First Impressions: North Carolina Vs. South Carolina

My first impression of the Tarheels first football game of the season is that it could have been worse than it was. It was the same old story that we saw from the defense the last five games of last year. The only thing missing was the offense that could almost score at will. The final score was only 27-10 but the 'Heels defense was gashed for 228 yards rushing (75 of that on one crushing play after the 'Heels had pulled to within 20-10) to the tune of 6 yards a carry. The offensive line did not fare much better as the 'Heels only had 99 yards rushing and 194 yards passing but only 4.5 yards per attempt. South Carolina had 12 tackles for loss compared to 3 for North Carolina. The 'Heels offense longest play was only 24 yards, a pass completion to Wide Receiver Quinshad Davis at the beginning of the second half. Other than that, the offense did not try to throw the ball down the field. Wide Receivers T.J. Thorpe and Sean Tapley only had 5 receptions for 10 yards. South Carolina is the #6 ranked team in the college football and I was hoping that North Carolina would show the improvement necessary to make themselves a factor on the national scene and in the ACC but they have some work to do. My defensive MVP of the game is Bandit Norkeithus Otis. He had 5 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and the only sack North Carolina registered. He seemed to be around the football the entire game. My offensive MVP would be Tackle James Hurst. He handle all everything South Carolina Defensive End Jadevon Clowney and held down his end of the line with a physical presence that the rest of the Offensive Line needs to learn from.

James Hurst Versus Jadevon Clowney

It was really North Carolina vs. South Carolina but the media likes to highlight the indvidual battles that are existent within the game. The battle between James Hurst vs. Jadevon Clowney never really materialized. I watched the game but from the highlights I saw, James Hurst won that battle hands down. It almost looked like Clowney wanted no part of James Hurst and almost seemed to put forth very little effort when it came lining up against Hurst. There were a couple of times where Hurst seemed to man handle Clowney. He only had three tackles for the game in spite of all of the hype and he had no tackles for loss. Clowney has the potential to be a great player but he was not a great player during this game and the way the rest of South Carolina's offensive and defensive lines handles their opposite lines from North Carolina, he didn't need to be. The media wanted to make a big deal out of Clowney's bad game some even going so far as to say that this game on national TV cost Clowney the Heisman trophy but it is a team sport and South Carolina won the game rather easily. Clowney will garner a lot of votes for the Heisman but with the video game like numbers being put up by offensive players in college football, I believe Clowney winning the Heisman was a stretch.

2013 Football Preview- Running Backs

The Tarheels lost Gio Bernard to the pros (2nd Round, Cincinnati Bengals) after last season. He was their their most versatile running back since Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice. Their are four running backs that are the prime candidates to replace him and two of those are Freshmen. Redshirt Sophomore Romar Morris probably has a skill set the most similar to Bernard and had several good games last season and Senior A.J. Blue is more of a power back and got several starts in Bernard's absence. They are listed as co-starters by Inside Carolina. The two Freshmen are the "x-factors" in this running back equation. Khris Francis was an early enrollee and had over 100 yards in the spring game but displayed a bit of a ball control problem during Spring practice. That will keep him on the bench more than anything. T.J. Logan will not arrive until the Fall Semester but he posted video-game like stats in high school, including over 500 yards rushing and 8 touchdowns in the state championship game. Both Francis and Logan were accomplished receivers out of the backfield in high school and should fit right into the UNC system. Francis may have a leg up since he got a lot of reps in Spring Practice and the Spring Game. T.J. Logan was also an accomplished punt returner in high school so it should be a good battle for depth chart position barring injury.

2013 Football Preview- Quarterback

Bryn Renner is the unquestioned leader of this team and the Quarterback. I cannot wait to see what he can do in his second season in Coach Larry Fedora's high octane offense. He has a full season and a Spring Practice under his belt after finishing very strong in the Tarheels last 5 games last season. I am also looking forward to them really opening up the playbook this season. He threw for a school record 28 Touchdowns last season but he will not have Gio Bernard to hand off or pass to and he was a major weapon out of the backfield. The big question this fall is going to be who is going to be Renner's backup? Marquise Williams got into 9 games as a Redshirt Freshman last season but he was used more for his skill as a runner than he was a passer. He only attempted 17 passes but 29 rushing attempts. Due to academic difficulties, Marquise Williams' loss is True Freshman Mitch Trubisky's gain. Williams was not enrolled in school in the Spring Semester and missed all of Spring Practice. He re-enrolled in school in the first summer session and hopefully will be academically eligible in the Fall. Trubisky threw for over 4,000 yards and accounted for 60 TD's (42 passing, 18 rushing) and was named Ohio's Mr. Football in 2012. He enrolled in the Spring and got a lot of reps in the Tarheels' offense and drew praise from the coaching staff at the end of Spring Practice. He is listed as the backup QB on several preseason depth charts and the co-backup with Marquise Williams according to Inside Carolina. Redshirt Freshman Kanler Coker was in a battle last season with Williams to be Renner's backup but he was redshirted instead. Here is hoping that Renner posts some Heisman winning stats and the question of who the backup is becomes a moot point. How can I mention the Quarterbacks without mentioning local product Caleb Pressley who actually got into a blowout game last year as a walk on and took several snaps but was not allowed to air it out at least once. He did, however, get on the stat sheet.

Football Preview

The 2013 College Football Preview magazines have started coming out and I have read as many as possible from cover to cover. The first one I started with was the ACC Sports Journal. Normally I do not really "scout" the other teams in the ACC but with new additions Pittsburgh (Coastal Division) and Syracuse (Atlantic Division) joining the ACC, I decided it was a good idea to try to familiarize myself with them. The second magazine I bought was the Inside Carolina: 2013 Football Preview. That one is all about the North Carolina Tarheels and gives a position-by-position breakdown by the Tarheel "experts." I also by the special Recruits edition by Inside Carolina. Reading the fall camp reports everyday online and seeing the pics, especially of the Freshmen, is always exciting to me because you never can tell when a Gio Bernard or a Julius Peppers is going to emerge.

The Game Of His Life

Hobbs Johnson did what he had to do. He pitched the game of his life against NC State, leading the Tarheels to a 7-0 victory. He pitched a career best 8 1/3 innings, throwing 132 pitches, all of them fastballs. He gave up 5 hits, 0 runs, struck out 6, and walked 2. Reliever Chris McCue came in to get the final two outs on three pitches. Shortstop Michael Russell drove in the 'Heels first run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 4th inning and two more in the 8th inning, helping the 'Heels to close the door with a four run 8th. Colin Moran went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI's. The Tarheels as a team had six RBI's with two outs. That is the kind of clutch hitting and pitching the 'Heels need to finish out the tournament and bring the College World Series trophy home. UCLA is up next.

Staying Alive

To use the Bee Gees song from the disco era from the 1970's the Tarheels stayed alive in the losers bracket of the College World Series with a 4-2 win over LSU the other day. Their reward is a rematch with the NC State Wolfpack who gave them an 8-1 thumping in the opening game of the College World Series for the Tarheels. Whenever you are in the losers bracket, that is the key is staying alive whether it be winning big, winning close, or winning ugly. The Tarheels are rolling out Hobbs Johnson to start this game but the entire pitching staff will be on call. If the Tarheels are to close out the World Series, they will be playing 6 games in 7 days. That puts a lot of stress on a pitching staff and some of the Tarheels starters are going to have to come up with some big performances.