The Voice of the Tarheels

It was with great surprise that I read of the retirement yesterday of the voice of the Tarheels, Woody Durham. I treated him about like I did Dean Smith. I figured he would last forever and never imagined the day when he would retire.

Woody Durham got me through most every Carolina football and basketball game in the mid-1970's before the days of ESPN and all of the other sports channels that televise every game. Even recently, I would turn down the volume of Dan Bonner and his anti-Carolina bias, Dick Vitale and his pro-Duke rantings even when Carolina wasn't playing Duke, and Billy Packer and his idiocy and turn up Woody Durham. My wife would always tell me that it was harder for her to follow the action in the game that way because radio and TV are broadcast differently. My reply was I would rather the game be harder to follow and listen to someone that knew what they were talking about than listen to those clowns. He was always worth listening to.

I always used to make sure that I caught the Dean Smith show with Woody Durham as the host every Sunday morning. WLOS-TV out of Asheville carried if for years. They always showed the highlights of the past weeks Tarheel games (with the radio call by Woody Durham) and it was the best thirty minutes on TV.

I had the privilege of meeting Woody Durham after he broadcast his 1,000th game for the Tarheels. It was a basketball game against Clemson in Chapel Hill (we all know how that turned out) and it was the first basketball game I had ever been to in the Dean Dome (or anywhere else for that matter) and Mr. Durham was walking through the stands after the game. I offered my congratulations on this milestone, he shook my hand, and he was very gracious even though I am sure he had other places he needed to be. He was not only the voice of the Tarheels, he was a class act as well.

The Triumvirate Is Complete

The press release that everyone has been waiting for came out of Chapel Hill this morning saying that Harrison Barnes was coming back for one more year of college basketball. Combined with the return of Tyler Zeller and John Henson and the coming of James McAdoo and P.J. Hairston, the 'Heels should be primed for a run at the national title in 2012.

I think Harrison Barnes made a wise decision. I think there are several facets of his game he needs to work on and I truly believe that he wants to win a national championship with the University of North Carolina.

I am sure there are other factors involved such as the potential for an NBA work stoppage, several other players have declared their intention to turn pro this year that increases the competition, and he realizes North Carolina is going to be loaded next year.

The Spring Football Game-Defense

I would love to see the Tarheels defense go back to the ballhawking days of Dre Bly and using the defense to generate some offense. That should have been the case last year but we all know what happened there. The best thing that came out of the mess last year was that it gave several of the Freshmen that probably would have red-shirted alot of game experience.

The defensive line is going to be the strength of this defense. Quinton Coples, Tydreke Powell, and Donte-Paige Moss are all probably going to make some preseason all-star lists and are all poised for breakout years. Coples and Moss both had solid years last year and Moss may finally be living up to the hype he had when he came in as a Freshman. Tim Jackson and Kareem Martin are capable backups that got valuable experience last year and Juco transfer Defensive Tackle Sylvester Williams received alot of spring hype from coaches and players alike.

The linebacking core of Zach Brown, Kevin Reddick, and Herman Davidson are all solid and posess good speed. They are backed up by P.J. Clyburn, Dion Guy, and Darius Lipford. I would love to see the linebackers blitz more and create alot of pressure on the opposing teams quarterback but these linebackers can also run sideline to sideline.

The defensive backfield returns Charles Brown and Jonathan Smith from a year off and they are joined by Tre Boston and Jabari Price as the starters on the spring depth chart. Sophomore Josh Hunter has undergone another position change to Free Safety and made some noise in the spring game with an interception and a pass break up. Mywan Jackson, Matt Merletti, Brian Gupton, and Gene Robinson round out the group. Jackson had a great spring game last year but disappeared once the season began. I believe he suffered a couple of injuries that hurt his playing time.

The Tarheel defense lost alot of talent to the NFL this year for one reason or another but I believe the group they have this year has alot of potential. I believe that it will be alot of "ground and pound" on offense and don't give up the big play on defense and this is a good recipe for a top 20 team and a contender to be in the ACC title game in December.

