The Tarheels

Good God Almighty, Hunter Furr at 4.26 in the 40.....WOW !!!!

 

North Carolina welcomes N.C. State to Chapel Hill for the 100th meeting between these two instate rivals. The Wolfpack has won three straight against the Tar Heels, matching their second-longest streak in series history.


Overview: Tom O’Brien arrived in Raleigh from Boston College with a string of six-straight seasons of eight or more wins as the Eagles’ head coach, and with his entire offensive staff in tow, the prevailing thought was that the former Marine would resurrect the Wolfpack’s program sooner than later. But through three seasons at N.C. State, the 61-year-old has failed to post a winning record, thanks in large part to a porous defense and a lingering injury bug. The Wolfpack’s 5-7 (2-6 ACC) mark included a pair of victories over FCS opponents and two upsets over rival North Carolina and Pittsburgh. O’Brien, who owns a 46-49 career record in league play, needs a winning season in ’10 to avoid the dubious distinction as the only head coach in school history to open his tenure with four-straight losing seasons.

N.C. State received equal helpings of good news this summer on the offensive front. First, quarterback Russell Wilson announced his return in ’10 after signing a baseball deal with the Colorado Rockies in June, and then coordinator Dana Bible learned that five recent tests indicated he was cancer-free after being diagnosed with leukemia last November. That duo has provided the highlights for the red and white over the past two seasons as Wilson (224-of-387 passing, 3,027 yards, 31 TD, 11 TD) directed the nation’s 46th-ranked offense (393.8 ypg) in ’09.

The Wolfpack air assault returns all of the key ingredients this fall, led by wide receivers Owen Spencer (30 catches, 765 yards, 6 TD) and Jarvis Williams (45 catches, 547 yards, 11 TD) and tight George Bryan (40 catches, 422 yards, 6 TD). N.C. State must replace three starters along the offensive line that allowed 98 sacks (2.7 per game), but welcome in highly-touted tackle Robert Crisp. Bible must also replace his top two rushers from ’10 and will look to junior Curtis Underwood (RS last year) or sophomore James Washington (21 carries, 76 yards) to fill the void.

Defensive coordinator Mike Archer enters his fourth year at N.C. State with plenty of fans’ scorn pointed in his direction. There were plenty of questions surrounding O’Brien’s decision to hire Archer four years ago, particularly when considering he was responsible for a Kentucky defense that ranked 118th nationally in ’06. The Wolfpack ranked 55th in total defense (361.3 ypg) last fall, but allowed 31.1 points per games (99th) and only managed to force 14 turnovers, resulting in a minus-0.92 turnover margin (114th). Archer loses five of his top six tacklers, but receives a huge gift in the return of linebacker Nate Irving (136 tkl in ‘08), a head hunter who missed last season after a one-car wreck in the offseason that resulted in a fractured leg, broken rib and a collapsed lung. Audie Cole (85 tkl, 4 sacks), Dwayne Maddox (54 tkl, 3 TFL) and Terrell Manning (48 tkl) will unite with Irving to give new linebackers coach Jon Tenuta a formidable unit.

The bad news is that Archer must replace his entire defensive line, including second-team All-ACC defensive end Willie Young and undervalued tackle Alan Michael-Cash. N.C. State will likely lean on a couple of transfers – end Michael Lemon and tackle Natanu Mageo – to steady the defensive front. Archer’s secondary was throttled weekly last season, allowing 222.2 yards per outing and ranking 106th nationally in pass efficiency defense (143.9). To make matters worse, N.C. State has already announced that starting cornerback Rashard Smith is out for the season with a lingering knee injury.

Quotable: “Because you’ve only had three recruiting classes. They’re only redshirt sophomores. You’re working to get those guys who have to be there in your program for three, four and five years to be where you want to be.” -- O'Brien, when asked why the program has yet to turn the corner under his direction

Matchup to Watch: During the Wolfpack’s current three-game winning streak against North Carolina, N.C. State has churned out 430 rushing yards on 129 carries, while UNC has only managed 227 rushing yards on 80 attempts. To make matters worse, the Tar Heels have coughed up four fumbles while the Pack has avoided turnovers in the ground game. Last season’s finale delivered a role reversal in the rushing statistics, but Johnny White’s fumble at the goal line hurt North Carolina’s strong momentum out of the gate and the Tar Heels totaled 52 yards on 17 carries (3.1 ypc) in the second half after taking a 10-point lead into halftime. Sometimes the best way to beat an elite-level quarterback is to keep the ball out of his hands, and there’s no better method of accomplishing that goal than with an effective ground game.

