University of North Carolina Athletics
RAMblings - More From Blacksburg - Rams Club
RAMblings 11.2.09- More From Blacksburg
by Lee Pace
Each weekend I have a handful of sound bites from the sidelines for the Tar Heel Sports Network and 1,500 words in my Extra Points feature on Tarheelblue.com to highlight the interesting stuff from the current offering of the football schedule. Last Thursday's 20-17 win at Virginia Tech was so stimulating to the program and so interesting as it evolved that I ran long with Extra Points and still have some good morsels and observations left over.
A few of them follow:
* Freshman receiver Jheranie Boyd made the kind of catch for a second quarter touchdown that the Tar Heels' young receiving corps has not been making consistently. That bodes well for the final month of the year.
Quarterback T.J. Yates hit Boyd in the right corner of the end zone on a 13-yard pass, with Boyd stopping, coming back to meet the pass and jumping over Tech defender Rashad Carmichael. Receivers coach Charlie Williams and offensive coordinator John Shoop have worked extensively with this group that includes neophytes Dwight Jones, Erik Highsmith, Josh Adams and Boyd on the idea that there is no such thing as a "jump ball"-that it's the receiver's job to find a way to come down with any ball thrown remotely in their vicinity.
"There is no such thing as a 50-50 ball," Shoop says. "It's our ball or their guy's got a broken arm. That's the mentality we have to have."
Okay-no letters on the "broken arm" line. Shoop doesn't literally want an opponent with a busted bone. It's the mindset, though, that is important. Shoop put a highlight clip together following the game showing Boyd's catch and mixing in some shots of former Tar Heel Hakeem Nicks ripping the ball from defenders in his new career with the New York Giants.
"That's what we want," Shoop says. "We're getting better at it and we'll continue to get better."
* One older receiver who is developing as well is Greg Little. He is showing a level of toughness and a fiery demeanor that has helped elevate his game following a "tweener" first two years at receiver and tailback. He's running hard after the catch and has made a lot of yards on various "around" plays that have become an important part of the offense. He picked up 23 yards in the second quarter to help set up a touchdown after running around right end and then cutting back hard and quickly to the center of the field for more yards.
"I thought Greg had a monster game," Butch Davis said. "I thought he showed up big, not only on some of the catches he made but also some hard, tough runs. He showed flashes of that tailback mentality-of taking contact, being physical and not going down."
* Cam Holland is improving at center even though senior Lowell Dyer is slowly returning to action. Holland, a third-year sophomore, was forced into the lineup the second week of the season and showed his lack of experience in road games at UConn and Georgia Tech, struggling particularly in the latter game with crowd noise, communication with Yates and the accuracy of his snaps in the shotgun formation.
But his acumen has evolved across the board. Thursday night, Dyer started and played the first quarter with the plan to rotate the two centers. But Holland entered in the second quarter and played the rest of the game. His ability to handle the crowd noise, communicate with his fellow linemen on protection calls and deliver the ball to Yates was significantly better than a month ago.
And it helps that the Heels have been able to play Kyle Jolly, Jonathan Cooper, Alan Pelc and Mike Ingersoll consistently around him for the last two games.
"Over the last two weeks, we've essentially had the same lineup," line coach Sam Pittman says. "It helps knowing the guy beside you, knowing his strengths and weaknesses. The longer a group can play together and develop some cohesion, the more effective they'll be."
* The Tar Heels didn't implode when they suffered a potentially crippling fourth-quarter setback.
Carolina clearly had the upper hand through three quarters and held a 14-7 lead. Its offense was picking up chunks of yards through the air and along the ground. The defense was keeping Tech QB Tyrod Taylor under reasonable wraps. Grant Schallock was getting his punts off against Tech's requisite pressure. Then Yates threw an ill-advised screen pass toward Little, the ball was intercepted and Tech was set up for a five-yard TD drive.
"That interception, I don't know what I was doing, smoking some drugs or something," Yates said. "It was so stupid on my part. I just completely put the defense in a horrible spot. That was a bad decision by me."
One week ago against Florida State, Yates threw a pick and FSU quickly responded with a long scoring pass. The Seminoles seized the momentum and rallied to victory.
This week, the Tar Heels maintained their composure, and Davis saw a team on the sidelines that refused to buckle under pressure.
"I saw a tremendous number of guys rallying," Davis said. "They were saying, 'This play is not going to cost us the game.' Tonight was the best job I've seen of our football team being in the game on the sidelines Guys were cheering for their teammates. They were pulling for each other. Kids saw that the other side of the ball was right there, supporting them and defending their backs."
Those elements and more combined for an outstanding road win for the Tar Heels and set them up for an interesting November run.