UNC football ready for raised expectations as spring begins
North Carolina began its spring football practice on Tuesday with head coach Mack Brown breaking down NCAA men’s basketball tournament upsets as a teaching tool.
For instance, was No. 15 seed Oral Roberts just as good but not publicized as much, or did No. 2 seed Ohio State show up to Indianapolis unprepared to play? It was a question the Tar Heels had to ask themselves last season when they took a No. 5 ranking into their meeting with Florida State and left Tallahassee with a 31-28 loss.
“We’ve talked a lot about the the NCAA basketball tournament,” Brown said. “How does the expectation of someone who is not very good beat someone who is supposed to be really good?”
Carolina is supposed to be that really, really good team next season. Quarterback Sam Howell already has a Heisman Trophy campaign beginning in earnest. The defense returned all of its starters except for linebacker Chazz Surratt. While they will have to make up for the departure of 1,000-yard rushers Michael Carter and Javonte Williams and 1,000-yard receiver Dyami Brown, the Tar Heels proved in their loss to Texas A&M without that trio that they still maintained big-play potential.
The Heels will most likely be ranked in the top 10 in preseason polls after an 8-4 season ended in the Orange Bowl, making it one of the most-anticipated seasons in program history.
To get the Heels ready to handle the expectations and pressure that comes with a lofty status, Brown said he’s not being any more demanding than he’s been since he returned to coaching two years ago. It’s the players who are being more demanding of themselves.
“Our job is not to ‘just to try to win all the games,’ our job is to be as good as we can be,” Brown said. “And if we’re as good as we can be and it’s not good enough, then then we’ll keep working to recruit better. We’ll coach harder. We’ll do better.”
The first day of spring practice, the team is required to stay in shorts only. Brown said even with that backdrop it was “the best practice. I’ve been around since we’ve been here.”
“Hopefully that’ll continue,” he said. “And I thought it was because they understand that there’s a different expectation.”
Updated goals
Brown spoke to reporters on a video conference for about 45 minutes, covering a wide range of topics, including his spring practice goals for each unit. Brown’s overriding goal for the spring is to develop enough depth to where there’s no drop off when reserves come in from off the bench.
He’d like the offense to take fewer sacks and improve on red zone and short yardage plays. He’d like the defense to produce more sacks from individual players without having to rely on the scheme to produce them. And he’d like the defense to produce more turnovers.
“What we do in the spring I think is going to show in the season because we have a lot of young guys that are gonna have to step up and play for the first time this year,” quarterback Sam Howell said. “So I think we’ve got to take the spring time serious and really make sure we’re taking advantage every single rep we get.”
The Heels aren’t taken anything for granted after the COVID-19 pandemic caused last year’s spring practice to be canceled and forced players to train on their own, and away from campus. That proved to be the biggest impediment to Carolina’s progress last season. UNC never did get the depth on the offensive and defensive lines that Brown had hoped to get.
“We saw the lack of development in so many areas with those guys last year,” Brown said. “We saw the offseason program was decimated because guys had to be at home and they had to figure out ways to work out and run.”
Protocols will still have a heavy presence as Carolina takes to the practice field. The team is still getting tested, albeit only twice a week compared to a third testing during the regular season. They’re still wearing masks and trying to be diligent about washing their hands and staying socially distant, as Brown again invoked the NCAA Tournament to make a point.
VCU had its first round game against Oregon canceled when it had some players test positive after arriving in Indianapolis. The virus is still very real and Brown said his team will continue to be disciplined about following their safety protocols.
If nothing else this spring, UNC is taking their preparation seriously. Brown said they broke the team up into groups and had a competition where points were earned doing little things like eating the right foods everyday, never missing tutoring sessions and showing up to class on time. The winning group, led by center Brian Anderson, developed a chat to hold each other accountable. It’s what Brown said he hopes the players continue to do without needing the coaches to interject.
“I don’t think we can demand more or push them harder, because we’ve done that for two years,” Brown said. “I think they see the opportunity to take another step and that’s what we’re constantly talking about.”
NOTES
- Offensive lineman Josh Ezeudu (lower body), defensive end Tomari Fox (upper body), and defensive back Javon Terry (lower) are out for the spring with injuries.
- Offensive lineman Wisdom Asaboro (upper), defensive lineman AJ Beatty (upper), receiver Gavin Blackwell (upper), receiver Beau Corrales (upper), and tight end Kendall Karr (lower), linebacker Tyrone Hopper (lower), safety Trey Morrison (upper), defensive lineman Clyde Pinder Jr. (lower), and linebacker Ethan West (upper) are all listed as limited, but expected to return before the end of spring practice.
- The spring game is scheduled for April 24 at 3 p.m., and will be televised on the ACC Network. Brown said the school was still working with the state to determine the amount of fans it can accommodate.
This story was originally published March 24, 2021 at 6:00 AM.