University of North Carolina Athletics
Turner's Take: The 2015 Team
October 15, 2015 | Football, Featured Writers, Turner Walston
By Turner Walston
Lately, when he's been reminded (in question form) of some of the historical struggles of Tar Heel football teams of the past, head coach Larry Fedora has had a clever response. He's concerned with the team that is 4-1 in 2015, not any previous team, and not any streak, skid or supposed curse.
Reminded two weeks ago that Carolina had not defeated Georgia Tech in Atlanta since 1997, Fedora responded, “The 2015 team hasn't ever lost in Atlanta, and they haven't lost in Chapel Hill. We're a different football team. I really have never put that much into that, to be honest with you. I don't see a whole lot of carryover.”
It's fans and the media that put more stock in history than players and coaches. College football rosters experience churn every season, with roughly a quarter of players cycling in and out. A roster completely turns over every five years, even if coaching staffs remain constant. The chess board may look the same, but the pieces change, year after year.
After their 38-31 comeback win, the 2015 Tar Heels still haven't lost in Atlanta. With Wake Forest visiting Chapel Hill after the Tar Heels' bye week, Carolina has the opportunity to move to 2-0 in ACC play, something the program hasn't done since 2001. Fourteen years is a long time in college football. Ronald Curry, Julius Peppers and Quincy Monk won't be suiting up on Saturday. But still Fedora can lean on his maxim. After all, it's true that the 2015 Tar Heels have never not started ACC play with two wins. The same holds true for the supposed 'state championship' competed for among North Carolina schools. Carolina hasn't run the table on in-state opponents since 2005, but this year's Tar Heels are undaunted by history.
Even when a great majority of student-athletes and much of the staff are the same from one year to the next, teams differ. Most of the 2015 Tar Heels played on the team that went 6-7 a year ago, a team that was embarrassed in the Quick Lane Bowl on the day after Christmas. Upon their return to school, those players met both amongst themselves and with Fedora, intent on correcting the chemistry issues that plagued the 2014 team, renewing their commitments to excellence.
“We're a completely new team,” senior linebacker Jeff Schoettmer said on Monday. “New coaches, new players, new (defensive) scheme. So, everything we did last year, we definitely learned from it and moved on from it. I think that's the biggest thing from last year: we put it to bed and we're a completely new team this year.”
Schoettmer added that it's extremely unlikely the 2014 Tar Heels would have accomplished what this year's team did in Atlanta. “Last year, if we were down 21-nothing, there's no way we come back and win that game.” He's right. A team defined by self-doubt, lacking confidence in themselves and each other would have folded. A team committed to their coaches and one another found the strength to persevere and pull off the largest comeback in school history. That's the 2015 Tar Heels.
Coaches tend to like having an extra week of practice before playing Georgia Tech; the Yellow Jackets' unique offensive attack requires a bit of a shift in defensive philosophy. Nevertheless, the Tar Heels didn't get that extra week and were able to pull off an historic win. Perhaps it's good, then that the team had the bye week after playing that game; they were able to rest, heal and regroup with a 1-0 conference record to their names.
“Some guys were dinged up and nicked up, so it was a good time for the bye week,” Schoettmer said. “We definitely went back to basics last week.” In-season, there often isn't time for much individual skill work as there is in training camp. With an opponent on the schedule 12 times a year, there's game-planning and scout team work, but sometimes details in technique can get overlooked. A bye week offers the opportunity to shore up areas of inconsistency. “For the defense, the big emphasis was turnovers, tackling and tracking,” Schoettmer said. “Three of the things that we stressed every day in training camp. It was definitely a good week of work for us.”
Tar Heel quarterback Marquise Williams set out to work on “the little things” in his game. “If I wasn't comfortable with a certain throw that we're trying to put in the game plan, I went back and I executed, and I continued to work on that certain throw,” he said. “We just worked on ourselves, building upon ourselves, trying to speed up the tempo of the offense, getting back to basically what we do. Speeding the tempo and cutting down on penalties, just working on the little things to help me improve.”
In the days before a game, Williams is fond of saying “we just need to do what we need to do,” which is true of everyone, everywhere, all the time, but it also kind of works for this football team. If Williams can become more comfortable with the out passes in the playbook, he can get the ball in his playmakers' hands. A better throw to Ryan Switzer, for example, allows Switzer to put the same athletic ability he flashes in the open field on punt returns to work within the offense.
And so this last week was about taking care of those details, those little things, and getting healthy. It also provided opportunities for players down the depth chart to get in good work. Fedora said on Wednesday that freshman defensive lineman Jalen Dalton would play on Saturday for the first time this season. Nazair Jones left the Georgia Tech game with a leg injury and may not be available. That plus Dalton's impressive work in practice has created an opportunity up front. “He's got great hip strength. He's a big guy that's 6'6, 275, 280 pounds that's got a lot of power in his hips. He's got some twitch about him also, so it'll be fun to watch him play,” Fedora said. “In the last three weeks, he's really come on.”
Dalton was a prized recruit in the 2015 class, and Tar Heel fans await his debut against the Demon Deacons. Carolina hasn't played Wake Forest at home since 2011 and has lost three of the last four against Wake Forest. Fedora's first ACC game was a loss in Winston-Salem. He's never beaten Wake Forest as the head coach of the Tar Heels.
But the 2015 team has never lost to them.
Players Mentioned
