North Carolina 2012 Football Review- Offense

Larry Fedora brought his Red Bull-fueled offense to Chapel Hill in 2012 and I was really curious to see what he could do in a short period of time. Any time a new coach brings in a radically different offense from the previous coach, he is trying to fit his system with someone else's players. Coach Fedora wasn't starting from scratch because he had some great pieces to start with. He had a great offensive line, rated as one of the best units in college football to start the season. He also had Bryn Renner and Gio Bernard in the backfield, both coming off record setting seasons, and a good mix of youth and experience at Wide Receiver. Coach Fedora was placed ina more difficult situation because the 'Heels were facing a "lame duck" situation because of NCAA sanctions. The camp got off to a rocky start as the 'Heels started losing Wide Receivers to injury from about the first day as T.J. Thorpe and Reggie Wilkins went down and depth all over the field became the biggest problem. They ended up having to use players from other UNC sports at Wide Receiver (Mark McNeill, Lacrosse and Roy Smith, Track) just to have depth at Wide Receiver and McNeill and Smith were able to work their way into the rotation during the season. The offense lived up to Fedora's reputation. They scored over 40 points a game and they ran and passed North Carolina's record book thru a paper shredder. The Tarheels finished at 8-4 on the season and were only truly out of one game, that being Georgia Tech. There were not too many dull moments this season either. Gio Bernard had almost 2000 total yards on the season in spite of missing 2 1/2 games on the season. If not for those missed games Gio would have had the kind of stats stuffing numbers worthy of the Heisman Trophy. I would have voted for him anyway. The 74 yard punt return to win the game against NC State was the signature play that set him apart from the rest. He had 1228 yards rushing, 490 yards receiving, and 263 punt return yards. QB Bryn Renner completed 65 % of his his passes, had 3356 yards passing and 28 TD's with only 7 picks on the season. By seasons end, he had a firm grasp on UNC's spread offense. Several other players emerged on the offensive side as well. Freshman Quinshad Davis had a Freshman record 61 catches for 776 yards and tied for the team lead with 5 TD's. Eric Ebron was able to stretch the field from his TE position to the tune of 40 catches and 625 yards with 4 TD's. Although Gio decided to turn pro after his red-shirt Sophomore season, they still have the pieces in place to have another outstanding season next year. Renner will be back, Romar Morris, who has many of the same skills that Gio has, and A.J. Blue return in the backfield, and hopefully injury will not wipe out the Wide Receiver Corps because I am really looking forward to see what they can do.

Game Day vs. Elon

As a fan, I always get nervous before the first game of the season because you never know exactly what you are going to get. This season is much different for the North Carolina Tarheels than any other. New Head Coach Larry Fedora is unveiling a radically different offense and defense than anything the 'Heels have done before. A spread offense that will probably rack up more total offense and rewrite the Tarheel record books. The question I have is this offense going to be able to kill the clock nursing a 3 point lead with about 3 minutes to go in the game. The Tarheels are also unveiling a 4-2-5 defense that is attacking and aggressive and aims to turn defense into offense. Fedora's defense at Southern Miss returned 8 interceptions for TD's last year. It will be interesting to see what happens. The 'Heels have some offensive weapons in place in QB Bryn Renner and RB Gio Bernard. Wide Receiver could be a problem especially with training camp injuries to T.J. Thorpe and Reggie Wilkins. Coach Fedora has stated that he likes to use 8 wide receivers and the Tarheels go into this game with walk-ons Roy Smith and Mark McNeill as #7 and #8. On defense, the 'Heels have defensive lineman Sylvester Williams and Linebacker Kevin Reddick as the feature players but Seniors Dion Guy and Gene Robinson could play prominent roles in the new defense. Guy is playing a hybrid end/linebacker role and Robinson is playing a defensive back/linebacker role. It will be interesting to see how the 'Heels defend Elon Wide Receiver Aaron Mellette who had 113 receptions last year and at 6'4", would represent match up problems for any team. My prediction, UNC 34, Elon 21.

