The Tarheels

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/08/08/1608923/prognosticator-high-on-tar-heels.html

 

I was listening to ESPN radio yesterday and some talking head said the Heels, Bama and Florida were fine but Sou Carolina may have a small issue

 

3rd RB on the depth chart, freshman Gio Benard, out for the year with a torn acl

 

Problem is, I think he may have been the best RB on the roster.

 

A hard hit in the area that afford it the least.

 

I agree, I thought he would jump to #1; wasn't sure though, he came in beat up. Hopefully he comes back completely healthy next year.

 

Austin might be solid, but Coples on the inside might be better, he's quick.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The most intriguing news of North Carolina’s training camp thus far has been Quinton Coples’s move to the interior of the defensive line as a precautionary measure.

The Kinston, N.C. native spent his sophomore season backing up current Seattle Seahawk E.J. Wilson at strongside defensive end, accumulating 22 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. Fast forward to this past spring and Coples had assumed the starting role at end opposite Robert Quinn, while also working at defensive tackle in the nickel package to inject more speed and pass-rushing ability into the front line.

The NCAA review of the UNC football program has clouded the eligibility of starting defensive tackle Marvin Austin, so the coaching staff has moved the affable senior to the second team and replaced him with Coples.

“Right now, I’m there all of the time,” Coples said. “But as time progresses, I’m going to go back out [to defensive end]. Basically, they just put me in that position to help the team because they know I can play both inside and out. So I’m just doing inside right now, because I played so much defensive end. They’re trying to work me at defensive tackle just in case I have to go to defensive tackle.”

The current first-team defensive line consists of four juniors – Coples and Tydreke Powell at tackle, and Quinn and Michael McAdoo at end.

Coples indicated that the transition between the two positions has been smooth. While defensive end allows for more freedom on the edge and focuses more on 1-on-1 combat, defensive tackle is typically responsible for handling two offensive linemen in the middle. The positions share a multitude of similarities, but require different techniques to be proficient.

Standing 6-foot-6, Coples looks more like a basketball player than a defensive tackle, but he carries his 280 pounds well enough to be effective.

“They want me to be 285, but being versatile, I can weigh 280 pounds and still gut it out because I have the strength to go along with the 280,” Coples said.

With his height and frame, it would be easy for observers to assume that his center of gravity could be an issue in being effective in the trenches, but Coples dismisses the notion that tackles have to be short and stocky to be successful.

“I don’t think there’s anything to that,” Coples said. “A lot of defensive tackles in the league are tall and offensive linemen are tall. So being shorter would give you a little bit of an advantage because of leverage, but other than that, it’s a tall game these days. You’ve got to have running backs that are 6-foot unless they’re really fast. It really doesn’t matter as long as you’ve got great leverage.”

With Austin’s availability in question for portions or all of the 2010 season, the Tar Heels may be forced to turn to inexperienced players in the middle to create the 4-to-5 man rotation that head coach Butch Davis and defensive line coach John Blake prefer to employ. Red-shirt freshman Jared McAdoo is currently working alongside Austin on the second team, while true freshman Brandon Willis and junior Jordan Nix fill out the third-team unit.

“They’ve got a bright future,” Coples said. “They’re going to be very helpful for us as a team. Brandon Willis came in early and got a lot of experience in the spring. Jordan Nix has great explosion. He’s going to be a big part of the rotation at tackle and so is McAdoo.”

After coming off the bench for his first two seasons in Chapel Hill, it now appears that Coples is in position for two different starting roles in ’10.

 

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/08/10/1613876/balmer-paid-for-trip-to-california.html

 

I am not sure if I totally agree with this article:

Tudor: Silence isn't golden for UNC's problems​

BY CAULTON TUDOR - Staff Writer

Regardless of how the NCAA investigation into North Carolina's football program plays out, the school already has taken an image hit, partially because of its unwillingness to publicly address the situation.
Those involved are presumed innocent, of course. But Carolina's unwillingness to get out on front on this issue is taking an unseen but growing toll on the public-opinion front.
An obvious vow of silence goes beyond head coach Butch Davis, associate head coach John Blake, athletic director Dick Baddour and football players Marvin Austin and Greg Little. ​

Chancellor Holden Thorp has remained disturbingly mum during the entire episode. This public retreat gives the appearance of stonewalling - a course that only intensifies public anxiety and suspicion. It also makes the school look scared to many and guilty to at least some.
Everyone may have a reason - or an excuse - to live in the bunker. But don't be misled into thinking the NCAA has the right to impose gag orders on citizens.
Blake, who has been linked to sports agent Gary Wichard, is a public employee with an annual salary of almost a quarter of a million dollars, plus perks.
While it's well documented that big-time college football coaches of all ranks and regard are hideously overpaid, the kind of money Blake is making as an assistant should come with a stipulation to be open and honest when the reputation of an entire university is at stake.
Davis and Baddour, in fact, should demand as much from Blake.
Carolina, by now, either knows for sure what has or hasn't happened, or it has a very good idea.
To assume otherwise is to assume that Baddour, Davis and other school officials - Thorp and school lawyers - haven't sat down with Blake and gotten to the bottom of the situation. That meeting has taken place, whether anyone in authority says so or not.
Austin and Little are on full scholarship to a state university. The Rams Club may be footing the scholarship money, but the taxpayers of North Carolina foot most of the bill for the school to operate.
While Carolina stays quiet, others are talking.
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier, whose disdain for UNC dates back decades, chimed in Tuesday with his opinion when asked about the reports on Blake.
"When you've been in coaching as long as I have, we know the reputation of almost all the coaches that have been around a long time," Spurrier told reporters. "We all have a reputation, especially guys who've coached 20 years or so. It's hard to hide whatever your reputation is."
Spurrier recruits against UNC, so it's to his advantage to take a free shot at the Tar Heels. But when UNC doesn't defend the reputation of an associate head coach, it can't look anything except mystifying.
At best, the school is pursing a very odd strategy. It's almost as though everyone is hoping that if they keep quiet, the problem will just go away.
In reality, Carolina's self-inflicted harm to its prestige could wind up being more damaging than anything the NCAA hands down. ​

 

John Blake will turn UNC into the east coast version of USC.