UNC Gunslingers, a.k.a. QBs
The Depth Chart: If there is one position for concern, it is not quarterback.
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| Bryn Renner |
Renner threw two pass last season, completing one for fourteen yards and a 108.8 QB rating. Pretty small sample size to project to this season. However, this kid has skills.
Preseason last year, a majority of the fan base expected Renner to overtake Yates on the depth chart by the second or third game of the season. Obviously, that didn't happen and Yates rebounded to have a great year. What did happen was that Renner took half of the first team snaps in practice. While his live game experience is limited, he has two years in the system with significant and meaningful practice time.
He has all the tools to take advantage of the diverse skill sets of the UNC receivers. Personally, I expect Dwight Jones to have a big year, because Renner has a big arm and isn't scared to pull the trigger. The strength of this offense should be the running game and the size of the offensive line will make it effective. Therefore, you can expect some safeties cheating into the box to stop the run. That is when Offensive Coordinator John Shoop will strike deep with some play action. Further, Renner is much more mobile than Yates. There have been too many negative plays over the past few years due to Yates's lack of mobility, which hurt the team's overall rush and sac numbers.
While Yates leaves some big shoes to fill, Renner has the opportunity to take the program to the next level because he has an advantage that Yates didn't with the best offensive line Carolina has seen in several years. How Renner performs on Saturdays could be the difference between a 9 win season and an 11 win season. Yeah. I said it. Eleven wins!
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| Braden Hanson |
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| AJ Blue |
At this point, it is difficult to say who is Renner's back up. An educated guess is that Hanson is the back up, but Blue will see the field more. To explain, AJ Blue is an incredible athlete. He came into Carolina as a high school QB, but projected as a RB at the college level. We haven't seen Blue on the feild in a while because last year he red-shirted after a severe knee injury suffered in October of 2009 while playing RB. Following the knee injury, Blue put on the headset and transitioned to work exclusively with the QBs in 2010. Now, Blue is 100% healthy, it won't surprise me to see Shoop send him out as a wrinkle to keep defenses off balance. So long as Renner is healthy, Hanson rocks the headset and Blue sees playing time in a wildcat package that takes advantage of his incredible athleticism. Make sense? While Blue is a dangerous offensive weapon, Hanson is a better all around QB and is therefore the true back up.
Holding the Clipboard: Marquise "Quis" Williams
Quis will red shirt this year, but the future is bright. At the spring game, Quis made some freshman mistakes. He threw an INT after not breaking the pocket in time. This is the kind of thing that is to be expected for a early enrollee freshman taking snaps under center for the first time in his life.
However, Quis also had the WOW play of the game. Quis broke the pocket and scrambled for a 42-yard TD. Watching in real life and in real time, I thought it was no more than twenty yards and even commented to my buddies that the secondary must have pulled up when he blew by them. Later when I watched the highlights, that certainly was not the case. The kid has wheels and a gun. However, it is not a forgone conclusion that Quis is the next QB1. At Carolina, every starting position is earned against quality competition.
The Needs: Last year, the staff wanted to bring in two QBs. We had early commitments from Quis and Everett Golson; however, Golson decommited and enrolled at ND. As a result, we needed to land one quality QB commitment this cycle and we got our number one target. That said, we will may take two.
The Recruit(s)
Comments: Patton Robinette will probably get a rating bump after his upcoming senior season as he has only played one season. In that one season, Robinette had a 68.4% completion percentage with 1804 yards passing and 21 passing TDs with 1 INT. Let me emphasize, ONE INTERCEPTION in his first season! He is a big kid that can make all of the throws with nice touch. His arm is strong enough, but what is more important is that he can throw into windows (over underneath defenders) with enough zip and accuracy to prevent help defenders from recovering to disrupt the pass, which is critical in a pro-style offense. Most importantly, he is very smart and understands the game very well. He is a Carolina guy. Great grades (offers from all over the Ivy League), very coachable, and no off-field issues.
Check out the film:
And the interview:
Comments: Drew Davis is the son of Butch Davis. Drew is a fringe Division 1A QB. It is hard to say if Drew will end up at Carolina, but it is a very real possiblity.
The Film:
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