GoHeels Exclusive: Wednesday Practice Notebook

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

August 23, 2018 | Football, Featured Writers

By: Pat James

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

With only 10 days left until its opener at California, the North Carolina football team began its first game week prep of the season on Wednesday, three days after training camp ended.

"Our guys are doing a great job of preparing themselves," Larry Fedora said. "This was really our first day of installation for Cal. We split the (scout) teams up and started working against what we're going to see."

The Tar Heels will take another step toward the beginning of the season on Saturday, when they hold a mock game. But before then, Fedora and a few players spoke with reporters after Wednesday's practice.

Here are five notes from the availability:

Young linebackers show promise

After the departures of Cayson Collins and Andre Smith, UNC returns only one starting linebacker, Cole Holcomb, from last season. And that lack of experience can cause concerns.

"The days of you just go over there and chase the ball and tackle it, that doesn't happen anymore," Fedora said. "You've got to be able to think, you've got to be able to call the defense, you've got to be able to get people lined up and then you've got to be able to make adjustments within the game.

"You have to be able to think and process – that's the biggest deal. They know what to do, but processing at the speed of what the game is played is the toughest part."

Jonathan Smith and Dominique Ross have primarily received first-team linebacker reps alongside Holcomb. But both Holcomb and Fedora also noted the improvements made by redshirt freshman Jeremiah Gemmel and freshman Matthew Flint.

Holcomb said it was a three-way tie between Gemmel, Smith and Ross for the title of who experienced the best camp. Gemmel, though, has developed the most since the spring.

"He has made tremendous strides and is just continuing to prove himself every day," Holcomb said. "Right now, it could be Jon, D-Ross or Gemmel, any of us out there, and I would have complete confidence in our defense that they can step up and they can run the defense and know what they're supposed to do and make the plays they need to make."

D-line boasts 'some animals'

As inexperienced as Carolina's linebacking corps is, the defensive line features seniors Malik Carney, Jeremiah Clarke, Jalen Dalton and Tyler Powell; juniors Aaron Crawford and Jason Strowbridge; and sophomore Tomon Fox.

The unit will likely be the Tar Heels' strength. And so far, Holcomb said it's helped make his job somewhat easier.

"This is the first year where you look at our ones and our twos and we've got some animals up there," Holcomb said. "It's nice this camp because we've just been able to roam around back there at linebacker and just know they're eating up double-teams and making plays on their own. It makes it exciting this year."

Polino's presence

Fedora said the battle between Billy Ross and William Barnes for the starting right guard spot remains ongoing, with neither having created any separation. But Nick Polino appears to have solidified himself at left guard.

After appearing in eight games, including one start, as a redshirt freshman in 2016, Polino appeared in all 12 games last season and made two starts. Fedora said Polino has continued growing since the end of last season.

"He's not going to make mental mistakes" Fedora said. "He's going to be able to communicate with guys, he's going to be able to teach younger guys. That's nice because Jay-Jay (McCargo) hasn't had a lot of reps in there. So having Polino next to him, Polino is able to calm him down, be able to talk through things and have some good communication up front."

'Capitalizing on his athleticism'

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, Patrice Rene possesses "all the physical tools that you need to be an elite corner," Fedora said. Inconsistency has plagued Rene at times. But he's working toward correcting that.

"It's just making sure that with the communication between the safeties and him, everything is locked in and there are no mental mistakes," Fedora said. "As he starts eliminating those and processing quicker, he's going to be able to stay on the field."

Myles Dorn also said Rene is learning how to better utilize his size.

"He can make some plays now that he didn't know how to make back then," Dorn said. "So he's just capitalizing on his athleticism."

'A critical eye'

During a sophomore season in which he cemented himself as UNC's starting free safety, Dorn finished third on the team with 71 total tackles, including 2.5 for loss. He also tied for the team lead with two interceptions and registered five pass breakups.

Still, as he went about preparing for this season, he did so knowing there were some areas that he didn't excel in last season.

"You've got to look at your own tape with a critical eye," Dorn said. "I feel like that's something that I did, and something I really worked on was getting in the film room and really learning what not only I can do better but what I can do to help somebody else improve their game, too."

Dorn said the safeties practice open-field tackling almost day. Specifically, there's a lot of emphasis placed on when and when not to tackle aggressively.

Aided by the improvements he made during the offseason, Dorn might be Carolina's top 2019 NFL Draft prospect. But he's not looking ahead.

"At this point, I'm trying to do whatever it takes to help my team win," Dorn said. "If that's 10 picks a game, I want to do that. Losing leaves a bad taste in your mouth. So I'll do anything to win, and I feel like we're going to win."