Remember Me? Tar Heel fans would much rather not remember Russell Wilson. Not only did North Carolina fail to offer the ’08 All-ACC first-team quarterback coming out of Richmond (VA) Collegiate School, but UNC is reminded of that fact every time Wilson torches its defense on the football field. During N.C. State’s last two victories over North Carolina, Wilson has completed 37 of his 55 passes (67.3 percent) for 538 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions.

 

Strength in the Trenches

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. --- North Carolina is blessed with some incredible athletes on the defensive line, and as the offensive line begins to get healthier they are becoming more and more impressive from a weight room perspective.

On the defensive line, the focus is on regrouping after losing some weight room warriors to the NFL.

“We had to replace some strong guys from last year,” Connors said. “Cam Thomas is a real strong kid, E.J. Wilson of course had a high level of strength, Al Mullins was a very strong kid, so we had to play catch-up a little bit there.”

Marvin Austin’s 485-pound bench press helps with maintaining the strength along the defensive line, but there’s also some help in the depth chart. Throw in Robert Quinn’s off-the-chart numbers (425 bench press, 405 power clean, 33” vertical, 10’ 3” broad jump, 4.40 forty, highest ever power quotient for a defensive end), and solid progress among the returnees, plus a new arrival, and Connors is optimistic.

“The good thing about (freshman) Brandon Willis I did want to mention is that I think he was maybe 258 when he came in and right now he’s right around 280 (pounds),” Connors said. “He’s really making progress and has worked really hard in the off-season.

“Jared McAdoo squatted 600 pounds, which is good. He did very well this summer with conditioning, he got kind of the highest accolade for a D-lineman for conditioning this summer. He’s got good lower body strength, and everything else is still a work in progress with him. We’re looking for him to definitely contribute depth-wise, because we’re going to need it.”

Jordan Nix (435), Tydreke Powell (410), and Donte Paige-Moss (405) all benched over 400 pounds. Recently the UNC staff has instituted testing players on reps with 225 pounds, because that’s a test used by the NFL. Connors was pleased that he had 37 players bench 225 for 20 or more reps.

Quinton Coples and Michael McAdoo showed up in the top five of several categories for defensive ends, including power clean. Coples power-cleaned 331 pounds, while McAdoo cleaned 342 pounds.

The time and effort put into the weight room and in conditioning pays off, but it also helps that North Carolina has recruited well.

“The guys that have the explosive qualities, and that’s what we’re trying to recruit, and those are the same things we want to train,” Connors said. “Michael McAdoo is 245 right now, which is heavier than he’s ever been; he’s got some incredible “fast twitch” about him. He’s quick, he really is. Going back to that ‘Power Quotient,’ he is a 190, which is not common for defensive ends.”

The weight room ethic, and results weren’t just on one side of the line, however. One player on the offensive line jumps out at Connors - a player he likes to use as an example to other team members.

“Mike Ingersoll power-cleaned 357 - he put 50 pounds on his power clean this summer; he has made incredible improvement,” Connors said. “He’s definitely one of the most improved players on this football team. He’s steady, serious all the time, gets every possible thing he can out of the workout. He’s the kind of guy I like because I know what we do works - when you get a guy like that who is going to train the way you want, and you see the results, then you can look at everybody else and say, ‘Hey, look at this guy. He sold out every day in here.’

“He’s up to 310, he’s gotten progressively stronger. I don’t see any reason the guy shouldn’t have a great year, and nobody talks about him much. “

Ingersoll, who also recorded a 4.95 in the 40-yard dash, may have made the most progress by sheer effort and willpower, but Connors is in awe of what red-shirt sophomore Jonathan Cooper brings to the table. He compares him favorably to the best offensive lineman he’s ever coached – Jason Brown.

“Jonathan Cooper, he’s a freakish player,” Connors said. “He’s stronger in his upper body than Jason Brown was when he was here. Jason was a little heavier and thicker, and stronger in his lower body, but Jon isn’t too far behind him.”

