After a 7-6 season in 2019, UNC could potentially look a lot better in 2020
When Mack Brown returned to his team before fall camp, before he knew who he’d select to be North Carolina’s starting quarterback, he said he asked some of the older players which quarterback looked good during their player-led workouts.
There was a three-way competition, and one overwhelming favorite. True freshman Sam Howell.
“Coach, he’s really good,” Brown recalled them saying.
“I got the same answer when I was asking about Colt McCoy a number of years ago because the seniors know, and the older players know and it wasn’t in question,” he added. “So I knew we had something special when I got back in August.”
Since then, Howell has been special. He finished the 2019 season with a program record 38 passing touchdowns, seven interceptions and 3,641 yards passing, which was second best in program history.
He led two fourth-quarter comebacks against South Carolina and Miami to start the season and was a huge reason the Tar Heels were as good as they were this season. He also threw two touchdowns in a narrow 21-20 loss to then No. 1 Clemson.
The Tar Heels finished 7-6 after a dominating victory over Temple in the Military Bowl on Friday.
Now, with at least two more seasons as the Tar Heels’ starter, the future looks bright.
Before Howell, UNC’s quarterbacks had thrown for 35 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in the 2017 and 2018 seasons combined. In 2018, the Tar Heels were especially limited in what they could do in the passing game. Most of their passes were short passes or screens.
But Howell changed that.
He is tied for eighth in the country with 17 passes that gained 40 yards or more this year. He had two receivers — Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome — finish with 1,000 receiving yards and 10 or more touchdowns in the same season.
And two running backs — Javonte Williams and Michael Carter — with at least 1,000 yards from scrimmage.
Howell, Williams, Carter, Brown and Newsome are all eligible to return next season. Newsome and Carter, who are both juniors, can opt for the draft. But both seemed to indicate that they were returning.
When Dyami Brown thinks of this, he gets giddy.
“We can be amazing,” Brown said with a smile. “Now you have something to look forward to. With the first two years, and being 2-9, it’s like, what do we need to work on. Coming out with a winning season, it’s just momentum.”
The same offense
Along with those five key players, the Tar Heels are expected to return four of their five starting offensive linemen, their starting tight end, and Beau Corrales and Rontavius Groves who are their third and fourth-leading receivers.
In all, the Tar Heels will likely return 10 of their 11 offensive starters and a number of other players with experience.
“It’s going to be scary,” Newsome said. “For every defense out there next year that we go against.”
The key position the Tar Heels will have to fill is left tackle. Someone who will have to protect Howell’s blind side. Senior Charlie Heck is the only starter who has used up his eligibility.
Returning on defense
Defense is where the Tar Heels may have the biggest drop off. They will lose at least four starters including their top two defensive lineman in seniors Jason Strowbridge and Aaron Crawford. Those two combined for 95 tackles, six sacks, three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles in 2019.
In some ways, the defensive line is often the most important position on defense. When Strowbridge missed time, UNC was not nearly as good against the run.
But UNC’s coaching staff believe they’ll have the pieces to make up for the losses. Sophomore Raymond Vohasek will likely take one of their spots as a starter. Vohasek showed potential this season.
He finished with 15 tackles in 2019, including five tackles for loss.
Senior safety Myles Dorn and senior linebacker Dominique Ross, who were both key pieces to the Tar Heels’ defense, have also graduated and will move on to the next level.
The good news for the Tar Heels is that they are still expected to return a number of talented players, including linebackers Chazz Surratt, who was first team All-ACC, and Jeremiah Gemmel, and the majority of their secondary. They will also add a few transfers who had to sit out this season due to transfer rules.
The secondary, which had arguably been its weakest unit this season, may be UNC’s deepest position next year. Freshman cornerback Storm Duck, who had an interception return for a touchdown against Temple, comes back. Sophomore cornerback Trey Morrison, who started when he wasn’t injured, is expected to return.
And senior Patrice Rene, who tore his ACL in Week 2, wants to return next year, too.
Junior safety Myles Wolfolk, who led the Tar Heels in interceptions despite playing in less than a third of their games, is also expected to return.
Not to mention, UNC had one of the top recruiting classes in the country. As of Saturday, UNC’s 2020 class was ranked 19th in the country and includes four-star defensive end Desmond Evans, a top 35 ranked player in the country.
‘Up from here’
The expectation for the Tar Heels now is to get better each year.
“Seven’s not enough anymore and you want to go to a bowl every year and get a streak of wins,” Brown said Friday.
The Tar Heels have the talent, and will have the benefit of being in the same system for a second consecutive year. They just have to put it together.
“Like I said, we created our identity for ourselves, and I think the players know what is expected in the years moving forward,” Dorn, the senior safety, said. “They have to go up from here. It’s no backing down or no going the other way.”
UNC’S 2020 football scheule
Sept. 3 or 4 at UCF
Sept. 12 Auburn*
Sept. 19 James Madison
Nov. 7 UConn
Games with dates to be determined
at Duke
at Boston college
at Miami
at Virginia
Georgia Tech
Virginia Tech
Pittsburgh
N.C. State
* neutral site
