By Dave Nathan
At this time of the year, most football coaches will tell you the defense is ahead of the offense. Butch Davis did just that on Wednesday, except he wasn’t talking about football. Inclement weather prevented the Tar Heels from practicing in the morning, so Davis organized a team outing to a local bowling alley.
During the final match of the day, the defense outscored the offense 93-88. Defensive coordinator Everett Withers led the charge in the alley. However, Davis is still waiting to see if Withers can get his cornerbacks up to speed on the gridiron.
Not cornering the market, yet
Cornerbacks Kendric Burney and Charles Brown entered camp as the odds-on favorites to win starting positions. To this point it appears the duo hasn’t separated themselves the way Davis may have envisioned a few weeks ago. Davis said the cornerback situation was “unsettled”. The team is looking for its nickel-back, dime-back, and nickel-linebacker, too.
Safe at safety
UNC’s head coach feels good about his safeties. Trimane Goddard and Deunta Williams have nailed down starting jobs. JUCO-transfer Melvin Williams and Da’Norris Searcy are expected to be reliable back-ups.
O-line looking A-okay
On the offensive line, left guard is still up for grabs. Bryon Bishop and Alan Pelc are splitting reps. The rest of the line looks intact with Calvin Darity at right guard and Aaron Stahl at center. Garrett Reynolds and Kyle Jolly will be the tackles.
Davis is now looking for some depth across the line. Lowell Dyer, who started six games at center in 2007, is an able back-up at center. Kevin Bryant is finally healthy after breaking his wrist in the spring. He’s being looked at as a contributor at guard. Mike Ingersoll could be the third tackle in the rotation.
QB quandary behind Yates
T.J. Yates has a much better grasp of the offense after playing in 12 games last season. Yates is looking much more comfortable and confident. Despite being the clear-cut choice, Davis said Yates is being pushed to get better by back-ups Mike Paulus and Cam Sexton. Davis called the competition between Paulus and Sexton “close” as both are taking snaps with the second team.
Special teams still striving to be special
Expect the Tar Heels to spend roughly a third of their next few practices working on special teams. Davis seems to be troubled by some of the finer points of this unit. However, the extra-point and field goal units were 8-8 in practice the other day. They also completed each play in under 1.25 seconds which is “more than acceptable” to Davis.
Newest WR limited
Dwight Jones made plenty of headlines late last week when he arrived on campus. Yet, a quadriceps contusion has limited his ability to practice. He suffered the injury at Valdosta St. To this point, Jones knows some of the formations and snap counts but hasn’t had much of a chance to go full-speed in practice.
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