2011 Football Recruiting Board - Offensive Line

Time to Play a Little Catch Up

Its been a while so this is what has happened since I last posted:

• McAdoo was not granted a preliminary injunction to restore his eligibility.  Now, the NCAA, UNC have until July 31 to respond to McAdoo's lawsuit.  That DTH article should catch you up.  I will add that it is not looking good for McAdoo as one of the judge's remarks leads me to think that he will dismiss the case at his first opportunity.  The treatment of McAdoo has outraged most of the Tar Heel community, but I hope he will be able to ultimately find justice.  The latest rumor is that McAdoo could be applying for the NFL supplemental draft.  This could be the best thing for McAdoo to do.  He has a rare athletic talent and measurables.  I wouldn't be surprised to see McAdoo make a practice squad at a minimum and earn a place in the League in time. 

• Leslie McDonald tore his ACL playing the NC Pro-AM.  He was playing really well and was poised to have an impact season.  This is obviously disappointing on many levels, but he is staying up beat and will undergo surgery on August 3rd.  The date of the surgery was pushed back so that McDonald could spend time with family in Memphis before undergoing surgery and committing to the lengthy rehab.  Below is a video of the injury.  It is always bad when someone goes down sans contact.

• Greg Little returned to the triangle to compete in the NC Pro-AM where he commented on his parking tickets and Butch Davis.  He admitted receiving a lot of parking tickets and took full responsibility.  “I know I got a lot – come on,” Little said. “I know that was really irresponsible, but I know everybody receives parking tickets. I’ve paid ‘em. I paid them – they came from out of my pocket.”  He also said that Butch Davis was in no way to blame.  He and Marvin Austin made poor choices without Davis's knowledge.  “What did he do? If you send your child out and your child says he’s going to the movies but he goes to a party, you don’t really have control after you step out of the picture. He had nothing to do with anything that went on. It was all me and [Marvin Austin’s] ill-advised mistakes.” 

• QB commit Patton Robinette competed in the Elite 11 where the camp counselors named Robinette the third best performer on the week, despite competing against life long QBs when Robinette has only played the position for one year.  

• ACC Media Days is going on in Pinehurst, NC for the upcoming football season.  Jonathan Cooper and Tydreke Powell along with Butch Davis are representing for UNC.  Click the link for the individual player's Q&A.

• UNC picked by the media to finish 3rd in the Coastal.  Personally, I think Miami and UNC are interchangeable, but it is hard to move VT out of the top spot considering their weak schedule and getting UNC at home on a Thursday night.  

Tweet of the Day

After visiting UGA and Clemson, super fast Todd Gurley had this to say about his favorite:

TG1UNO Todd Gurley

@JJutovsky Yea UNC is still on top be in Chapel Hill tomorrow by the way

That was last Thursday and he had a good visit!

2011 Football Recruiting Board - 

Offensive Line

The Depth Chart:

Brennan Williams

This is the deepest the offensive line has been since Butch Davis was the head man in Chapel Hill.  We have NFL size and depth at every position along the line.  James Hurst and Jon Cooper are NLF locks, while Brennan Williams has a good opportunity to work himself into that position if he plays as expected this season.  It is hard to talk about the O-line in any specifics.  They are best when they are anonymous.  However, Brennan Williams had the play of the game for me in the spring game.  On a screen pass, Williams pulled and laid a huge block on the boundary corner to break the running back for a significant gain.  It displayed elite level athleticism and that persists all along the O-line. You can see that play at the 1:50 mark of this video of the spring practice highlights on tarhheelblue.com:  FB Spring Highlights - 4/9.  Dirty!!!

In addition to the experienced guys manning the trenches, we have a few beasts coming in.  Kario Holts and Landon Turner are All-Americans that made some noise at the all-star event, earning individual mentions by the national media reporting on the event.  Both will probably crack the two-deep before the end of camp.  Jarrod James is another bright spot for the future.  Our biggest need along the O-Line is at center.  Holland is a fifth year senior, so we need to find someone that can step into that critical spot.  Jarrod James is very intelligent and has the opportunity to earn a spot on the two deep if Russ Bodine lets him.