Cooper was in the top five every tested category as an offensive lineman. Another offensive lineman that posted consistently impressive numbers is Cam Holland. Holland led all offensive linemen, and second on the team, in bench press at 500 pounds. He and Jon Cooper tied for the squat record on the team at 625 pounds, and tied for third in the power clean among offensive linemen at 331 pounds.

Holland (500), Cooper (480), Greg Elleby (435), Ingersoll (425), and Travis Bond (405) all benched better than 400 pounds, and pre-injury Alan Pelc benched 440 pounds.

Connors also furnished a progress report on Pelc and Carl Gaskins.

“Alan Pelc has had a really productive spring and summer,” Connors said. “His body weight is down to about 310, and he moves well anyway, so we’re really looking for good things from him in regard to his foot quickness and movement.

“Carl had a real good summer, he conditioned real well this summer, and I wanted him to continue to try and put on some weight – he’s got a good frame, so we’re trying to get as much lean mass back on him as possible on his lower body. He’s back up to about 300 (pounds), I’d like to some day get him up to 320, because he can carry it.”

Freshman T.J. Leifheit hasn’t been able to test since his injury in the spring, but his fellow true frosh offensive lineman, James Hurst, was in the top five among offensive linemen in three categories: back squat at 535 pounds, 40 speed at 5.14, and vertical jump at 26 inches.

 

The Freaks

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. --- While what North Carolina has in the trenches is impressive, there’s a group of skill players that have put up some freakish numbers of their own.

Starting with linebacker Bruce Carter.

Carter notched a 440-pound bench, 405-pound power clean, 600-pound squat, 37 ½-inch vertical jump, 10-2 broad jump, and a 4.39 40-yard dash. At some point the numbers seem almost too good to be true, but they are a source of pride for UNC S&C coach Jeff Connors.

“He’s got a 211.5 power quotient, and of course you know he got the ESPN 'Workout Warrior' award or whatever, of course, I’m proud of that,” Connors said of Carter. “I like to see that.”

With the numbers that Carter put up and what he’s accomplished on the field, it is almost inexplicable that he was left off the preseason All-ACC list. Carter’s workout ethic is well known, but there is a skill player on the other side of the ball who has put up some pretty impressive numbers himself: wide receiver Greg Little.

Little had a 405-pound bench, 342-pound power clean, 505-pound squat, 10-10 3/4 broad jump, 40-inch vertical, 4.48 40, an a 200.7 power quotient. Amazing numbers for a wide receiver.

“He tied Brooks Foster’s bench record, there is no other wide receiver I ever saw bench over 400 pounds, other than Brooks,” Connors said of Little.

Another player who has soared to the top of Connor’s accolades is safety Da’Norris Searcy. Searcy had a 405-pound bench, 556-pound squat, a 10-1 ½ broad jump, a 35 ½-inch broad jump, a 319-pound power clean, and a 4.39 40. Connors’ pride in Searcy comes across loud and clear.

“Personally, I am looking for Da’Norris Searcy to step up, because he’s a guy that’s done everything right the entire time he’s been here,” Connors said. “He’s got very good numbers, we can look at some of the other guys who’ve been targeted for leadership on this football team and I think he’s a guy that could help us from that standpoint. He’s not afraid to be vocal, and I am looking for him to make an impact.”

Searcy, Little, and certainly Carter are well known for their workout ethic, but there are players who’ve yet to match the contributions of those seniors on the field, but are quietly impressing Connors in the weight room.

“Herman Davidson is very impressive physically, he really is,” Connors said. “Looking at him, his structure, what he’s accomplished in the weight room, and through the movement drills, there’s no reason that he shouldn’t be able to play football, from my standpoint. Shane Mularkey’s had a real good summer, he’s up to 230 (pounds). (I’m) very impressed with his forty time this spring; I am really looking for him to step up and help us too. He’s a guy, looking at his numbers and what he’s accomplished this summer, I’m looking for him to help this football team.

“Matt Merletti ran a 4.40 for us in the spring. Every physical attribute that kid has he has improved immensely since he’s been here. He’s put over a hundred pounds on his bench press (since coming to UNC). I’d love to see him get in there and do something.”

Connors noted a couple other players that made strides in key areas over the course of the offseason.