The Spring Football Game-Offense

A new Quarterback is set to take the reigns for the Tarheels for the first time in 4 years with the graduation of T.J. Yates and it looks to be red-shirt Sophomore Bryn Renner's job to lose. He looked great in last years spring game and I thought he outplayed T.J. Yates. He had another solid spring game this year. Spring games really aren't worth much as far as evaluating talent goes or a good predictor of regular season success.

All of the QB's on the roster are untested with like a total of 6 or 7 career passes attempted so finding a backup is going to be just as important. Braden Hanson, A.J. Blue, and all-everything Freshman Marquise Williams are the candidates and my guess is they will red-shirt Williams. Williams did have a nice 43 yard run on a scramble in the spring game. Blue has the versatility to play running back and operated out of the wildcat formation in his brief playing experience a couple of years ago.

The running game is going to need some of the young players to step up, especially in light of the fact that incumbent starter Ryan Houston broke his clavicle during the game. He had surgery on it today. Red-shirt Freshman Giovanni Bernard was held out of the game for precautionary reasons. The others listed on the depth chart are rarely used Junior Hunter Furr (although he did have some important carries in the Florida State victory last year) and true Freshman Travis Riley who enrolled in January. Fullback is being held down by returning Senior Devon Ramsay.

The offensive line is supposed to be one of the strengths of the team. They average over 300 pounds across the front with quite a bit of experience returning. Several red-shirt Freshmen and walk-ons are listed on the depth chart but some impressive recruits such as Kiaro Holts are coming in to back them up in the fall.

One of the other other positions that brings alot of experience is Wide Receiver. Dwight Jones, Erik Highsmith, and Jheranie Boyd are poised to have solid years. Jhay Boyd is the "X Factor" here. He virtually disappeared after the LSU game last year and the emergence of Dwight Jones. Red-Shirt Freshmen Reggie Wilkins and Sean Tapley have a chance to step up.

Junior transfer Nelson Hurst is the only returning Tight End with a minimal amount of playing time until the Freshmen Eric Ebron and Jack Tabb arrive on the scene. Hurst is backed up by red-shirt Freshman Sean Fitzpatrick. The H-Back position is being manned by Senior Christian Wilson.

I believe the 'Heels will be more of a running team this upcoming season and rely less on the passing game because the offensive line is built to run block. That is where the horses are and Ryan Houston is a big, strong back and if the surgery is successful, he is geared to be the 'Heels first thousand yard rusher since Jonathan Linton in 1997.

Henson, Zeller, and Barnes

It was with great pleasure that I read last week that John Henson and Tyler Zeller announced they were returning to the University of North Carolina to continue their college basketball careers. It really surprised me that they even considered turning pro. I honestly didn't see either one being high draft picks if they even went in the first round.

John Henson needs to get bigger and stronger. He is a great defensive presence but he will get pushed around in the NBA especially on the inside where they don't call fouls. He also needs to work on his offensive game especially with his back to the basket. He is prone to the double team and turns the ball over way too much.

Tyler Zeller is a small forward trapped in a centers body. He has a good inside game but is also prone to the double team. He is not the defensive presence that Henson is and can be pushed around under the basket by bigger centers. Zellers strength is in running the court. He may be the best I have ever seen on the leak out on the fastbreak. I don't think he will get too many of those opportunities in the NBA.

Harrison Barnes is the "X" factor in this group. Most people believe he will be a top five pick in the draft but I don't think he is ready to go pro. His game has alot of holes from his jump shot to his unwillingness to drive to the basket. He used the drive more as soon as the season progressed but he still settled for the jump shot too often. The money, if that is all it is about, will be there if he wants it but it will also be there the year after. I think one factor he needs to consider is the possibility of an NBA lockout.

If Harrison Barnes joins the other two in coming back for one more season, and add the two McDonald's All-Americans coming in, alot of experts are already predicting that UNC would be the preseason #1. Those are lofty expectations and things would finally be back to normal in Chapel Hill.