UNC still has confidence in Barth

North Carolina coach Butch Davis said Wednesday he “absolutely” still has confidence in kicker Casey Barth, despite the fact that the sophomore has missed two field goals from inside 40 yards this season.

But has Barth’s confidence been shaken?

“I don’t know if his confidence has,’’ Davis said. “I know that he’s mad at himself; I think that any kicker would be. Sometimes kickers are like quarterbacks; they’re their own worse critics. They want to be perfect, and I know that he wants to be perfect – he wants to make every kick. When I talk to him about it – like any kicker I’ve had – you talk to him in the context of a golfer that’s putting. You’re sitting there, and as much as you say, ‘We don’t expect you to make 50-footers in golf’, we don’t expect you to make 55-yarders in games very often. You might make some, but the ones … inside of three feet you’d like to make ‘em.

“But still, you see guys that do that for a living, and they still miss them. And it boils down to blocking out all the previous kicks, and it’s fundamentals. It’s your approach to the ball, your trust in the snapper, your trust in the holder.”

Barth was connecting consistently in practice Wednesday. Because of injuries, UNC has already changed field goal snappers this season; Barth has made four of his six attempts.