University of North Carolina Athletics
Extra Points: Love The Grind
March 18, 2015 | Football, Featured Writers
By Lee Pace, GoHeels.com
Spring break ended for Carolina's football team at 6 a.m. Monday for a Blue Dawn workout postponed and rescheduled from a snow day in February. Everyone was present and accounted for and on time for 60 minutes of the Larry Fedora early morning winter wonderland of football-less sprinting, squating, pushing, pulling and grunting.
“We had to get spring break out of them,” Fedora said with a smile Tuesday evening. “ Everyone was raring to go. It wasn't fun but we got some work in.”
“You've gotta love the grind, you've gotta embrace it,” defensive tackle Tyler Powell added. “If you've got to do it, you might as well do it right. I went home over spring break, lifted and ran the whole time anyway so it wasn't a problem for me. I love that kind of stuff.”
One day later, the Tar Heels were back on Navy Field for a formal practice session, No. 4 of the 15 allotted for spring ball. It was sunny and 80 degrees, a stark contrast to the harsh winter conditions they endured each of three practices the first week of the month.
“It was refreshing to be back with the team,” defensive tackle Nazair Jones said. “You miss your brothers when you're gone. I was ready to get back and be with my friends. It was hot today, it was fun, it felt like spring ball.”
Tuesday's practice featured the debut of Tray Scott, the defensive tackles coach who just joined the staff from two years at Tennessee-Martin and one year as a graduate assistant at Ole Miss.
“He's a rising star coach, he's a really good fit for what the players need in terms of knowledge and the energy level from a young guy,” defensive coordinator Gene Chizik said of the 31-year-old Scott.
“He's a young guy, he has lots of energy and I'm really excited about what he brings to the program,” Powell added.
Meanwhile, the defense is still in its infancy stages of learning the new 4-3 scheme and getting to know each of the position coaches—Scott with the line, John Papuchis with the linebackers, Charlton Warren with the secondary and Chizik free-lancing depending on the drill and stage of the practice session.
“They're really studying the game and trying to get better,” Chizik says. “I'm really proud of them for that. They have had only four days. The focus and attention to detail has been impressive so far.”
Both cornerback Des Lawrence and Jones hinted Tuesday that the new scheme is somewhat simpler than what the Tar Heels were asked to do in 2014.
“Once we get it down, it will allow us to play faster,” Lawrence said. “Last year we had a lot of breakdowns because of missed communication. We're making sure we're talking on every play and everyone knows what their job is.”
“There's not a lot of thinking, you're just out there playing football,” Jones added. “Everything you need to know right in front of you. Hit this guy and go play.”
The Tar Heel offense is without quarterback Marquise Williams and receiver Quinshad Davis, who are recovering from injuries. Mitch Trubisky is running the offense behind a line that returns five starters. The offense's mission this spring is to determine its identity early.
“We want to establish what we can be really good at and maybe eliminate some things,” line coach Chris Kapilovic said. “Do less and get better at the things we can do. We took away from last season that we probably did too much and didn't master everything. Let's figure out our identity and get really good at it.”
“Know what our base is,” quarterbacks coach Keith Heckendorf added. “Be great at it, don't be just good at it. Don't just know what to do, know how to do it and know why to do it. If we can get 11 guys knowing why they're doing, what they're doing and how it fits into the big picture of the concept, we'll be pretty good.”
Carolina will practice again this week Thursday afternoon and Saturday morning.
Players Mentioned