“We were happy to see Erik Highsmith run a 4.44 forty,” he said. “We are looking for bigger things from him this year, more physical blocking, not getting the ball ripped out of his hands, that type of thing. He’s 190-something now. He’s come a long way, he had a real good winter.”

As noted in previous articles, Jhay Boyd put up some impressive numbers in the weight room and on the track this summer. He’s the fastest Tar Heel (4.20-second forty), had the highest vertical (41 ½ inches) and the longest broad jump (11-0). What some might not guess is that he also had a 500 pound squat, second to Greg Little’s 505 mark among wide receivers.

“Boyd’s got strong legs,” Connors said. “He is stronger than you would think he would be just looking at him.”

Some Other Numbers of Note:
Dwight Jones – 4.45 40
Josh Adams – 36” vertical
Todd Harrelson – 450 squat
Matt Merletti – 405 bench
Charles Brown – 515 squat, 4.41 40
Jonathan Smith – 10’ 7” broad jump, 39 ½” vertical
Zach Brown* – 405 bench
Quan Sturdivant – 331 power clean
Kevin Reddick – 520 squat

Some may note that Zach Brown, a workout freak who usually posts incredible numbers, is missing in some of the superlative numbers. Brown had a groin injury so he wasn’t tested in lower body strength or 40 time over the summer.

“I think (Brown) should be ready to go, we kept him out of a lot of stuff this summer to make sure he’s back, so he wasn’t required to lift real heavy,” Connors said.

 

Tar Heels have questions beyond NCAA's probe

BY J.P. GIGLIO - Staff Writer

Realistically, there's only one question for North Carolina's football program as practice begins today: What effect will the NCAA investigation have on the players and coaches involved?

Until that's answered by the NCAA, which returned to Chapel Hill on Wednesday, the program is in waiting mode.

When the actual football starts for the Tar Heels, who are coming off consecutive 8-5 seasons, the following questions will have to be answered for the program to make an expected breakthrough in coach Butch Davis' fourth season:

1. Is the offense older or better?

The good news: UNC has back eight starters on offense. The bad news: UNC has back eight starters from an offense that ranked 102nd in passing, 108th in total offense and 83rd in scoring offense (which was boosted by five touchdowns by the defense and special teams).

Since improvement is unlikely to come from new blood, although two freshmen, tackle James Hurst and running back Gio Bernard, should help, it will have to come from experience.

Senior quarterback T.J. Yates has to improve his decision-making (37 career interceptions) or he will be replaced by redshirt freshman Bryn Renner.

The offensive line, which had 10 starting combinations in 13 games, has to stay healthy and do an all-around better job, because the running game, ranked 79th nationally, was not great shakes either, in 2009.

2. Will the Heels focus on the task at hand?

Besides the NCAA distraction, UNC has to overcome its own lack of consistency.

Since a 4-8 debut under Davis in 2007, UNC has gone 13-10 against Bowl Subdivision opponents.

Against teams that finished the season with a winning record, Davis is 11-6 but 2-4 against teams that finished with a losing record.

That's the definition of playing to the level of your competition, a pattern UNC has to break to contend for the Coastal Division title.

3. Will the defense limit its lapses?

UNC fielded the ACC's best defense in 2009 and has nine starters from that unit, including seven NFL prospects.

The Heels ranked No. 6 nationally in total defense, No. 10 against the run and No. 13 in scoring but there were lapses during the season.

Florida State erased an 18-point second-half deficit, and quarterback Christian Ponder threw for almost 400 yards.

N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson carved up the secondary for four touchdowns in UNC's loss in Raleigh.

Pittsburgh running back Dion Lewis ran for 159 yards in the Meineke Bowl and allowed the Panthers to drive 79 yards on 17 plays for the winning points when one stop would have won the game.

Even with all of UNC's statistical success on defense last season, there's still room for improvement.

 

good article; nothing else to talk about in early August

 

worthless preseason polls

5 ACC teams

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/usatpoll.htm?loc=interstitialskip

 

We’re working to find a few more pieces of the puzzle, but we did want to pass this information along to our premium members.

-- The NCAA was in town on Wednesday and Thursday for a second round of interviews.

-- When this story first broke three weeks ago, IC was informed that UNC hoped to have this review completed by mid-August.

-- On July 15th, I asked athletic director Dick Baddour if the NCAA had given the university a possible timeline, to which he responded, “[It’s] nothing that I can discuss. That’s been a topic of discussion and it has a lot to do with their ability to move things along.”

