University of North Carolina Athletics
Walston: Friday Football Notebook
August 19, 2011 | Football
Aug. 19, 2011
Carolina is about halfway through training camp and will practice early Saturday before taking the day off on Sunday. Today brings the last of two-a-days, as classes resume on Tuesday and schedules get tighter.
Sophomore cornerback Jabari Price, who played in all 13 games last year and started four, injured a tendon in his left hand during a blocking drill at practice on Wednesday. He is scheduled to have surgery today. Price's injury set into motion some shuffling in the defensive backfield.
Junior Todd Harrelson switched from wide receiver to cornerback on Thursday. Harrelson has three catches on his career, including a 28-yard reception to keep the game-tying drive alive in the Music City Bowl in December. As a high school senior in Chesapeake, Va., Harrelson was second team all-state at defensive back. Wednesday, he and interim head coach Everett Withers had a conversation about moving to the defensive side of the ball. "For the team and for the predicament that the secondary was in, I made the move," Harrelson said. "Any way to get me on the field, make us win, I'm just happy for it . . . Once I learn the playbook, I think I should be fine. Playing corner, you've just got to be an athlete, so as long as I'm in the right spot, making plays, I should be fine."
Harrelson admits that he'll have to reconcile two separate areas of focus in making the change.
"Receiver . . . I'm not saying they're prima donnas, but on defense you've got to be hungry; you've got to be aggressive, more aggressive than an offensive player, so you've got to change your mindset."
Defensive backs coach Troy Douglas said Harrelson has the template to do well at the position. "Obviously, he's got great size for a corner, which is what you're looking for. He's in and out of breaks as a wide receiver, so he's got good feet, good ball skills. He's a tough kid. He's been on special teams, he's made some plays as a gunner, he was the punt returner some last year. Those type things tell you he's fearless, because he'll do that, so we'll see," Douglas said. "I can't be out on the field with him on Saturdays, so he's just got to learn."
Price's classmate Tre Boston was moved from corner to safety in the spring, but he has been working out at corner since Price's injury. "In a dream world, you'd like to have Tre Boston be your free safety, because he's so athletic and he's physical, and that's what he's practiced. That's a bonus that he can play corner," Douglas said. "He's a good corner, but he could be a great safety."
Elsewhere in the secondary, Douglas said Tim Scott has been the fastest learner making the transition to the college game as a freshman. "I've been really impressed with Tim. Very fluid, smooth, played some on offense during high school so he's got ball skills. He's smart, and he's kind of separated. The others have got talent, it's just they might not even know they're in Chapel Hill yet, but they've got ability. He's the one that's jumped out a bit because of how savvy he is."
Senior Quinton Coples said he's pleased with the team's progress in training camp so far. "Individually, I always want to be better than where I'm at," the preseason first team All-ACC defensive end said. "But as a team I think we're going in a great direction. I think we are ahead of the game and I think we're ahead of the competition that lies in front of us."
Senior tailback Ryan Houston continues to wear an orange no-contact jersey after April shoulder surgery. Withers said he's not worried about Houston's ability to take a hit in a game, so the orange jersey is not a concern in practice. "Ryan's been playing a lot of ball around here, so when Ryan's ready, hopefully it will be right before kickoff, we can get him back out there rolling," Wither said. "I think the more experience a guy has, the more knocks that he's already taken in his career, the less likely you need to see him doing two-a-days. Obviously you like for your running backs to take some pounding, and that kind of deal but we trust Ryan and really we trust all those guys. We're getting enough work out of those guys we'll feel comfortable come game week."
"Of course I'm ready, but I'm not rushing things," Houston said Thursday. "If we had a game today, I'd be ready to go, orange jersey or no orange jersey. The orange jersey is just really to keep the defense off of me. They're feisty."
Houston is participating in virtually all drills and seven-on-seven exercises. "I don't think it'll be a big deal when we take the orange jersey off."
Football is a contact sport, so it's natural for players to want to go full speed and finish hits and tackles. But going full-speed all the time in training camp isn't practical for staving off injuries. "It's hard because the defense wants to play aggressively, and we're an aggressive offense, especially our big O-line," Houston said. "We're big physical guys and we want to mash somebody to the ground or run through blocks. It's kind of hard to say not to tackle or stay off the ground, because when we get the ball, we're trying to score. The defense has got the mindset of `stop the running back' and it's kind of hard for them to try to stop us if they're not going full-speed, trying to wrap us up."
Turner Walston is the managing editor of Tar Heel Monthly.
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