University of North Carolina Athletics
Spring Football News & Notes
March 19, 2009 | Football
March 19, 2009
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Elleby Moves To Offensive Guard
On Monday, North Carolina coaches moved junior Greg Elleby to offensive guard. Elleby, a 6-5, 305-pound junior from Tabor City, N.C., has played the last two seasons on the defensive line, both at end and tackle. Last year, he had six tackles and forced a fumble in the season opener against McNeese State.
"We've got a depth issue on the offensive line, certainly going into springtime," said Davis. "Greg is a good kid. He's a junior, he's 6-5 1/2, he's 305 pounds, he's got long arms, he can run. He's got a defensive mentality, which makes him a tough guy. We approached him and told him to come over and just give an honest effort and take a look at it. We want to give him a chance to get on the two-deep and make a significant contribution and have a chance to play and he's done a nice job. It's not etched in stone. We'll sit down with him and Sam Pittman at the end of the year and see where we're at. I like what I've seen. He's tough, he's aggressive and he's willing."
With senior Aaron Stahl out this spring while recovering from shoulder surgery, Elleby has a chance to make an impact at guard where the Tar Heels have juast three other players this spring - Alan Pelc, Jonathan Cooper and Mike Dykes.
Ohio State, Liberty Coaches in Attendance
It's common during the spring for coaches from across the country to drop by Carolina's spring practice. In fact, the Tar Heel coaching staff plans on doing the same thing next month once UNC's workouts are completed. On Wednesday, the Ohio State coaching staff, except head coach Jim Tressel, was in attendance for Carolina's practice.
"They wanted to come by and see some stuff that we're doing. They spent the whole morning visiting with our coaches and watching a little bit of our film from this past fall. It's always good when you get a chance to share stuff, because there is good information flow. We can learn some stuff from them and they've had some great success offensively and defensively for the last half dozen years. We can share some things with them and maybe help each other out, especially when it's not someone on your schedule in the next 3-4 years."
In addition to the Buckeyes, Liberty University coaches were in attendance, as was current Oklahoma State co-offensive coordinator Gunter Brewer. Brewer was Carolina's wide receivers coach for five seasons from 2000-04 before leaving for Stillwater.
A Look at the Linebackers
Carolina returns two all-star candidates in juniors Quan Sturdivant and Bruce Carter. Sturdivant led the nation with 87 solo tackles and ranked third in the ACC in total tackles per game. Carter was a one-man blocking machine, leading the country with five blocks in 2008. Sturdivant has moved to middle linebacker this spring, creating an opening at the weakside linebacker position.
"We really felt like this would a very important spring for some of these young linebackers," said head coach Butch Davis following Wednesday's workouts. "We really need to have as many as six, seven and eight kids that can go play in the game. All (five) of those young kids have done some good stuff. They've got good instincts. They've got speed. They've got the ability to get to plays outside of certain areas. Mentally they are learning fast and they've got some good roles models in front of them to learn from in Bruce and Quan."
Although short on experience, the Tar Heels have as much depth at linebacker as they have in recent memory with Herman Davidson, Dion Guy, Kevin Reddick Zach Brown and Ebele Okakpu battling for playing time. Carter and Sturdivant started every game last year, but the five other players have seen little playing time except on special teams.
Reddick, a true freshman from New Bern, N.C., enrolled at UNC in January after a semester at Hargrave Military Academy. Unfortunately, Reddick was diagnosed with mononucleosis and will miss the next three weeks of action.
Sophomore Zach Brown has begun the spring as the starter at outside linebacker and the coaches are pleased with his play through the first four days of practice.
"He's electrifyingly fast," says Davis. "One of the things that's been impressive is that he's picked things up really quickly. It's allowed us to feel comfortable about the move of Quan Sturdivant to middle linebacker."
Spring Showcase Set For Saturday, March 28
Six different Tar Heel sports, including the football Spring Showcase and No. 1-ranked baseball team, are scheduled for the University of North Carolina's Super Saturday on March 28th.
Butch Davis is in his third spring as head coach of the Tar Heel football team and will direct a practice and scrimmage at Kenan Stadium beginning at 11:15 a.m.
The Super Saturday version of Tar Heel Town opens at 10 a.m. at Navy Field located across from the baseball stadium on Ridge Road. Tar Heel Town includes interactive sporting activities, kid friendly attractions, food, face painting and a live radio broadcast. Tar Heel Town runs until 2 p.m. Five different Olympic sports - women's lacrosse, men's tennis, softball, men's lacrosse and baseball - play on campus on Super Saturday, with the women's lacrosse team getting action started at 11 a.m. against Boston College at Fetzer Field.
Events continue at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center at 1 p.m. as the men's tennis squad takes on Boston College. Also at 1 p.m., the softball team begins a doubleheader against BC at Anderson Stadium/Williams Field. The men's lacrosse team, under the direction on first-year head coach Joe Breschi, meets longtime rival Johns Hopkins at 2 p.m. at Fetzer Field. Finally, the baseball team plays host to the University of Virginia at Boshamer Stadium at 3 p.m.
Admission to all events is free, except baseball. Tickets for the baseball game are $7 or $10. Fans can avoid lines at the baseball game by purchasing tickets while they last at TarHeelBlue.com.
Parking will be available at various lots across campus.
Fans attending the Football Spring Showcase at Kenan Stadium are encouraged to park for $5 at Ramshead Parking Deck on Ridge Road, or for free at the Craige and Jackson Decks on Manning Drive or the Smith Center lots. Fans attending the men's and women's lacrosse games should park at the School of Government or Cobb Decks for free or the Highway 54 lot on Raleigh Road for $5.
Spectators attending the men's tennis match and softball games are invited to park for free at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center and Anderson Stadium/Williams Field lots, respectively.
Those attending the baseball game are also encouraged to park at the Ramshead Deck ($5). Baseball fans also should check for available parking at the Highway 54 lot ($5) and the Smith Center lots (free). The Carolina Basketball Museum will operate on a normal Saturday schedule from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
