Will UNC's offense find the arm strength and throwing prowess of transfer quarterback Brandon Harris is the answer? Perhaps the confidence and experience of Nathan Elliott, the only quarterback on the roster to throw a pass as a Tar Heel? Will it be the athletic dexterity and running ability of Chazz Surratt? There are so many plans, so few answers right now. (GoHeels.com)
Posted On: August 19, 2017
By Lee Pace
Chris Kapilovic's alarm clock has been set for 5:50 every morning during the Tar Heels' three weeks of preseason training camp. Only once has he heard it go off.
"You toss and turn and worry about this and that and you never actually sleep all night," says Carolina's offensive coordinator and line coach. "It's time for the alarm and I'm already up."
It's that kind of preseason for Carolina's offensive brain trust. The quarterbacks have nine pass attempts among them in games in this offense. At times this August, the top two running backs were converted linebackers. The receiving corps features Austin Proehl and Thomas Jackson with "a bunch of guys"—each waiting to seize the audition by the scruff of the neck and prove they're a Bug Howard or Mack Hollins waiting to happen.
"I think there's a lot of guys with names you may recognize from recruiting, but you've never seen them on the field," head coach Larry Fedora says. "It's time for them to step up. It's time for them. It's their opportunity to become a household name."
The template for Carolina football is decidedly different in 2017 than it's been in Fedora's five previous seasons in Chapel Hill. From Gio Bernard to T.J. Logan, from Bryn Renner to Mitch Trubisky, from Jonathan Cooper to Landon Turner, The Tar Heels have always had an established nucleus of offensive players around which to build. That talent inserted as cogs into the machinery of Fedora's fast-tempo spread offense has generated averages of 453 yards and 36 points a game since 2012.
This year it's incumbent on the Tar Heels to be miserly on defense and opportunistic in the kicking game to give the offense time to establish its go-to guys and develop a personality.
Will it find the arm strength and throwing prowess of transfer quarterback Brandon Harris is the answer? Perhaps the confidence and experience of Nathan Elliott, the only quarterback on the roster to throw a pass as a Tar Heel? Will it be the athletic dexterity and running ability of Chazz Surratt? Now that he has a stage, will the gifted receiver Anthony Ratliff-Williams take a bow? Can Juval Mollette harness his length to snag jump balls over the middle? Will tight ends Brandon Fritts and Carl Tucker be the most productive and consistent players? Can the Tar Heels use their superior conditioning to go lickety-split and wear down the opposition?
So many plans, so few answers right now.
"We play better when we go fast, up tempo," says running backs coach DeAndre Smith. "The offense is totally different. We can wear you down. Add the element of the quarterback running the ball, and it's a different offense."
"You'd like to think our tempo could be an equalizer, but the question is, can the young guys get lined up and run the plays without screwing it up?" Kapilovic says. "It's a catch-22. At times we've got receivers panicking when we're going fast. The O-line hasn't played together. So much of O-line play is feel and comfort with the guy beside you. We don't have that yet."
Smith, in his first year at Carolina after replacing Larry Porter, has had to juggle his position considerably with the departures of T.J. Logan and Elijah Hood to the NFL. Sophomore Jordon Brown and freshman Michael Carter are the top two guys in an inexperienced group. Johnathon Sutton, a linebacker last year, and freshman Kayne Roberts, also a linebacker as a senior in high school, have played considerably in camp.
Smith says Brown is a "solid guy, can do it all—he's good in protections, can play third down, can move him around." He adds that Carter is "dynamic with the ball" and is an excellent zone runner. "They can go both do most anything we need them to do," Smith says. "They understand how to run good routes have good hands, both can be valuable like T.J. Logan was."
One thing the offense does have is control over what it does handling and protecting the ball—i.e. runners protecting the ball by keeping the tip up and the elbow locked and quarterbacks not forcing it into tight windows. Turnovers are tracked during every practice and every player on the offense runs 40-yard sprints afterward for each miscue. That means freshman tackle Marcus McKeithan hauls his 330 pounds across the grass under the noonday sun along with the quarterback who made the mistake.
"We win together, we lose together," says QBs coach Keith Heckendorf. "We want the linemen to take ownership and hold those guys accountable, to say, 'That's not acceptable.' Coming from your peers, that means a lot. When they hold each other accountable, that's when you can accomplish something."
Organizing and training this offense is a fluid endeavor, that much is certain. With opening day against Cal two weeks away, the coaches and athletic trainers will soon make decisions on who's ready—and those decisions can and will change, perhaps in the second quarter, perhaps by the Louisville kickoff. Meanwhile, fingers crossed that cornerback M.J. Stewart can snare a few picks and punter Tom Sheldon can control field position.
"Our defense can run, I know that," Kapilovic says. "They're bringing a lot of heat and they're getting to the quarterback. The thing you always wonder: Are they that good or are we that bad?"
You have to plan for both options and everything in between.
