Tarheels In The Draft

Eric Ebron led the Tarheels parade to the NFL by being the #10 overall pick in the First Round by the Detroit Lions. Ebron and Calvin Johnson on the field at the same time should give defenses in the NFC Central something to think about. Kareem Martin lasted until the Third Round when he was selected by the Arizona Cardinals. The next Tarheels were drafted in the 4th Round. Center Russell Bodine went to the Cincinnati Bengals and Tre Boston stayed local, going to the Carolina Panthers. Jabari Price lasted until the 7th round when he was selected by the Minnesota Vikings. The big surprise was that James Hurst was not drafted at all so the Baltimore Ravens got a steal when they signed him as an Undrafted Free Agent. Bryn Renner gets to try to take the next step in his career with the Denver Broncos. He signed with them as an Undrafted Free Agent and stands an excellent chance of making the team. Who better to learn the Quarterback position from than Peyton Manning?

The 2014 NFL Draft

The UNC Tarheels will be represented in the 2014 NFL Draft. Tarheel Tight End Eric Ebron is expected to go in the First Round, possibly being a Top Ten pick. Defensive End Kareem Martin is expected to go in the 2nd/3rd Round as is Offensive Lineman James Hurst. Quarterback Bryn Brenner has impressed in his pre-draft workouts and is being seriously looked at by the Minnesota Vikings who neeed help at that position. Center Russell Bodine is predicted to go in the last couple of rounds after declaring for the draft a year early. Defensive Backs Tre Boston and Jabari Price and Defensive Lineman Tim Jackson and Running Back A.J. Blue will at least get Free Agent looks after the draft is over. Good luck to all the 'Heels in this years draft.

Bowl Eligible

North Carolina won their sixth game of the season against Old Dominion by a final score of 80-20 and became bowl eligible in the process. It was also their fifth win in a row. Old Dominion was not a bad team. They were 8-3 coming into the game, they played the same up tempo style that the Tarheels do, and their Quarterback had thrown for almost 4,000 yards. There were too many stars and outstanding plays in this game to mention all of them. QB Marquise Williams passed for over 400 yards and 5 TD's, Freshman RB T.J. Logan ran for 137 yards on only 14 carries and scored 3 TD's as well as returning a kickoff 99 yards for a TD. Freshman Wide Receiver Ryan Switzer had a career day receiving with 5 receptions for 118 yards and 2 TD's and he returned another punt for a TD giving him 4 in three games tying an ACC record, Wide Receiver Quinshad Davis had over 100 yards receiving and a TD, and Freshman Running Back Khris Francis scored his first rushing TD on the season. On defense, Senior Defensive End Kareem Martin continued his stellar play adding two more sacks giving him 11 on the season. The Old Dominion Head Coach asked Coach Larry Fedora to cut the 4th Quarter to 10 minutes and Fedora readily agreed. It was a class move by both coaches and nothing was going to be gained by playing 5 more minutes. The Tarheels were driving for another score towards the end of the game when Larry Fedora called off the dogs and had Caleb Pressley take a knee on 4th down at the 10 yard line after taking a delay of game from the three on the play before. As a UNC fan, it would have been nice to see the 'Heels set the ACC record for points in a game (the record is 82 by Clemson in 1981 against Wake Forest) although the 'Heels did set a school record for points in a game but I applaud the sportmanship shown by both coaches. That is rare to see at any level of football any more.

Switzer Saves The Day

The North Carolina Tarheels evened their record at 5-5 with a hard fought 34-27 win over the Pittsburgh Panthers yesterday at Heinz Field. The Tarheels raced out to a 24-3 halftime lead on the strength of 2 Marquise Williams rushing TD's and a Ryan Switzer 65 yard punt return for a TD. The 'Heels tacked on a Field Goal to start the scoring in the Third Quarter and make it 27-3 then had to hang on. Pittsburgh tied it up at 27 and then Ryan Switzer returned a second punt for a TD in the game, this one a weaving, field crossing, 61 yarder. The 'Heels still had to make a couple of defensive stands, the last one a fourth and one on their own 26 yard line with 1:12 to go in the game. It wasn't pretty but they won their fourth game in a row and now only need to win one of their last two to become bowl eligible. The Tarheel defense, in particular Kareem Martin, played a solid game and had 7 sacks in the game, with Kareem Martin getting 3 1/2 of those. Cornerback Terry Shankle led the team with 8 tackles and had 2 sacks.

