N.C. — CAROLINA’S TRUE FRESHMEN
North Carolina has played 10 true freshmen from Butch Davis’ highly rated first recruiting class. Here’s how that breaks down:

STARTERS

Zack Pianalto (6-4, 215, H-Back, Springdale, Ark., High)

Pianolto enrolled in Chapel Hill in January after graduating from Springdale, Ark., High early and has made a quick impact. He was ranked the No. 7 player in Arkansas by Rivals and the No. 20 tight end in the country by Scout.com. Pianalto has found a home at H-Back, a hybrid position that combines a tight end and fullback. He has six catches for 47 yards but had a costly fumble in the Virginia loss.

Bruce Carter (6-3, 210, OLB, Havelock)

Carter enrolled at UNC in the spring to participate in spring drills and moved into a starting position after Chase Rice injured his ankle in the opening game against James Madison. Carter, from Havelock, was ranked the No. 7 player in the country by SuperPrep but looked lost at times in the Virginia game. Carolina has not had great linebacker play in recent seasons and needs players like Carter to plug what has been a gap in the program.

ALREADY PLAYING

Marvin Austin (6-3, 295, DL, Washington, D.C., Ballou)
Consensus All-America considered one of the nation's top prospects. He's a tough, quick inside player with immense potential. But making the transition to college football is tough for defensive linemen, who often face experienced offensive lines. Austin has only three tackles so far and was not a factor against the burly Virginia front.

Charles Brown (5-10, 190, DB, Maple Heights, Ohio, High)
He's tied for fourth in tackles on the UNC team with 15, but defensive back tackles can be deceiving. Teams often throw at the less experienced defenders, so their tackle numbers can be inflated. Still, Brown is making the most of his time on the field and is the third-team corner right now who plays on passing downs.

Greg Little (6-3, 210, WR, Durham Hillside)

A SuperPrep All-America, Little originally committed to Notre Dame but changed his mind and signed with UNC. He's a versatile player  contributing now on kickoff returns, although his potential isn't shown in his five returns for an average of 7.4 yards per return. Long-term, he's likely to land at receiver.

Matt Merletti (5-11, 185, SS, Cleveland St. Ignatius)

Carolina first listed Merletti as "ATH," for athlete, which is football-ese for "he's a good player and we'll find him a position." Right now he's the third-string strong safety. He has one tackle for the season.

Da’Norris Searcy (6-0, 200, DB, Decatur, Ga., Towers)

He's already second on the depth chart at free safety, behind redshirt freshman Deunta Williams. He has three total tackles. Searcy (pronounced "SIR-cee") played both ways in high school and was ranked the No. 17 player in Georgia by SuperPrep.

Quan Sturdivant (6-2, 225, LB, West Stanly)

A high school quarterback, he arrived at UNC in the spring and moved to linebacker. He's the backup right now to another true freshman, Bruce Carter, at one outside linebacker slot.

Jonathan Smith (6-2, 185, DB, Durham Hillside)

Ranked among the top 25 players in North Carolina by SuperPrep, he had 118 tackles and seven sacks as a senior.  He has four tackles so far.

Tydreke Powell, 6-3, 290, DL, Hertford Co.)

Powell played for the first time in the Virginia game but is not listed among the two-deep on the defensive line. He was ranked the No. 3 player in North Carolina and the No. 10 defensive tackle in the country by Scout.com.

HAVE NOT PLAYED YET

Kevin Bryant (6-7, 375, DL, Lauderdale Lakes, Fla., Anderson)

Mike Dykes (6-4, 275, OL, Pittsburgh Woodland Hills)

Linwan Euwell (6-2, 210, LB (SW Edgecome)

LaCount Fantroy (5-11, 175, DB, (Milford Academy)

Carl Gaskins (6-5, 245, OL, Melbourne, Fla., Palm Bay)

Brian Gupton (6-3, 190, ATH, Nashville, Tenn., Pearl-Cohn)

Cam Holland (6-2, 275, OL,  Pittsburgh Perry Traditional)

Ryan Houston (6-2, 245, RB, Matthews Butler)

Rashad Mason (6-5, 210, WR, Nashville Pearl-Cohn)

Mike Paulus (6-5, 220, QB, Syracuse Christian Brothers)

Devon Ramsay (6-2, 240, ATH, Red Bank, N.J., Lawrenceville Prep)

Jay Wooten (6-3, 180, PK/P, Scotland Co.)