For the linebackers, that time is now.
