ACC Preview (North Carolina)

North Carolina – Last year: (3-9, 2-6), Returning Starters: 10 (5 off., 5 def.)

North Carolina won just three games last year, and they weren’t against good teams. The Tar Heels squeaked by 1-AA Furman 45-42, beat three win NC State 23-9, and beat winless Duke by one, and Duke missed an extra-point that would have tied the game. Carolina went out and got a new head coach in Butch Davis, who is a good coach and an excellent recruiter.

Offense: North Carolina returns both Joe Dailey and Cam Sexton at the quarterback position, but UNC would likely be better served if those two players did not see the field this year. Dailey threw seven touchdowns and ten picks, whereas Sexton had four touchdowns and eight interceptions. Dailey will play WR this year, and Sexton will have to fight for playing time this year as redshirt freshmen T.J. Yates and B.J. Phillips are in the hunt for the starting job. Also, incoming freshman Mike Paulus might push for playing time (yes, the brother of the Duke point guard). UNC has plenty of talent at WR, but Carolina will likely have to start a freshman at tailback if senior Barrington Edwards’ suspension does not end before the season starts.

Defense: The Tar Heels’ defense is fairly young. They are likely to start two freshmen, three sophomores, a junior, and five seniors. Middle-linebacker Durell Mapp returns, and was the Tar Heels leading tackler last year. If the Tar Heels hope to improve from last year, they will have to improve on their 30.5 ppg given up, and 172.8 ypg given up on the game. Incoming freshman Marvin Austin, the top defensive tackle prospect in the country in the class of 2007 should help with those atrocious numbers.

Special Teams: It’s hard to do much better kicking field goals than Connor Barth did last year, as he was a solid 10-10 last year. Senior John Choate will kick, and Brandon Tate returns as to return both punts and kicks.

Conclusion: UNC has a tough schedule this year, having to travel to East Carolina (who beat NC State and UVA last year), to South Florida, and, although they play South Carolina at home, South Carolina is better than North Carolina. North Carolina is going to resurface as a solid college football program, but it won’t be this year. Once Davis has had a chance to get his recruits trained and on the field, Carolina could be a force in the Coastal.

S 1st James Madison W
S 8th at East Carolina L
S 15th Virginia W
S 22nd at South Florida L
S 29th at Virginia Tech L
O 6th Miami L
O 13th South Carolina L
O 27th at Wake Forest L
N 3rd Maryland L
N 10th at NC State L
N 17th at Georgia Tech L
N 24th Duke W