University of North Carolina Athletics
Saturday Practice Notes
August 23, 2008 | Football
Aug. 23, 2008
By Adam Lucas
For the first time in several months, it actually felt like football season Saturday morning in Chapel Hill. Butch Davis put his team through the final activity of training camp, a mock game that included the team's gameday entrance, pregame routine, and more. What it didn't include was an actual scrimmage, as players wore shoulder pads and shorts. Instead of first team-against-first team, the first-team offense went against the scout defense and the first-team defense faced the scout offense...Saturday was also about refining gameday communication and personnel. Coordinators John Shoop and Everett Withers were in the press box calling down plays to the sideline. Shoop was on the sideline last year in an effort to facilitate communication with his young quarterbacks, but with more experience under center he'll be able to get a view from up high in 2008...
Saturday was more about situations than actual plays. The Tar Heels worked on red-zone offense, red-zone defense, defending the other team backed up against the goal-line, defending last-second plays, two-minute offense, and goal-line defense. It's hard to imagine a situation that could come up in a game that the players haven't seen during camp...Anthony Parker-Boyd again got most of the snaps at scout quarterback to simulate McNeese State's starting QB, Derrick Fourroux. Fourroux was the team's second-leading rusher last season, racking up 550 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground to go with 2,054 yards and 16 touchdowns through the air... With all the attention focused on the field goal kickers, there hasn't been much talk about the kickoff duties. Jay Wooten has been impressive in that department over the last couple of days...Speaking of the kickers, a name that hasn't made its way into the practice notes this August is Reid Phillips. He plunked the upright on a 57-yard field goal attempt Saturday. It didn't go in, but it was an impressive boot nonetheless...And on the final special teams note, Terrence Brown had a great morning, thundering the ball long when needed and dropping the ball inside the 20 when needed...
A couple of potentially good stories on the first-team defense as of this moment: Cam Thomas at defensive tackle and Jordan Hemby at cornerback. Thomas has transformed into more than just a big guy who plays on the line--now he's actually a mobile run-stuffer. And Hemby has battled back from some horrible injuries while also taking advantage of Charles Brown's limited participation in training camp...For all the talk about the freshmen defensive linemen, it looks like Darrius Massenburg will play the first snap at end opposite E.J. Wilson...
Saturday's practice/mock game was closed to everyone--except the hard workers who are installing the new Tar Heel seatbacks. Based on the gigantic boxes still awaiting installation, it's been a fairly popular addition to Kenan Stadium. For more information, check out their website.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of four books on Carolina basketball.
