North Carolina Blog
Want to be a North Carolina Blogger?? CLICK HERE TO GET MORE INFO
August 18, 2009
Donovan Tate- Gone!
By Adam Lawson
Sorry for the delay in blog posting, folks, been busy moving my stuff into Elon. Anyway, as you may or may not know, yesterday was the deadline for Major League Baseball amateurs to sign with the teams that drafted them. Unfortunately for UNC, Donovan Tate, who was recruited to Carolina as an athlete, accepted a deal with the San Diego Padres, ending our thoughts of having him as a solid backup quarterback.
This definitely hurts, because as an athlete, Tate would have been not only a good second option at QB, but he could be inserted as a running back or receiver as a changeup to the norm. That option is no longer available. Also no longer available for the Tar Heels is Kevin Bryant, who has been dismissed from the Carolina team after allegedly striking a woman. This 300-pound loss will not be easy for the Heels to take, but it was a dismissal the Heels had to make.
That’s all for this edition of the Carolina blog. I’ll be back next week to update you on the week that was in Carolina football.
August 9, 2009
As camp starts, the nation takes notice
By Adam Lawson
The USA Today preseason football poll came out, and things are already looking good for the Tar Heels. North Carolina is ranked 20th, and while this means relatively little, it still has to be an honor being one of only four teams from the ACC in the top 25.
Anyway, training camp started this weekend, and there is definitely at least one thing to look for this season, and with camp having started, it is appropriate to dive into it even this early in the process.
The fact is, North Carolina might as well be known as Running Back University. Nobody in the country can match the 24 players the Heels have had rush for 1,000 yards in a season. But it’s been 12 years since that has happened, back when Jonathan Linton was making opposing defenses cringe on a weekly basis, and if the Heels want to win their first bowl game since Julius Peppers donned a Carolina uni, they need a more recent representative of the 1,000-yard club.
Enter Shaun Draughn. His story already contains an interesting plot, and he hasn’t even finished his work yet. Draughn was recruited as a safety, and everybody who followed Carolina football thought he would be a safety until he convinced head man Butch Davis to let him be a tailback last season. He then ran for 866 yards, the highest single-season total for Carolina since Linton’s ’97 mark. Draughn’s performance last year gives fans in Carolina Blue plenty of reason to like Shaun’s chances of putting together a four-digit yardage total this year.
1,000 yards in a season is more than just a silly milestone. It opens up the passing game tremendously when opposing defenses know they are facing a back that can go for 100-plus yards every week. Coach Davis acknowledged this during the first day of training camp when he said that 1,000 yards “absolutely is a benchmark, and I think it's probably even more significant on the collegiate level because it's more difficult (to do).''
As camp begins, many stories will start to write themselves. And Shaun Draughn’s script is already Hollywood-worthy.
August 3, 2009
CAROLINA BREAKDOWN
By: Adam Lawson
After a return to postseason football, Butch Davis and the North Carolina Tar Heels aim for higher goals in the 2009-10 season. With new recruits and graduating seniors, the depth chart for this season will look a little bit different than it did a season ago, so here is what fans of Carolina Blue can expect to see on the gridiron this year.
Quarterbacks
If T.J. Yates manages to put up a season similar to his 2008 totals, Butch Davis will be one happy camper. The sophomore Yates took over the starting job after Cam Sexton got hurt against Virginia Tech and Mike Paulus failed to keep the second-string job. He didn’t disappoint, completing 60 percent of his passes, including a stellar 11-4 TD to interception ratio. Who will serve as Yates’ backup? Well, expect Paulus to start the season as the number two guy. If he can’t perform though, 6’6” Braden Hanson, a redshirt freshman from Charlotte Latin High School in Charlotte, could take the job. Bryn Renner, a highly-recruited true freshman from West Springfield, VA, could be another option.
Running Backs
Davis has himself quite a tandem in the backfield. Shaun Draughn looks to improve on a sophomore season that had him gaining 898 yards and 4.4 yards a carry. If the Heels can find the red zone, Ryan Houston can find a way to grind his way to paydirt. As a sophomore, Houston led the team with eight rushing TDs.
Receivers
This will be the key to the Carolina season. Rest assured, the Heels have some big shoes to fill. Hakeem Nicks, Brandon Tate, and Brooks Foster are all gone, taking combined 2008 totals of 17 touchdowns and nearly 2,000 yards with them. But the Heels have young talent at the position that could make Yates a very happy quarterback this season. Greg Little, who was recruited as a running back, returns and will work on improving a 2008 season in which, in limited time, he caught just eleven passes for 146 yards. Dwight Jones will finally be eligible to play for UNC after dealing with a slew of off-field problems. The 6’4”, 220-pound monster, was one of the top recruits in the nation coming out of Cummings High School in Burlington, NC. But having a child and not maintaining very high grades led Jones on a long road that many thought would not lead to Chapel Hill. But he is a Tar Heel now, and can expect to start right away. Todd Harrelson, Joshua Adams, and Rashad Mason, all freshmen and sophomores, will contend for playing time.
Offensive Line
This is another weakness that Carolina will look to work on during the 2009 season. Lowell Dyer, a 6’4”, 290-pound junior, will center an offensive line that allowed 28 sacks last year. Junior Alan Pelc, 6’6”, 325, and 6’6”, 350-pound senior Kyle Jolly will be the only other returning starters on the line. Expect upperclassmen Aaron Stahl and Mike Ingersoll to complete the line.
Defensive Line
In my opinion, this is the strongest part of the Tar Heel team. They return all four members of a defensive line that struck fear in ACC opponents last year. On the outside, E.J. Wilson, a 6’2”, 280-pound senior, and Robert Quinn, a 6’5”, 260-pound sophomore will put pressure on opposing quarterbacks while Marvin Austin, a 6’3”, 300-pound junior and senior Cam Thomas, who at 6’4” also weighs 330 pounds will be perhaps the ACC’s best at stopping the run.
Linebackers
Bruce Carter and Quan Sturdivant return for the 2009 season as two of the ACC’s best linebackers. In addition to leading the team with five sacks and returning an interception 66 yards last season, Carter blocked five kicks! Sturdivant led the team with 122 tackles last year, intercepted two passes, sacked the quarterback twice, and deflected six passes. 6’2” sophomore Zach Brown could be the third starting linebacker for Butch Davis this season.
Secondary
In my opinion, this is the weakest part of the entire team, and that is a shame because the rest of the defense is absolutely solid. On the bright side, Carolina will have experience on the edges, because starting cornerbacks Charles Brown and Kendric Burney return for their junior seasons. The loss of Trimane Goddard really hurts them, because now Burney’s 3 interceptions last year represent the highest total of any returning Tar Heel, tied with safety Deunta Williams. At safety, Deunta Williams and Da’Norris Searcy have to have good seasons if the Heels want any chance of winning the Coastal division.
Specialists
Simply put, not great. Casey Barth, a weaker kicker than his brother, Connor, who is now playing in the NFL, will be a sophomore. Grant Schallock, at 6’7” and 225 pounds, might be the biggest punter in NCAA history.
Overall, this is a team that can win the Coastal, but they have to find a way to protect the quarterback and stop the pass. If they can fix those two small weaknesses, do not be surprised if this team makes a run at winning ten games this season.
Adam Lawson is a sophomore at Elon University, where he is the audio engineer for the College Emmy-winning program One on One Sports.