University of North Carolina Athletics
Special Teams Provide Opportunity To Excel
August 27, 2009 | Football
Aug. 27, 2009
By Lauren Brownlow
On the practice field, it's common to see Butch Davis working closely with the special teams unit, giving his input on everything from operation time to correct blocking assignments. He often reminds his players that there are three phases in a game - offense, defense, and special teams. If you win two of the three phases, you will win the game.
The ones responsible for winning the special teams phase (besides the kicker and the punter, of course) are the players who run down the field at full speed, either blocking for a returner or trying to smother a punt or lay a solid hit on the other team's returner.
And they are often the future stars of Carolina football. Former Tar Heels like Sam Aiken (Patriots) and Wallace Wright (Jets) play significant special teams roles. Four of Carolina's five draft picks in the 2009 NFL Draft played special teams in college, including Hakeem Nicks and obviously Brandon Tate.
Richard Quinn and Brooks Foster (second and fifth rounds, respectively) improved their draft stock significantly with their special teams work as well. Foster recovered a fumble on a punt in his first preseason game with the Rams before he went out with an ankle injury.
Davis will always find a few snaps for talented true freshmen on offense or defense, but he loves to use them on special teams. Bruce Carter had his breakout season as a sophomore after a freshman season spent playing all four special teams - punt pressure, punt protection and both kickoffs. Last year, he got on the national radar by blocking five punts, which led the nation.
Sophomore linebacker Linwan Euwell missed half of last season with a knee injury, but on his return against Boston College, his first play was a tackle on the opening kickoff. His solid special teams' contributions the rest of the season led to him being a contender for playing time this year.
"If you want to get on the field, it's special teams," Euwell said. "That's the first thing Coach Davis told me when I got here. At your position, you might have somebody that's better than you but if you want to play, the first place you can go to is special teams. You've got to take baby steps."
Junior safety Jonathan Smith could also see time on defense this season but has excelled at special teams since his freshman year, when he had three special teams tackles in his first game at East Carolina.
Another safety, senior Melvin Williams, knew he wasn't going to play ahead of the likes of Trimane Goddard or Deunta Williams, so he did what he could to excel as a special-teamer. Now, he is known as one of the hardest hitters on the team.
"Last year, I put everything into special teams," Williams said. "I read my book. I studied plays. I studied opponents. That transferred to defense and that means that I know everything on defense. I know what I'm doing and that makes me fly to the ball faster and react faster. Special teams were a big key to my success on defense."
Punt pressure was the a popular favorite of the four special teams, but for those who have played all four, nothing beats kickoff. There are some games when Kenan Stadium never gets louder than right when the opening kickoff flies through the air.
"It's just an adrenaline rush," Smith said. "Everybody's out there and that's the first snap of the game no matter what. Everybody is pumped up. That's the first thing that happens."
"It's exciting," Euwell said. "You've got the first play of the game. You get to set the tempo of the game and whether it's pinning them inside the 10 (yard line) or a big hit, it gets the defense and the crowd into the game."
One of the reasons the stadium buzzed with anticipation during kickoffs - at least when the Tar Heels were receiving - was because of Brandon Tate. But he went out with an injury last season during the Notre Dame game. That left junior Johnny White with the unenviable task of trying to replace Tate's production.
But even Tate struggled early in his career, at times waiting too long to hit the hole. While fans might be going crazy watching Tate or White or anyone dancing in the backfield, the player is reading the blocks and waiting for the right moment.
That was not an easy thing for White to pick up. "We do different schemes each week and whatever they block, it's just staying with the plan and not doing your own little deviation," White said. "You've got to be patient and just trust in everybody around you that they're going to do what they're supposed to do."
Carolina went from averaging 84.8 kickoff return yards per game with Tate to 54.8 in the last six games. But in the last six games of the season, White averaged 25.3 yards per return. In the win over Duke, he had four returns for 107 yards, including a career-best 50-yarder.
Because of his progress, his blockers have faith in him. "We've got a good chance this year to give our offense good field position and get a couple touchdowns," Euwell said. "It's important for us to get our blocks and it's important for him to read the keys and be patient. As a team, if we get our blocks and he's patient, everything will fall into place."
"It's about patience and speed. That's one thing Johnny has. He's patient just like Brandon Tate. Patience and speed - once you let that patience go through, you let the speed hit," Williams said.
"Speed is like power. If you have speed, you can take over that game quick."