Previewing Virginia

The University of Virginia Cavaliers is game #1 in the 'Heels quest to make a bowl game. It is homecoming for North Carolina, Marquise Williams gets his second start of the season and all of the snaps will belong to him unless another injury occurs, North Carolina's defense is playing better football, and UNC's running game is showing signs of life and Williams provides an additional threat running the ball from the QB position. Virginia is a little bit of a "wild card" for North Carolina. They are 2-7 and 0-5 in the ACC. They have nothing to lose and you don't know what you are going to get. Are you going to get a Virginia team that tries to exploit North Carolina's weakness against the run or are you going to get the Virginia that passed the ball 61 times a game or two ago? The bigger worry is that they completed 43 of those 61 passes. North Carolina should win and I expect them to win. Renner being out will hurt the passing game as he is a more precision passer than Williams. The running game should be better as Williams provides an additional threat. Defensive End Kareem Martin has been playing the kind of football everyone expected from him at the beginning of the season. He leads the team with 5 1/2 sacks and has putting intense pressure on the opposing QB's in the past three games. The defense has been opportunistic and has been intercepting the ball with more regularity thereby giving UNC more posessions. Its basic football 101- limit the turnovers and penalties and play opportunistic football and that should equal a UNC win.

A Complete Game

The Tarheels played the most complete game they have played all season in their 34-10 win over the Boston College Eagles yesterday. The Defense played an impressive game with the exception of the 56 yard TD run by Andre Williams in the First Quarter. Take away that run and Boston College only averaged about 4 yards a carry. They held BC QB Chase Rettig to 57 yards passing on 10 completions and applied constant pressure on him all day long, tallying 4 sacks, 2 by Senior Defensive End Kareem Martin. Freshman Mikey Bart, getting his first career start, got his first career sack on a Fourth Down in the Fourth Quarter. The Offense used a true two Quarterback System for the first time with Bryn Renner and Marquise Williams sharing the playing time. Marquise Williams provides a change of pace as he is more of a threat to run as he led the team in rushing yards with 55 on 7 carries and a TD. He also threw a 17 yard TD pass to Johnathan "Bug" Howard. Howard had 2 TD catches in the game. Bryn Renner went 18 for 21 for 227 yards and 2 TD's and he passed 8,000 yards for his career. The UNC run game was still anemic with 110 total yards and only about 2.5 yards per carry. 7 Tarheels ran the ball, including Tight End Eric Ebron. None of the Tarheels four Running Backs- AJ Blue, Romar Morris, Khris Francis, or TJ Logan- have really stepped up to take charge and become the "go to" back. Wide Receiver Ryan Switzer caught his first career TD pass from Bryn Renner, a 13 yard catch in the First Quarter. Eric Ebron only had 4 catches for 68 yards but he was impressive with his blocking and his running after the catch. The 'Heels have the slimmest of chances at a bowl game but they have to win out in order to do so. Yesterday was a good start.

Playing For Pride

At 1-5, UNC's football season is in dire straits. If they win out, they could make a bowl game. Their play has been much improved against better competition in Virginia Tech and Miami but they cannot seem to make those one or two big plays they need to put them over the top. I believe the loss to East Carolina did more psychological damage than anything. Senior Defensive End Kareem Martin had his best game of the year with 4 tackles for loss and 1 sack. Once again, Tarheel defensive backs led the team in tackles and that means that the opposing runners are making it to the second and third levels before they are getting stopped. That was evident the entire second half against Miami. The Miami also saw the debut of Tarheel Freshman T.J. Logan as the starter at Running Back. He had 16 carries for 61 yards but he displayed some of the elusiveness that made him such a highly sought after recruit and he hung in there against blitzing linebackers and tried picking up blocks to allow Bryn Renner time to throw.

Midseason report card

I have to give the Tarheels an "incomplete" for the midseason grades and I might as well give them an "incomplete" on the season as well. This grade is a direct result of the NCAA and academic mess that has become North Carolina Tarheel football in 2010. These problems are going to reach much farther than 2010. The 'Heels have been forced to play some freshmen, especially on defense, that more than likely would have been red-shirted this season. Players like Tre Boston, Jabari Price, Tim Jackson, and Kareem Martin could have used a year in the weight room but instead they are logging major minutes on the field. I must admit that coming into the season i believed that Quarterback T.J. Yates would have been supplanted by Redshirt Freshman Bryn Renner by the 3rd or 4th game. I have never been fond of Offensive Coordinator John Shoop's play calling, I think Yates holds on to the ball too long, and I don't understand half-ass play fakes on 3rd and 10, but throw in do everything back Johnny White and their offense has been better than expected. The suspensions have particularly hurt the defense but they have not played badly either. All of this basically adds up to a 4-3 record and makes you wonder "what might have been?" and I really hate that.