Lee Pace enters his 28th year covering Tar Heel football through "Extra Points" and 14th as the sideline reporter for the Tar Heel Sports Network. His book, "Football in a Forest," is available in bookstores across North Carolina and online at www.johnnytshirt.com. Email him at leepace7@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @LeePaceTweet.
Posted On: August 19, 2017
By Lee Pace
Chris Kapilovic's alarm clock has been set for 5:50 every morning during the Tar Heels' three weeks of preseason training camp. Only once has he heard it go off.
"You toss and turn and worry about this and that and you never actually sleep all night," says Carolina's offensive coordinator and line coach. "It's time for the alarm and I'm already up."
It's that kind of preseason for Carolina's offensive brain trust. The quarterbacks have nine pass attempts among them in games in this offense. At times this August, the top two running backs were converted linebackers. The receiving corps features Austin Proehl and Thomas Jackson with "a bunch of guys"—each waiting to seize the audition by the scruff of the neck and prove they're a Bug Howard or Mack Hollins waiting to happen.
"I think there's a lot of guys with names you may recognize from recruiting, but you've never seen them on the field," head coach Larry Fedora says. "It's time for them to step up. It's time for them. It's their opportunity to become a household name."
The template for Carolina football is decidedly different in 2017 than it's been in Fedora's five previous seasons in Chapel Hill. From Gio Bernard to T.J. Logan, from Bryn Renner to Mitch Trubisky, from Jonathan Cooper to Landon Turner, The Tar Heels have always had an established nucleus of offensive players around which to build. That talent inserted as cogs into the machinery of Fedora's fast-tempo spread offense has generated averages of 453 yards and 36 points a game since 2012.
This year it's incumbent on the Tar Heels to be miserly on defense and opportunistic in the kicking game to give the offense time to establish its go-to guys and develop a personality.
Will it find the arm strength and throwing prowess of transfer quarterback Brandon Harris is the answer? Perhaps the confidence and experience of Nathan Elliott, the only quarterback on the roster to throw a pass as a Tar Heel? Will it be the athletic dexterity and running ability of Chazz Surratt? Now that he has a stage, will the gifted receiver Anthony Ratliff-Williams take a bow? Can Juval Mollette harness his length to snag jump balls over the middle? Will tight ends Brandon Fritts and Carl Tucker be the most productive and consistent players? Can the Tar Heels use their superior conditioning to go lickety-split and wear down the opposition?
So many plans, so few answers right now.
"We play better when we go fast, up tempo," says running backs coach DeAndre Smith. "The offense is totally different. We can wear you down. Add the element of the quarterback running the ball, and it's a different offense."
"You'd like to think our tempo could be an equalizer, but the question is, can the young guys get lined up and run the plays without screwing it up?" Kapilovic says. "It's a catch-22. At times we've got receivers panicking when we're going fast. The O-line hasn't played together. So much of O-line play is feel and comfort with the guy beside you. We don't have that yet."
Smith, in his first year at Carolina after replacing Larry Porter, has had to juggle his position considerably with the departures of T.J. Logan and Elijah Hood to the NFL. Sophomore Jordon Brown and freshman Michael Carter are the top two guys in an inexperienced group. Johnathon Sutton, a linebacker last year, and freshman Kayne Roberts, also a linebacker as a senior in high school, have played considerably in camp.
Smith says Brown is a "solid guy, can do it all—he's good in protections, can play third down, can move him around." He adds that Carter is "dynamic with the ball" and is an excellent zone runner. "They can go both do most anything we need them to do," Smith says. "They understand how to run good routes have good hands, both can be valuable like T.J. Logan was."
One thing the offense does have is control over what it does handling and protecting the ball—i.e. runners protecting the ball by keeping the tip up and the elbow locked and quarterbacks not forcing it into tight windows. Turnovers are tracked during every practice and every player on the offense runs 40-yard sprints afterward for each miscue. That means freshman tackle Marcus McKeithan hauls his 330 pounds across the grass under the noonday sun along with the quarterback who made the mistake.
"We win together, we lose together," says QBs coach Keith Heckendorf. "We want the linemen to take ownership and hold those guys accountable, to say, 'That's not acceptable.' Coming from your peers, that means a lot. When they hold each other accountable, that's when you can accomplish something."
Organizing and training this offense is a fluid endeavor, that much is certain. With opening day against Cal two weeks away, the coaches and athletic trainers will soon make decisions on who's ready—and those decisions can and will change, perhaps in the second quarter, perhaps by the Louisville kickoff. Meanwhile, fingers crossed that cornerback M.J. Stewart can snare a few picks and punter Tom Sheldon can control field position.
"Our defense can run, I know that," Kapilovic says. "They're bringing a lot of heat and they're getting to the quarterback. The thing you always wonder: Are they that good or are we that bad?"
You have to plan for both options and everything in between.
Lee Pace enters his 28th year covering Tar Heel football through "Extra Points" and 14th as the sideline reporter for the Tar Heel Sports Network. His book, "Football in a Forest," is available in bookstores across North Carolina and online at www.johnnytshirt.com. Email him at leepace7@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @LeePaceTweet.
