The State of the Hill

YTSOTD

YouTube Song of the Day

Theophilus London - I Stand Alone

You might recognize it from HBO's How to Make It America.

Tweet of the Day

HeardThisBlog Ben W./Derrick N.

Interesting how quickly fans will go from love to hate (See: UK w/ @T_warren32). It's a shame. These players are just kids.

 

After TJ Warren announced that he would not be attending UK's midnight madness and would in Chapel Hill, Warren was bombarded with some derogatory and hateful tweets from Wildcat fans.  One in particular told him to go fuck himself.   I was going to post it, but it was deleted.  Warren has a wonderful opportunity at numerous great schools.  He is in an win-win situation no matter what school he picks.  Recognize that every school offers a great opportunity.  He shouldn't have the selection process tainted by hateful fans. After all, these players are just kids.

EDIT TO ADD:  The UK hate wasn't limited to TJ Warren.  According to the Lost Lettermen's post Kentucky Fans Take Aim at Recruits Mitch McGary, TJ Warren:

Since John Calipari’s arrival in Lexington, Kentucky has been involved in the recruiting of nearly every top prospect in the nation. So, we are used to players reflexively adding the Wildcats to their lists of possible destinations.

But this week, Kentucky saw two top recruits distance themselves from the school. Forward-center Mitch McGary and forward T.J. Warren – ranked No. 3 and No. 23 in the nation, respectively, on Rivals.com – apparently are looking elsewhere.

The Louisville Courier-Journal reported Monday that Warren has narrowed his list to four schools (North Carolina, North Carolina State, Florida and Georgetown), while McGary is reportedly down to Duke, North Carolina and Michigan.

Both Warren and McGary will play for New Hampshire’s Brewster Academy this season and both hate come under fire from the Big Blue Nation for deciding not to take their talents to Lexington.

Tweeted one person to McGary: “Unfollowing a big goofy looking d***sucker. We didnt want your wigger a** at Midnight Madness anyway, we want REAL prospects.”

Tweeted another to Warren: “heard u just took UK off your list of schools BIG MISTAKE…go f*** your self”

That’s pleasant.

In a word, DESPICABLE!

GoodmanCBS Jeff Goodman

Kentucky backed off T.J. Warren; Not other way around, per sources. Multiple coaches are concerned with his recent attitude/body language.

Yeah.  I call bullshit.  Calipari is a slimy douchebag and this just proves it.  I will say this.  Calipari is a great representative of Wildcat Nation based on the response that TJ Warren got on twitter.  Goodman should know better than to put this bullshit out there.  I know I would love for Warren to be a Tar Heel and Kentucky is full of shit if they are claiming they aren't interested. 

The State of the Hill

Football Edition

The Chancellor

It is impossible to discuss the state of the football program without mentioning Holden Thorp, which is ridiculous.  The name Thorp will live in infamy in Chapel Hill.  In two years time, you can expect an announcement that Thorp misses the classroom and will return to his tenured position in the chemistry department.  Two years.  Big money has a long memory and a change a the top will happen once the waters smooth out. 

The Athletic Director

Lawrence "Bubba" Cunningham

The news about the direction of the athletic director position is very positive.  There are several candidates under consideration; however, Lawrence "Bubba" Cunningham is emerging as the favorite.  Cunningham is a Notre Dame graduate and spent 15 years in the Irish athletic department before becoming Ball State's AD.  Cunningham is currently the AD at Tulsa.  Click here for his Tulsa bio.

Cunningham has proven that he is a good fundraiser for capital investments in athletic facilities (lead a $50 million expansion of the Notre Dame football stadium, expanded and improved facilities at Ball State including a $12 million renovation of the football stadium, improvements at Tulsa's football stadium), a strong marketer of his programs (assigned a department to each individual sport within the athletic department and exponentially increased, by as much as 400%, corporate sponsorship at Tulsa and Ball State), and ability to energize the university community and fanbase (Tulsa attracted 15,000 fans to their last bowl game in Tennessee).

Most importantly, Bubba has a national network of contacts that include Brady Hoke, Gus Malzhan, and Urban Meyer.  Bubba's successful history of football hires include Brady Hoke at Ball State and Todd Graham as well as Gus Malzhan at Tulsa.  Additionally, Meyer and Cunningham were at ND together.  

Another name that has popped up is Brad Bates.  Bates is currently the AD at Miami (OH).  Bates does not have a good track record of football hires, marketing or fundraising, but got attention for his compliance plan.  In all seriousness, if Bates is named UNC's AD I will discontinue this blog because it will signal a negative direction for the athletics at UNC.  Put simply, Bubba Cunningham represents a step forward.  Bates represents a step back.  Lets just say, I expect to continue blogging. 

The Head Coach

The direction of the football program will be determined by the next football coach hire.  Forget about an exhaustive list, but these are the guys I would like to see leading the program and we have a chance at landing if Bubba Cunningham is our next AD.