The Tarheel Mess

This is the worst off season for UNC sports that I can ever remember. Tales of academic scandals, bowl bans, and ineligible players have dominated the headlines. Now the focus needs to be what is going right at North Carolina. A new football coach, Larry Fedora, has taken over to put the Tarheel nation back on course with a brand of football never seen before in Chapel Hill. He brings with him a spread offense, a 4-2-5 defense, and positive, Red Bull fueled hyper attitude with him. The biggest problem that Coach Fedora faces is depth, especially at the wide receiver position. In order to run the spread you have to 4 or 5 wide receivers on the field. Freshman Quinshad Davis and Kedrick Davis as well as several walk-ons may be counted on to log some quality playing time, especially with training camp injuries claiming Sophomores T.J. Thorpe and Reggie Wilkins. Running Back seems to be set with Giovanni Bernard, A.J. Blue, and Romar Morris all more than likely getting most of the carries. Quarterback is set with Bryn Renner claiming the starting job but a battle developing for the backup position between Redshirt Freshman Marquise Williams and True Freshman Kanley Coker.

Versus Virginia- The Offense

The offense was much more balanced against Virginia and it looks like a third running back is emerging in the Tarheels backfield rotation. Gio Bernard led the way with 102 yards on 12 carries and got some nice gains early in the third quarter, Ryan Houston only had 17 yards on 9 attempts but scored 2 touchdowns, and A.J. Blue logged some meaningful attempts in the second half, gaining 40 yards on 9 attempts.

I was glad to see Jheranie Boyd finally get some passes thrown his way as he caught his first TD reception of the season and also got a touch on an end around. I wouldn't let speed like that go to waste. Gio Bernard has also shown his value catching the ball out of the backfield but I do believe the 'Heels ran the screen pass one time to many.

I really liked John Shoop's offensive game plan. There were several end arounds that helped keep the defense honest, a halfback pass, and a wide receiver pass that was completed for 36 yards from Reggie Wilkins to Dwight Jones.

Bryn Renner played a solid game but this was more of a case of game management than it was putting up big numbers although he still threw for 2 TD's. He completed over 70 % of his passes and his completion percentage still went down on the season.

First Impressions- Virginia

As a diehard Tarheel fan, I should be ecstatic to be 3-0. I should be thrilled beyond belief that we won our ACC opener against Virginia, a traditional thorn in the Tarheel foot. It was also the first ACC opener they had won in 11 seasons. The thing that bothers me the most is that they should have put Rutgers and Virginia away early in the second half but didn't.

They showed vast improvement over the Rutgers game in three areas. They didn't commit any bad penalties, they forced a few turnovers, and they only put the ball on the ground once. The fumble came at a crucial time as they could have gone up at a minimum 31-10. Instead they let Virginia hang around.

Offensive Coordinator John Shoop's playcalling really stood out in this game. He opened up the playbook like he never has before. Eight different players had rushing attempts in the game. The 'Heels had a halfback option (I don't care what anyone says, A.J. Blue has the strongest arm on the team) and Freshman Wide Receiver Reggie Wilkins completed a pass to Dwight Jones. Jones made a one handed catch while being mauled on the other end of that pass.

James Madison- Part III- The Freshmen

I was surprised to see that 10 true Freshmen got to play in the game against James Madison. That was one of the top numbers in the country. That can be a good and a bad thing. Playing the Freshmen gives them game experience but I wouldn't want to burn a potential Red-Shirt year in a blowout win and that be the only game they play all year.

Three of the Freshmen Tight Ends got to play-Eric Ebron, Sean Fitzpatrick, and Jack Tabb- and Eric Ebron really flipped the James Madison player on the interception return.

The most surprising Freshman that got to play (and the start) was walk-on Punter Thomas Hibbard. He beat out incumbent C.J. Feagles for the job although I am sure it is probably a week-to-week or maybe even a punt-to-punt competition. His first punt was downed at the 1- yard line by Special Teams stalwart Matt Merletti. Although Hibbard later botched a snap and had his punt blocked, he had a pretty good showing.

Freshmen Wide Receivers Reggie Wilkins, Sean Tapley, and T.J. Thorpe mostly got to play on Special Teams although Wilkins had one carry for nine yards.

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.