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Game Previews Brought to you by Army Jacket
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North Carolina 1999 North Carolina Tarheels 3-8/1-7 Quarterbacks- Ronald Curry enters his 3rd season as the incumbent at QB. The 6'2", 200 lb. junior's campaign was cut short by GT in UNC's 5th game. At the time he had completed less than 50% of his passes and thrown 10 INT's, compared to just 3 TD's. For his 1 1/2 year career now, Curry is a .467 passer (120/257) w/ 17 INT's and 9 TD's. He is North Carolina's best option at QB!?! When healthy, Curry was a threat to turn a busted play into something. That means he should thrive in O'Cain's new system, which places a premium on QB mobility. However, Curry's injury was particularly bad. He missed UNC's basketball season, and the just participated in light workouts during spring practice. He has not been able to test the knee at "playing speed" yet. IOW, there are still many ??? about his durability this season, and his effectiveness. Then there's the whole mental thing about getting over an injury like this. Could he come back as good as new. It's been done before, so yes. However, I'm going to reserve judgement on UNC and their offensive prowress until I see him play. Especially since Curry's supporting cast is less than stellar IMHO. If Curry can't go, O'Cain will likely skip over the strong armed Luke Huard (6'4",220) in favor of the more mobile Antwon Black. Black is a converted safety who was pressed into QB duty when all other options were exhausted. In seven games (1 start) he only attempted 23 passes, completing 11. GT fans will remember Black as the player who picked up the botched FG/fumble on the final play of the 1st half two years ago in Chapel Hill. Wide Receivers- Ronald Curry's first option to catch the ball will be 6-1, 190 lb. junior Kory Bailey. Curry's 2nd option will be Bailey. Curry's 3rd option will be...you get the picture. Bailey is UNC's leading returnee at WR. He hauled in 25 receptions for 418 yards in '99. The knock on Bailey is he has good hands, but does not possess break-away speed after the catch. That makes R-So. Bosley Allen the deep threat. In the huddle, Allen and Curry can compare scars. Allen tore his LCL, ACL, *AND* MCL against NCSU in 1998. He has not played since. A trio of players will back up Bailey and Allen. Danny Davis, a 6-0, 190 lb. R-Jr. is the most experienced of the group. However, whether Davis remains w/ the team is a big ??? at the moment. Academic problems and off-season arrests (yes, plural) have put his status w/ the team in jeapordy. If he is allowed to remain, Davis will actually be UNC's leading returning rusher. In yet another example of how bad things went last season, Davis rushed for 303 yards on 69 attempts. He caught 3 passes too. Sam Aiken and Chelsey Borders had 7 catches b/t them as true freshmen last season. Tight Ends- Since it can't all be bad news, UNC will line up All-ACC candidate Algee Crumpler at TE. The 6-3, 260 lb. R-Sr. caught the injury bug a year early. He missed all of 1998 with a knee injury, then came back for last season's debacle. He was one of the few Tarheels to make it through the year unscathed. In 11 starts, Crumpler had 20 receptions for 191 yards, but didn't score. That will likely change since O'Cain favors using the TE, even lining up in a two TE set at times. That means that backup TE Dauntae Finger will see plenty of snaps. Finger is also a 6-3, 260 lb. R-Sr. making TE far and away the most experienced and deepest position on the UNC offense. Running Backs- If North Carolina weren't so thin at WR, I think they should consider moving Davis over here permanently. Since that doesn't appear likely, 6-1, 225 lb. FB/TB Anthony Saunders is penciled in as the #1 starter in the backfield. Saunders recorded 297 yards and a TD in 9 games last year. I list him as both a "fullback" and "tailback" because he's played his first two seasons at TB, but will move to FB in 2000. He obviously has the running skills, so he spent most of spring ball working on blocking. Saunders is being moved in order to get R-Fr. Willie Parker in at TB. The coaches feel the 5-10, 200 lb. Parker gives them better speed and versatility at the position. Rufus Brown, at 6-1, 215 lbs. (?) is listed as the backup at FB. As a freshman TB in 1998, Brown led the 'Heels in rushing @ 534 yards. That dropped off to 275 yards in 1999. There are ??? about Brown's durability entering 2000. Behind these 3, Mike O'Cain has been quoted as saying "we don't really know...it will depend on some situations." Right now incoming freshman Andre Williams, a 6-0, 215 lb. recruit from Durham, is penciled in on the 2-deep. Offensive Line- The next time you think GT has ??? at OL, stop and consider the position UNC is in...0 returning starters. None. Zip. Nada. At LT is 6-6, 280 lb. walk-on Sr. Louis Marchetti. Marchettie