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By Lee Pace
Within the 450 square feet of meeting room space assigned to the defensive ends and tackles on the second floor of Kenan Football Center is a little history, some psychology, some Xs-and-Os, some motivation and, perhaps most of all, a lot of structure and framework.
On one wall is a huge “Fathead” cutout of Julius Peppers, a Tar Heel from 1998-2000, pursuing a quarterback as a Chicago Bear. On another is a collage of images of Tar Heel defensive linemen like Peppers, Sly Williams, Kareem Martin, Greg Ellis and Quinton Coples who’ve gone on to success in the NFL with the tagline “Showtime” emblazoned across the bottom. Yet another assemblage of images displays the players’ figures wrapped around an “NC” logo with the words “D-Line U” and “This Can Be You!” superimposed toward the bottom.
“Usually my seat’s besides the Julius Peppers picture, he’s my favorite player ever,” says sophomore tackle Nazair Jones. “Definitely the pictures are motivation. They define us. It’s why we’re ‘D-Line U.’ We’ve had so many first-rounders sit in the same chairs, in the same room that we have. It’s happened before, and we’re the next ones to carry on the tradition.”
By Lee Pace
Within the 450 square feet of meeting room space assigned to the defensive ends and tackles on the second floor of Kenan Football Center is a little history, some psychology, some Xs-and-Os, some motivation and, perhaps most of all, a lot of structure and framework.
On one wall is a huge “Fathead” cutout of Julius Peppers, a Tar Heel from 1998-2000, pursuing a quarterback as a Chicago Bear. On another is a collage of images of Tar Heel defensive linemen like Peppers, Sly Williams, Kareem Martin, Greg Ellis and Quinton Coples who’ve gone on to success in the NFL with the tagline “Showtime” emblazoned across the bottom. Yet another assemblage of images displays the players’ figures wrapped around an “NC” logo with the words “D-Line U” and “This Can Be You!” superimposed toward the bottom.
“Usually my seat’s besides the Julius Peppers picture, he’s my favorite player ever,” says sophomore tackle Nazair Jones. “Definitely the pictures are motivation. They define us. It’s why we’re ‘D-Line U.’ We’ve had so many first-rounders sit in the same chairs, in the same room that we have. It’s happened before, and we’re the next ones to carry on the tradition.”