-- Through a public records request, IC learned that the UNC compliance office sent an email to the NCAA on July 20th asking if they had “been able to make some progress in determining the timeline we need to have going forward.”

-- We have heard some rumblings that UNC did not receive a prompt response to that request, so I asked Baddour on Thursday afternoon about a possible timeline. This was his response: “They have promised us that they would give it their full attention and work on it as quickly as possible. But I have never gotten a timeline from them, other than a level of commitment to move it along as quickly as possible.”

 

North Carolina kicked off its most highly-anticipated football season in more than a decade on Friday afternoon, pushing the NCAA investigation to the sidelines for approximately two-and-a-half hours at Navy Fields.

* A crowd of more than two dozen media members stood waiting at the Kenan Football Center field tunnel as the Tar Heel players and staff members made their way down the stadium steps, closely watching Marvin Austin and Greg Little as they walked toward the locker room. But while reporters rushed to ask questions about the pending NCAA investigation, head coach Butch Davis and his players indicated that they would much rather talk about the pigskin.

“We’re just football right now,” cornerback Kendric Burney said. “It was a great first day. We’re just out here to compete and have a great training camp and get ready for LSU.”

The fourth-year UNC head coach echoed his senior’s sentiments, saying, “It’s good to get back [playing] football. I think our players were excited. Any time you go on the practice field for two hours… As a coach, you’re always talking about, ‘Hey, block out distractions, block out the weather, block out the noise, block out the other team’s fans.’”

Practice was open to the media for roughly 45 minutes on Friday afternoon, leading to the observation that Austin and Little – central figures in the NCAA probe – were running drills during that allotted window with the second-string units. Davis told reporters after practice not to read anything into that move.

“We rotate a lot of guys throughout in a lot of different situations,” Davis said. “At some point in time during the course of this training camp, we’ll have to make a decision based on what we find out what direction that we need to go, but right now, we’re just practicing football.”

Davis indicated that he has not talked about the situation with his roster since a team meeting on July 20.

* There was some concern that the players may have lost some conditioning after a longer-than-usual break after the end of summer school two weeks ago, but that concern was alleviated early Friday. The Tar Heels conducted their annual 16-110s in the morning hours, a series of 16 110-yard dashes that have to be completed within a certain time depending on position, with a short rest between each one.

“I think this morning proved that they showed up pretty good,” Davis said.

When asked specifically about Austin’s performance, Davis said that the 312-pounder made all 16 of the runs in the required time.

* The wide receiver position group was a huge question mark heading into the ’09 season, but Little emerged as a playmaker down the stretch and Erik Highsmith and Jhay Boyd displayed vast potential as their freshmen seasons went along.

With legitimate options still being limited, Davis called on some players buried on the depth chart to make some noise in August.

“It’s time now for guys like Dwight Jones and guys like Todd Harrelson – they need to step up,” Davis said. “It’s time. They’re going into their third season. They need to be able to go out here and compete and fight and earn opportunities to play.”

Davis also indicated that freshmen wide receivers Sean Tapley and Reggie Wilkins drew strong praise from their veteran counterparts during OTAs this summer.

* The benefit of returning 18 starters, including a number of multi-year starters, is that the players know exactly what to expect during training camp. The bad news for those players, however, is that the coaching staff can ratchet up their intensity.

“We can probably actually be tougher on them,” Davis said. “Mentally, we’re going to challenge them… We want to encourage a lot of competition in practice. We want to encourage an awful lot of situational football.”

* At the ACC Football Kickoff in Greensboro, Davis suggested that possibly 10 true freshmen would see the field this fall. After only one day of practice, it doesn’t sound as though the fourth-year UNC head coach will be taking that statement back any time soon.

“One of the impressive things has been the freshmen class – how quickly they’ve picked stuff up [and] how hard they’re willing to work,” Davis said.

* Injury report:

Freshman tackle T.J. Leifheit (ankle surgery) did not practice on Friday, but is expected to return to individual drills within the next five days. Freshman wide receiver Brendon Felder (ACL) is hoping to return to the practice field by late-September at the earliest, while red-shirt sophomore A.J. Blue (ACL/MCL) worked out with the quarterbacks and was able to participate in individual, skeleton and 7-on-7 drills.