spent his first two seasons on the scout team before seeing spot duty all along the line the last two years. He has never started a game. His backup will be R-Fr. Greg Woofter. At LG is Cam Holland. The 6-2, 300 lb. R-Sr. started 5 games in 1998, but has battled injuries since then. Once again, the relief will be provided by a R-Fr., this time in the form of Jupiter Wilson. The center position is manned by Adam Metts. Metts lost his redshirt season in 1998 when injuries to the other 3 centers forced him into 18 plays over 3 games. He's slightly undersized at 6-0, 270, but is one of the strongest players on the team. News flash: the backup center is a R-Fr., Marcus Wilson. Moving over to RG finds 6-3, 295 lb. Isaac Morford. Morford has paid the typical linemen dues, redshirting in '98 and being a backup in '99. Morford should be a solid, if unspectacular addition to UNC's line for the next few years. Surprisingly, his backup is *NOT* a R-Fr...it's a R-So. who has yet to play a down; Don Peters At RT, last but not least, is R-Sr. James Wagstaff. James would give Fridge a serious run for the money; he checks in at 6-3, 365 lbs. The coaches would actually to see him drop a little (about 25-30 lbs.) weight in order to improve his endurance. After seeing some extensive action (58 snaps vs. Clemson) in 1998, Wagstaff spent more time on the bench last year, mostly due to weight problems. Providing the most experience among the backups is R-So. Bryant Malloy. The 6-2, 300 lb. Malloy is yet another member of UNC's extensive ACL's Anonymous group. He missed all of 1998 following his knee injury and only saw spot duty in 1999. The complete lack of experience along the OL makes it very hard to judge. My cynical self says last year's OL was mediocre at best. UNC only had 144 yards/game on the ground. That's really bad when one considers they virtually gave up passing after Curry and Huard went down. And these guys were just backups to last year's line. That doesn't impress me much. Wagstaff, Metts, and Holland probably have enough exeperience to improve rather quickly. Morford and Marchetti though will probably take a few more weeks. The biggest problem though is not lack of experience, but an utter void of depth. Unless this group turns into the iron 5, Saunders better improve his blocking, Parker better have speed to burn, and Curry better hope the knee hold up. I suspect UNC is going to have major problems scoring points this year. On to the defense where the best news is it couldn't get any worse. Defensive line- For every new starter and inexperienced backup on the offense, it seems UNC has two battle tested players returning on D. That trend starts up front where the 'Heels return DE Julius Peppers, DE Ross McAllister, and DT Ryan Sims. The only newcomer in the group is R-Jr. Anthony Perkins. Peppers is the 6-6, 270 lb. two-sport star that helped the hoops team to this year's Final Four. That trip meant he missed all but 3 days of spring practice, but the coaches consider the trade off beneficial for the 1999 freshman All-American. Perkins is a former walk-on that played in all 11 games last year. Backing up the ends will be Stephon McQueen, a 6-4, 255 lb. R-Sr. and Joey Evans, a 6-5, 265 lb. R-Jr. Both got into every game in '99, combining for 37 stops. The tackle position is a little less settled behind the starters. Right now, Eric Davis, 6-3, 260 lb. R-So. and Willie Quick, another R-So. are listed on the two-deep. However, they will be pressed by a pair of redshirt freshman, Donti Coats and Darryl Grant, and the possibility of playing true freshman has not been ruled out. Linebackers- 1998 All-ACC performer (2nd team) Brandon Spoon returns from a torn bicep injury that cost him the 1999 season. If any one player personifies North Carolina's hopes to improve on a dismal '99, it is Spoon. He was a pre-season All-American candidate, widely considered to be the best LB in the ACC. In 1998, he tallied 138 tackles. Although he played OLB prior to the injury, he was moved to the middle in spring practice. This is an effort to get him involved in more plays. Moving to the outside is Sr. Merceda Perry. Perry was 2nd on the team in tackles w/ 83 in 1999. The other OLB spot is manned by Sr. Sedrick Hodge. Hodge is an Atlanta area product (Westminster) who recorded 79 tackles last season. According to reports, Hodge is extremely athletic, but not as physical as he needs to be. There are several would be backups at linebacker w/ varying degrees of playing experience. The ones most likely to see some serious minutes will be Quincy Monk (11 games, 42 tackles in '99) and walk-on Robert Harris. Harris only had 7 tackles (not bad for a walk-on) last season, but impressed the staff during spring practice. Many of the backups were given every opportunity to work out w/ the 1st team during spring drills. Defensive Backs- Billy Dee Greenwood, a 6-2, 190 lb. R-Jr. will