Everett Withers

1 - Everett Withers.  This team is 4-1 with the only loss coming on the road by a touchdown against the number one offense in the country.  This team is focused and workman-like.  I like the tone and accountability that Withers has established.  Against GT, OLB Zach Brown, the team's leading tackler, was relegated to special teams duty only (he did not play on defense) for missing two classes during the week.  Additionally, after a sloppy start, the team has virtually eliminated penalties.  That means this team is disciplined and focused.  When you combine discipline and focus with talent, you get Ws.  Withers understands the culture at UNC, where it is not only about winning but winning with class and integrity.  Coach Davis understood that as well.  However, a new coach may not.  I really, really like Withers both on the field on Saturday and off the field Sunday through Friday.  Another positive is that retaining Withers means staff and scheme stability.  I hope Withers earns this job.

2 - Urban Meyer.  This is a long shot, but it is not an impossibility.  There are several things that need to be considered when looking at Urban Meyer's prospects in Chapel Hill:

• Bubba Cunningham worked with Urban Meyer at Notre Dame

• UNC has a ton of talent on both sides of the ball, so Meyer will not have to restock and rebuild the program.  Further, North Carolina and its surrounding areas are fertile recruiting ground that Meyer knows well. 

Urban Meyer

• UNC has reasonable expectations.  Unlike in the SEC and UF, we are not a win at any cost culture.  Meyer got burned out in Gainsville because of the culture and expectations.  UNC offers him an opportunity to coach at a high level and be competitive with ample resources without selling his soul to the devil.  It is an attractive job where he can succeed in the ACC without the ancillary issues that caused him to leave Florida.  

• UNC provides Meyer with an opportunity to create a legacy by building a program into a national power.  There aren't too many attractive places that have the kind of resources that UNC has where you can forge a lasting legacy by building a sustained national power.  This was a factor in attracting Coach Davis (who has laid a solid foundation) and could very well be a factor in attracting Meyer. 

Remember, I didn't say it was likely, but it is not an impossibility.  Everyone thinks that Meyer is heading to Ohio State, but why leave UF for Ohio State?  Same pressures and expectations.  No one thought that Coach Davis would come to Chapel Hill, but he did.  Urban Meyer could too.  

Gus Malzahn

3 - Gus Malzahn.  Cunningham was the AD when Malzahn left Arkansas for Tulsa so there is an existing professional relationship between the two.  Malzahn is a offensive guru.  Just check the numbers by clicking the link - The Malzahn Effect.  SICK!  The only questions I have with Malzahn would be about the staff he could attract to work under him.  Realistically, Malzahn would run the offense.  It would not be unreasonable to see Malzahn hire a young guy to mentor as the offensive coordinator like Coach Mo.  On the defensive side of the ball, who would be the d-coordinator?  Malzahn could probably bring Tommy Thigpen back home to UNC from Auburn (which would be well received), but we would need an experienced defensive coordinator.  Regardless, Malzahn, Mo and Thig are prolific recruiters.  Malzahn does not have any experience as a head coach of a Division I college program, but he is one of the hottest names in coaching and you can expect that he will be a head coach sooner rather than later.   

The Team

This team is good but has a chance to be BCS good.

We are 8th nationally in yards per play offensively and average 31.4 points per game.  Offensively, we are much better than most would have expected in the preseason.  If you read this blog, you know how good Renner, Gio, the o-line, and Dwight Jones are.  Coach Shoop has this offense moving.  While there is room for improvement, this is a dynamic offense that deploys creative personnel groupings and attacks with multiple options.  For example, last Saturday against ECU, AJ Blue lined up in four different positions - quarterback, running back, full back, and wide receiver.  Love it!  That will keep d-coordinators up at nights and eat up practice time in preparation for possible personnel groups they may or may not see. 

Dwight Jones' one-handed fade route catch.   Re-Dick-u-lous!

Defensively, we have some work to do in the secondary.  Teams are averaging 7.35 yards per pass attempt and completing 62.5% of passes for 1,294 yards and 7 TDs.  The run defense is getting it done, but the secondary needs to sure things up for us to be able to beat a team like Clemson in Death Valley, which I believe we can.  Getting Jabari Price back from injury should help.  Hopefully, this will allow Tre Boston to move back to safety with Price and Charlie Brown starting at CB with Tim Scott in nickle.  However, I am not too optimistic that Boston will move back immediately based on Withers press conference comments.  Luckily, we have a couple of weeks to work Price back in and straighten out the secondary with Louisville and Miami's Jacory Harris coming to Kenan.

The national media is sleeping on us.  One game at a time, we will make them take note.

The State of the Hill

The state of the Hill is good.  If Cunningham is brought on as the next AD, we will be able to move forward with confidence.  We have a good team that can get better, but then it was never the team that I questioned.