Buttered Biscuits: That Guys Brackets

Hansbrough Doing Work in the Association

This is just 2 of Hansbrough's 30. Boom!

Pyscho T has scored twenty or more in the last five.

Happy Birthday Reggie Bullock!!!

5 Questions Heading Into Spring Football

You smell that. Smells like grass stains and blood. Spring practice must start today. With the turmoil of last season behind us (almost), we are approaching a Fall that is full of promise. We have a manageable schedule and it is not unreasonable to expect a 6-0 start. Still, even the most polished teams have questions and these are my biggest five heading into Spring practice.

Quinton "Q" Coples

Are we going to have the depth at Defensive Tackle to move Quinton "Q" Coples back to Defensive End? While Q was a defensive first team All-ACCer after moving to DT, Q's natural position is on the edge as a DE. A combination of Q and Donte Paige-Moss (DPM) will be a fierce rush off the edge that will give O-coordinators nightmares starting right about now . . . . This move back to DE will only be possible if Sylvester Williams is as ready as the staff expects him to be. Sly is a huge JUCO signee that enrolled this past January. And by huge, I mean huge. Not only was he highly ranked and highly sought after, Sly stands 6'3" and weighs in at 310+ lbs. Despite performing well, Sly wasn't recruited heavily out of high school after only playing organized football for one season. He went to work full-time in a factory after high school before going to Junior College to pursue football. Because he started playing football late, he is a raw talent, but a great talent with a very high upside. If he is able to fill the void left by Marvin Austin and filled by Q last season, the Tar Heel front four will be one of the best in the ACC, maybe the country.
How do you replace the talent and experience of Quan Sturdivant and Bruce Carter? Linebacker was a position of strength last season. Entering Spring Practice, we need to figure out who is going to fill out the core of our LB group. Obviously, Kevin Riddick has a well deserved strangle hold on the MIKE (Middle LB). Due to injury last season, Zach Brown got significant playing time and played extremely well, so the WILL (Weak Side) is no longer as much of a concern. As for the SAM, there is a big question mark. There are a number of intriguing candidates and there is also the possibility of trying Zach Brown out on the Strong Side. With P.J. Clyburn, Curtis Campbell, and Darius Lipford, it will be interesting to see how this position group takes shape this Spring. However, nothing is set in stone following Sping Practice as the highly touted UnderArmor All-American and true freshman Travis Hughes arrives this summer.
Who is going to play in the secondary? No position group has more question marks than the secondary. With the graduation of Burney, Searcy, and Williams, the only returning consistent starter from 2010 is true freshman Corner, Jabari Price. Price played extremely well in his first season and all of that game experience should serve the secondary well in 2011. The return of Charles Brown will also be a huge shot in the arm at Corner, opposite Price. The two deep looks healthy because of the depth built out of last year's adversity with Mywan Jackson and Tre Boston. Tre Boston is one to watch. As a true freshman, Boston was playing at a very high level before suffering a high ankle sprain at Miami that cut his season short. At safety, Gene Robinson has significant game day experience at free safety and Jonathan Smith will compete for the starting spot at strong safety in his return after missing the 2010 season. Merletti has been the guy for the nickel and I expect that to remain true. The thing about the secondary is that with the graduation of Burney, Searcy, and Williams, we lost a lot of NFL-caliber play makers. While there are plenty of bodies, we don't really know what we've got. I believe that Price and Boston will emerge and Brown will make as many big mistakes as he does incredible and explosive plays. Despite all the uncertainty, the strength of the defense for 2011 will be the front seven, specially the front four, and that will protect our secondary.
Who grabs Renner's clip board and headset? Bryn Renner is poised for a break out year. He has been in the system for two years and took half the reps in practice last year. For the first time in recent memory, the O-line looks like a position of strength. Additionally, the WR core is seasoned and explosive. The question is who is the backup. Marquis Williams enrolled this past January and will participate in Spring Practice and battle AJ Blue for the honor. Braden Hanson is also in the mix, but I expect AJ Blue to emerge as the number two. However, Marquis will push both Blue and Renner, but Williams is the future, not the present, so he will not likely see the field, preserving his red-shirt, unless the unfortunate unforeseen happens.
How healthy is Giovanni Bernard? Gio will make the Tar Heel faithful go "Savon who?" if he is healthy and can regain his speed and explosiveness following his ACL tear last Spring. With Rhio, Ryan Houston, set to be the thunder, Gio will be the lightning if healthy enough. Check out his film. The most explosive runs are in the last 30-45 seconds. Kid is going to be a player if he can stay on the field.