lead the defensive secondary. Greenwood led the Tarheels with 118 tackles last fall. Greenwood started all 11 games and will spend as much time on the field as he can handle. Like Spoon, the sieve like UNC defense needs his field leadership. When Greenwood does come out, his likely replacement will be Sr. David Bomar. Bomar is more of a rush defender, so don't look for him in obvious passing situations. Inexplicably (at least IMO), Defonte Coleman was moved from the rather thin WR position to S in the spring. I think that's an indication the coaches like his athletic ability, but as BigBee is apt to say..."The light bulb wasn't going on." Joining Greenwood is S Quinton Savage, CB Errol Hood, and CB Anthony Anderson. All 3 were starters in '99. Savage, a 5-11, 195 lb. R-Sr., placed 4th on the team in tackles (71) despite missing 3 games all-together and parts of 2 more. Hood intercepted 5 passes. Not only was one of them Joe's, he also returned one of Hamilton's fumbles 20 yards to set up a UNC score. The depth in the secondary is adequate. In addition to Bomar, Kevin Knight and Nathan Sutton have gotten some pretty good playing time in their careers. Only R-Fr. Justin Browne at CB will be seeing action for the first time in 2000. Special Teams- This area resembles the offense more than the defense. Gone are All-ACC punter Brian Schmitz and kicker Josh McGee. Instead they have John Lafferty, a walk-on, handling th punting chores, while Sr. Jeff Reed will be the kicker. Sam Aiken and Kory Bailey will be the primary punt and kickoff returners respectively. An area that has been a major strength for UNC the last 3-4 years is now racked w/ uncertainty. Coaching- I can't think of a more maligned coach in America right now. To say that Carl Torbush is on the hot-seat would be the understatement of the year, bar none. I for one have been highly critical of him. Is it all deserved? Probably not. For starters, UNC was something of a paper tiger the last few years Brown was there. The first 22 could compete w/ anybody...after that, there was a drop-off and that began to show itself right after Brown skidaddled to Austin. Secondly, UNC has been ravaged by some injuries the last two years. These were not the garden variety pulled hamstrings either. They were "out for the year + 6 months rehab" injuries. Still, UNC achieved some great things under Brown. At times, they won games they shouldn't have won. Under Torbush, UNC has appeared woefully unprepared, makes poor (i.e., none) adjustments, and has lost games they had no business losing (Furman leaps to mind) I've seen some publications give Torbush "credit" for astute offseason moves; hiring O'Cain, making Ken Browning DC, etc. I have to laugh. His only recourse was to be fired immediately. Those weren't his moves, they were the AD's. With four new coaches on the staff, it's anyone's guess as to how well that will work out. From my experience, I'm going to guess not too good. Right now Torbush reminds me of a cross b/t B*** L***** and Brad Scott. Scott was a great X's and O's coach at FSU, but a lousy administrator. L***** took a talented but thin team that had tasted success and ruined it within 3 years. Well 'Heel fans, its year 3. What it means to us- If you haven't guessed, I'm not real high on North Carolina or their chances to rebound from last season's disaster. There's some talent on this team, maybe enough to win 5 games given the schedule, but not enough to go bowling and save Torbush's job. Somebody earlier today called it the "run for your life Ronald Curry" show. That about sums it up. Whatever advantages the improved defense might have will be erased by an offense that will struggle to stay on the field, much less score many points. I know many GT fans point to this game is critical. That is usually based on our past troubles in Chapel Hill, and the fact the last season's game was too close for comfort. However, I prefer to look at it like this. We got over that mental block in 1998, so winning in C.H. shouldn't be a big deal. As for the last two games, Tech *GAVE UNC 35 (out of 48) points. Don't believe me...count it up. In 1998, a botched FG at the end of the 1st half was returned for a TD. The 2nd half KO was also returned for a TD. In 1999, two Hamilton fumbles and two muffed punts by Marvious Hester led to two TD's (one w/ a 2-pt. conversion) and two FG's. Without those miscues, GT would have dominated the 'Heels two years in a row and several fonts would be discussing how we "own" North Carolina. As I stated to open this thread, I foresee a Tech team that is starting to gain confidence and consistency at the halfway point. Some of that will have to do w/ inferior competition. Not only does Tech win in Chapel Hill, we win in a manner that gets some people's (read: the national media) attention. The Jackets improve to 4-2, 2-1 in the ACC. |
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