North Carolina Flashcard

Posted 9:39 p.m. Jul 19, 2007 — Updated 8:33 p.m. Jul 24, 2007

Gregg Found

PINEHURST, N.C. — North Carolina football coach Butch Davis wouldn’t make any promises.

Asked several times what would constitute a successful first year under his guidance, the coach didn’t give in and pledge any win totals or numerical goals.

“The best team that we can be,” Davis said would be a victorious first year. “That sounds like a cop-out, but it’s not.”

While much of the Carolina fan base hopes that Davis’ entry to UNC will bring immediate wins and a rise through the ACC standings, Davis stressed that he’s looking for something else thus far.

“To be better than we are now,” Davis replied to a similar question later in his talk with reporters. “There is no number. We’re not going to saddle ourselves with the idea.”

Davis instead stressed the fact that his team is young and unproven, especially at quarterback and running back.

“Someone told me we have 84 players on scholarship and 51 of them have never played in a college football game,” Davis said. “That’s enough to keep you awake at night.”

The quarterback and running back battles might not be decided until a few weeks before the first game of the year.

“We’re a young, inexperienced, football team,” Davis said. “We have seven returning carries. We have to figure out, do we have one guy that can be the marquee running back or is it going to be a running back by committee?”

A similar dilemma exists at quarterback, where sophomore Cam Sexton and freshmen T.J. Yates and Mike Paulus will compete for the job.

“We’ve got to find out who the top two quarterbacks are going to be,” Davis said. “Two and a half to three weeks out from the first game we’ve got to figure out who they’re going to be.”

While Sexton and Yates, who redshirted, have an edge in experience, Davis said Paulus has been on campus over the summer working to get up to speed.

“[Cam and T.J.] don’t want to relinquish the idea that they’re the starter,” Davis said.

There’s youth at plenty of other places on the field as well. Davis said that anywhere from six to 12 true freshmen could play and that, like on most teams, they’d earn their stripes on special teams before getting too much game action.

“I think it’s an advantage,” Davis said of the youth of his team. “I’ve always been a fan of playing guys who are young.”

He said he’s been encouraged by the response of the players so far. Instead of pushing a way new coaches, coordinators and a new system, they’ve welcomed the change.

“They have absolutely bought in to all the things,” Davis said. “They have embraced everything that we’ve asked them to do. You want to lay foundations because you can’t go back.”

“They want to win, they want to change the perception of themselves and they’re willing to work hard to do that.”

Tar Heel Players: Davis Brings New AttitudeTo hear two senior leaders on the North Carolina football team say it, new coach Butch Davis is not a miracle worker, a revolutionary or a pariah. He’s simply a rock-steady, passionate football coach.

“He’s consistent,” repeated defensive end Hilee Taylor about the new coach’s personality. “He’s not one way and different the next day. His whole demeanor, it's contagious.”

Taylor and quarterback-turned-receiver Joe Dailey represented the Tar Heels at the annual ACC Football Kickoff in Pinehurst Sunday.

The duo fielded questions about their locker-room renovations and slew of young quarterbacks, but most of the queries revolved around the attitude Davis has brought to the program.

“Coach Davis is really the same guy every single day,” Dailey said. “Not a lot of people can do that.”

Dailey, who has seen four different head coaches and five different offensive coordinators in his college football tenure, said Davis brings a family atmosphere to the program.

“The guy, he seems like your father, your grandfather, your mom,” Dailey said.

The same words - “enthusiastic,” “energetic,” and “passionate” - seemed to arise every time a reporter asked one of the seniors about Davis’ demeanor.

They talked about how the coach who has had to battle chemotherapy treatments even before he coached his first UNC football game has been both an inspiration and a teacher.

“He’s a dynamic guy,” Dailey said. “He’s been there. At every level. He gives a positive message every single day.”

“He’s energetic but at the same time conservative,” Taylor said about Davis. Taylor said Davis hasn’t been a screamer but “when he gets his point across, it’s just as effective as if he were to holler at you.”

Of course, the team hasn’t gotten its full share of Davis yet. The players finish summer class and exams this week and then get a week off before training camp starts in August. They open their season in just more than a month, at home against James Madison on Sept. 1.

North Carolina

Head Coach: Butch Davis

2006 Record: 3-9 (2-6)

ACC Championships: 5

Last ACC Title: 1980

Returning Offensive Starters: 5

Returning Defensive Starters: 4

ALL-ACC Returnees: None

2007 Schedule:

Sept. 1 James Madison – 6pm (ESPN 360)

Sept. 8 at East Carolina – 6pm (CSTV)

Sept. 15 Virginia – Noon (LFS/R)