University of North Carolina Athletics
Extra Points: A Family Affair
August 14, 2011 | Football
Aug. 14, 2011
By Lee Pace
Everett Withers motioned beyond the group of a hundred football players huddled around him Saturday in Kenan Stadium, toward a collection of some 75 men of various shapes, waistlines and hairlines. They stood on the tarmac at the edge of the Kenan Stadium field, undeterred by the rainfall that had sputtered on and off throughout a 90-minute scrimmage.
"Every great football program in the country has a great lettermen's program," Withers told his players. "These guys played their tails off to give you the opportunities you have today. They paid the price. We don't do a good enough job telling them `Thanks.' I want you to go over and shake their hands and tell them they're important to us having a great season."
With that, Withers marched over to the group of former Tar Heel football players--NFL veterans, collegiate walk-ons and everything in between among them--and thanked them for what they meant to Carolina football. He invited them to come to practice any time and told them he hoped they would always feel welcome around Kenan Football Center.
"I believe in what came before, that we are to honor it, to honor those lettermen that were out on that field before us," Withers says. "I hope our kids understand the importance of what our lettermen built out there. Things didn't just start overnight. Those lettermen built this program."
"What a great feeling to walk off the practice field and see some of my former teammates and introduce them to our players," says Allen Mogridge, today the Tar Heels' tight ends coach and a Tar Heel letterman from 1996-99. "In light of all we've been going through, it meant a lot to our kids to have these guys shake their hands and pat them on the back. It was like a 'mini-reunion.' You could tell the guys enjoyed seeing each other, seeing what's going on in Kenan Stadium and getting a look at our team."
Much of being a head coach is public relations--with high school coaches, the media, campus officials, faculty, ticket holders and scholarship donors. In his first three weeks as the Tar Heels' interim head coach, Withers has made efforts in each of those categories. He has also put former Tar Heel players high on his list of priorities, sending a letter to the program's mailing list of nearly a thousand lettermen last week and inviting them to Saturday's scrimmage.
"When I got that letter Tuesday morning, I was fired up," says Marion Barnes, a receiver from the 1960s who lives in Rocky Mount. "I changed my plans for Saturday and said, `I'm going to Chapel Hill.' Danny Talbott would have come with me, but he had to play in a golf tournament that was in his honor, so he couldn't back out to come with me. Hats off to Everett and the job he's doing so far. This was a bridge that needed to be crossed."
"These kids out here today, they did everything right, but they're being held accountable for what somebody else did wrong," adds Alan Caldwell, a defensive back from the 1970s who lives in Winston-Salem. "I'm here to support them and this coaching staff. They are representing this university under adverse circumstances. This is a situation we've never been in before. We owe it to them. They deserve to have our lettermen out here in full force and in numbers. They need their fan base behind them. It needs to sound in Raleigh and Durham like there's an earthquake coming out of Chapel Hill when we're playing football."
The former Tar Heels who watched from the north side stands on Saturday shared two pervasive thoughts. One, it's time to play football and leave the teeth-gnashing of the Butch Davis firing in the rear-view mirror.
"I'm tired of talking about it and reading about it," says John Anderson, a linebacker from the late 1960s who lives in Chapel Hill. "It's time to move on and play football. I'm going to support this football program, no matter what."
And two, this team working toward its Sept. 3 opener has a fair amount of promise--solid blocking front, athletic though untested quarterback in Bryn Renner, solid receiving corps led by Dwight Jones, veteran kicker in Casey Barth, stout defensive wall anchored around Tydreke Powell, Quinton Coples and Donte Paige-Moss, coach-on-the-field in linebacker Kevin Reddick.
"This team certainly passes the `eye test,'" says Lee Gliarmis, a place-kicker from the early 1980s who lives in Wilson. "This team is incredibly athletic. We haven't been this athletic since 1996-97. Even then, we didn't have the kind of offensive line we have now. We had good O-lines in the early '80s, but I'm not sure we matched up athletically with this group."
"What an O-line," adds Jeb Terry, a blocker from a decade ago who played four years in the NFL. "I see three, maybe four, guys on this group who are first-day NFL draft guys."
One focal area of interest 10 days into preseason camp is the tailback position. Ryan Houston, who red-shirted in 2010 and has had off-season shoulder surgery, has been restricted in early practices, giving freshman Gio Bernard and converted quarterback A.J. Blue the opportunity to take numerous snaps with the first team. Both are hoping for full recoveries from knee injuries.
"Gio's an incredible back," says tackle James Hurst. "I've not seen a back quite like him, definitely since I've been here. He's extremely fast, extremely quick. He's hard to see behind the offensive line. I expect big things from him."
"I've never seen a back go through a hole like Gio," adds quarterback Bryn Renner. "He makes great jump cuts in the hole. Having Rhino (Houston) and Gio will be a little `thunder and lightning' action. I'm very excited and feel very lucky to have both of them."
Blue was ranked by SuperPrep as the No. 19 prospect in the nation among all positions in 2007 at North Gaston High. He spent one year at Hargrave Military Academy, then suffered a severe knee injury midway through the 2009 season at Carolina. He has the speed, nimbleness and power to be a productive player.
"I remember seeing A.J. a couple of springs ago at running back," Withers says. "I thought at the time, `Wow.' I'm just glad as the head coach we have the opportunity to move him back. He's ready to go every day. We have to slow him down. He's ready to help this football team."
The Tar Heels have one more week of camp, including two-a-days this week on Monday and Friday and scrimmages on Wednesday and Saturday. Then the players will move into their regular housing and begin classes on Aug. 23. By all measures, they're done a good job of moving past the storm of the last few weeks and focusing on football.
"All that stuff we went through last year? This is nothing new," Withers told the Tar Heel lettermen. "We're battle tested. We're resilient. These kids have banded together well. I can't wait for the season to get started."
1979 Carolina graduate Lee Pace leepace7@gmail.com has written "Extra Points" since 1990. His columns appear regularly throughout the football season.
Players Mentioned
