The Tarheels

I would be shocked if both of them switched positions. Either way, I hope the hell we never have to rely on Braden Hanson as the only back up QB.

 

July 11th Landon Turner #6 OG 4 star
July 10th Marquise Williams #15 QB 4 star
July 9th Christian Russell #29 OLB 3 star
July 7th Darien Ranken 2 star
July 6th Jamar Lewter #23 OT 4 star
July 2nd Kameron Jackson 2 star
June 25th Kiaro Holts #4 OT 5 star

 

This kid is a MONSTER and looks like he has a "Mean Streak" also.. Damn, I'm ready for FB season to get here..

 

Aparently Quan is stupider that him as well.

 

Buck Stops Here - 7/12 - The Weekend That Was

It was quite a weekend around here. In a span of 48 hours we saw the agony and ecstasy of following a program at this level.



I say at this level because there are tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of UNC fans that don’t know who Marquise Williams is, or who Landon Turner is, or what their decisions mean to UNC, substantively and symbolically. Many more fans know who Quan Sturdivant is, or have at least heard the name, but will find out the news from this weekend with their morning cup of coffee, if then.



For you that isn’t enough.



Regardless of the reasons, you were around on a Sunday afternoon in mid-July waiting to hear what school Turner would choose. Likewise, you were here on Saturday afternoon because you had signed up to receive a text alert about football commitments, or you just had planned to be here because you had read that Marquise Williams was making his decision at three o’clock.



Some people question your sanity, and if you are married at least one person has, unless of course they happen to share your level of fanaticism.



Marquise Williams and Landon Turner are both important recruits. Williams is a Charlotte quarterback the staff wanted badly. Turner is yet another building block in the Stonehenge project being undertaken by offensive line coach Sam Pittman. But just as importantly, both had Virginia Tech high on their lists (among a ton of other offers), and UNC went head-to-head with the Hokies and won.



Marquise Williams worked out at North Carolina’s football camp this June and is an impressive looking prospect in person. Physically he looks more mature than his age, and in his interaction with the staff was unfailingly attentive, respectful, and serious. Clearly he wasn’t in camp for the purpose of impressing UNC’s coaches, that is often one the goals of camp attendees. Williams came to camp with an UNC offer, he was there to receive instruction – get the benefit of coaching from John Shoop, his eventual position coach.



Landon Turner was at camp, but his workout was limited. When Don Callahan first saw him walking onto the field, he confused him with Turner’s father, former West Virginia linebacker West Turner - he looked that mature. I watched from a distance while he was interacting with Pittman, both were laughing and smiling a lot – they looked very comfortable with each other.



When news came of their decisions, first Williams on Saturday then Turner on Sunday, you wanted to be among the first to know – and you were. That’s what it means to follow a program at this level. You’re not content to read about it at some point this week, or hear about it through a friend. You wanted to know what schools these players where considering, what trips they had planned, when they planned to make a decision, and you where there – figuratively at least – when Turner said, “My name is Landon Turner and I am a Tar Heel.”



Those are the kinds of things you feel you have to know when you follow a program at this level.



On the other end of the spectrum, when there were first rumblings of potential trouble involving Quan Sturdivant, you wanted the facts. That is what we at Inside Carolina are committed to bring you. An earlier post that could not be verified was locked while we gathered the facts. The players deserve better than to be the subject of speculation even on a premium message board, which is only for the eyes of subscribers in theory, but we don’t kid ourselves. What gets said on our board can travel to other venues.



We don’t report this type of news to “increase our hits,” or for any pecuniary reasons. We report it because you are the type of fan what wants to know what is going on with the team and program you follow. We feel it is our duty to provide value to our subscribers, which includes handling news of this type professionally and promptly.



After the news is reported, the message boards were filled, as they typically are, with the expression of opinion about Sturdivant’s incident. Opinions varied, as is also typical, but when expressed respectfully it is possible to learn from the opinions of others, or at least broaden your perspective.



You occasionally hear others speak derisively of “message boards” and the crazed, unreasoning fans that inhabit them. Of course you can see as much of that as you want, depending on where or when you look (like after a loss around here), but there are other times where the feeling is a lot different. It is like being around hundreds of people who share your particular passion.



That’s the agony and ecstasy of following a program at this level, and we saw it on full display this weekend.

 

Did Anthony Elzy miss any games last year after he was busted for pot?

 

he wasn't "suspended" but he didn't play the next game vs. the Citadel either.

should be interesting to see what Davis does; I think he misses the first half of the LSU game and gets his ass whipped all summer long to prove a point to the other players. What is it with kids from Stanley county?