The Needs:  The offensive line is the least glamorous position on the football field outside of long snapper, but it is critical to have optimal depth and quality size.  Despite bringing in some quality guys last year, every starting spot is earned and we need some good guys to come in and push for the tackle, guard, and center position.  The staff is looking for two OTs and two OG/Cs.  The Pittboss likes every offensive lineman to be coached up and capable at every position along the o-line.  It makes our guys more attractive at the next level and increases our depth along the line.  As for our specific numbers, we are half way there. 

The Recruits:

(listed alphabetically after UNC commits)

Comments:  Jon Heck is a big time Offensive Tackle commit.  He plays his high school ball at Bolles School in Jacksonville, FL which runs a big time program that consistently has high major college football prospects coming out every year.  Its players are well coached and well prepared for the expectations of major college football.  Unfortunately, I am not able to embed any film from Heck's junior year as he injured his Achilles and missed most of the season.  However, the Pittboss went down to watch him workout and offered him a scholarship on the spot.  That is pretty much all I need to know, but I will tell you more.   Jon Heck is the son of Andy Heck, former first-team All-American offensive tackle for Notre Dame, playing for 1988 national championship team.  Andy Heck or should I say Coach Heck was also an assistant coach at Virginia for three seasons before taking a job with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2004, where he remains today as the offensive line coach.  From my understanding, while it came down to UVA and UNC for Jon, it was between UNC and ND for Andy.  The staff had to recruit Coach Heck just as much as Jon.  In my opinion, Jon's commitment is the highest of compliments for the staff based on his Dad's involvement and background.  Further, Jon plans on majoring in Pre-Med, so beyond the bloodlines, he is obviously smart and very driven.  Just the way I like offensive linemen!

Comments:  John Ferranto is a sleeper Offensive Tackle out of Burlington Township, New Jersey.  Ferranto earned a scholarship offer in camp this past summer.  While he is raw, Ferranto showed the athleticism necessary to develop into a nice tackle prospect.  He has good size and, during one-on-ones in camp, John was able to mirror rushers, showing nice feet and the ability to stay in front.  The staff consistently criticized Ferranto's technique, but this can be taught through coaching, hard-work, and repetition.  In high school, Ferranto has rarely played on the O-line as he lined up primarily at defensive end.  However, next season, he will play exclusively at offensive tackle.  If he is able to develop, he will be a solid addition to the O-line.  Additionally, Ferranto is a good deep snapper.  This is another important attribute that contributed to Ferranto getting an offer.  Our current long snapper is a fifth year walk-on, so we will need to find a replacement as well as depth.  If he doesn't develop at a tackle, he should still be able to contribute on special teams as a long snapper.  No video available.

Comments:  Bryce Kennedy comes out of Pinehurst, NC and is an interesting prospect.  Initially, Kennedy was a lock for South Carolina.  However, he has since visited several schools and his recruitment is now considered much more wide open.  In his most recent interview, he states he plans on taking Official Visits to Stanford, UNC, and South Carolina.  What is pretty bad is that the interview was for Pack Pride, so NC State might be on the outside looking in.  No video available.

Comments:  Alex Kozan is out of Colorado, which is an area that is rarely recruited by the staff.  The reason that Alex Kozan is on the staff's radar is because he sent his film to UNC.  Kozan is interested in majoring in Business and Kenan-Flagler B-school is top 5 nationally, which is why he sent his film to UNC.  This summer Kozan took a sweeping tour of the south that included all the schools listed above from the south and has his pick of schools on the west coast.  He has said that he would like to cut his list to 5-7 at the end of the summer.  The only school that is guaranteed to make the cut is Iowa, which has a strong b-school.  Hopefully, UNC can make the cut.  No football video, but how about some discus toss . . . .

Comments:  DJ Reader is a dual sports star out of Greensboro.  In addition to being a highly sought after offensive lineman, Reader is a big time baseball player.  Word is that he is a force at the plate as well as on the mound.  Reader hit .545 with three homeruns and only four strikeouts.  Additionally, Reader has a fastball in the low 90's.  I don't know if Reader is a baseball prospect that could be drafted in the MLB draft, but I have heard that his fastball lacks movement, so he won't be very successful as a professional pitcher.  Those same people have said that Reader's best bet for earning a living playing a sport is football.  I don't know.  I do know that right now Auburn, ECU, and Maryland are the only schools guaranteed to make his first cut.  He wants to play both sports, so I find it hard to believe that UNC is not a strong contender.  The Diamond Heels are a dominant force in college baseball and the staff has a track record of preparing guys for the NFL.