jhofficial
08-22-2007, 09:16 PM
By H. Williams Kellenberger
Rocky Mount Telegram
Friday, August 10, 2007
North Carolina coach Butch Davis is a lot of things.
He can be charming and insightful. He can also sell his program with the best of them.
Now, as he takes on the challenge of rebuilding the Tar Heels, Davis is having to become extremely patient. That can only benefit his team, albeit far down the road.
These Tar Heels simply are not ready to compete for a BCS bowl. Heck, a berth in the Emerald Bowl should come with a statue of Davis' likeness in front of Kenan Stadium.
A list of North Carolina's strengths is short and painfully sweet.
Defensive lineman Kentwan Balmer and Hilee Taylor should come into their own as seniors.
Connor Barth remains one of the ACC's top place-kickers and should not be affected by the NCAA's decision to move the kickoff back five yards, to the 30-yard line.
The right side of the offensive line, Calvin Dairty and Garrett Reynolds, is formidable.
The group of wide receivers (Hakeem Nicks, Brandon Tate, Joe Dailey, Brooks Foster and Greg Little) are capable of stretching the field.
The linebackers, though, are overmatched. Who knows who will run the ball. Fewer than 10 players know they will be starters come Sept. 1. And the eventual starter at quarterback is probably the third player you'd think of.
The immediate fix was expected to come from a recruiting class that made up for lost times and snared several big names.
Those players, from Little to Mike Paulus to Marvin Austin to Tydreke Powell, were expected to be ready from the first day of practice.
But when fall camp began, only two looked ready.
Little looked every bit like the athletic freak he was proclaimed to be. And Powell was staying low off the blocks, a problem that resulted in Rocky Mount High rushing for more than 400 yards against Powell's Hertford County team last November.
Paulus, however, did not fare so well. Offensive coordinator John Shoop spent the first few moments of last Today's initial practice showing Paulus the correct way to take a snap under center. When Paulus threw the ball to the fleet of receivers, it often missed the target.
Perhaps Paulus, the younger brother of Duke basketball's Greg, is not ready.
Western New York is not exactly the land of big-time high school football, after all.
Austin, Rivals.com's No. 7 overall player in the country, looked overweight and seemed to loaf through drills. There are three weeks left of conditioning to work that out of him, but it's hardly encouraging.
Davis, however, remained upbeat. As he walked Powell, Austin and the rest of the freshman defensive linemen through a bag drill, he looked like a college football coach destined to win a championship. Not only did he explain what each player should do in that drill, he took two minutes to explain why it is important. Then, as the players performed up to snuff, he gave gentle encouragement.
"We'll live with it for the first couple of days, but eventually ..."
H. Williams Kellenberger can be reached at 407-9950 or hwkellenberger@coxnc.com
Rocky Mount Telegram
Friday, August 10, 2007
North Carolina coach Butch Davis is a lot of things.
He can be charming and insightful. He can also sell his program with the best of them.
Now, as he takes on the challenge of rebuilding the Tar Heels, Davis is having to become extremely patient. That can only benefit his team, albeit far down the road.
These Tar Heels simply are not ready to compete for a BCS bowl. Heck, a berth in the Emerald Bowl should come with a statue of Davis' likeness in front of Kenan Stadium.
A list of North Carolina's strengths is short and painfully sweet.
Defensive lineman Kentwan Balmer and Hilee Taylor should come into their own as seniors.
Connor Barth remains one of the ACC's top place-kickers and should not be affected by the NCAA's decision to move the kickoff back five yards, to the 30-yard line.
The right side of the offensive line, Calvin Dairty and Garrett Reynolds, is formidable.
The group of wide receivers (Hakeem Nicks, Brandon Tate, Joe Dailey, Brooks Foster and Greg Little) are capable of stretching the field.
The linebackers, though, are overmatched. Who knows who will run the ball. Fewer than 10 players know they will be starters come Sept. 1. And the eventual starter at quarterback is probably the third player you'd think of.
The immediate fix was expected to come from a recruiting class that made up for lost times and snared several big names.
Those players, from Little to Mike Paulus to Marvin Austin to Tydreke Powell, were expected to be ready from the first day of practice.
But when fall camp began, only two looked ready.
Little looked every bit like the athletic freak he was proclaimed to be. And Powell was staying low off the blocks, a problem that resulted in Rocky Mount High rushing for more than 400 yards against Powell's Hertford County team last November.
Paulus, however, did not fare so well. Offensive coordinator John Shoop spent the first few moments of last Today's initial practice showing Paulus the correct way to take a snap under center. When Paulus threw the ball to the fleet of receivers, it often missed the target.
Perhaps Paulus, the younger brother of Duke basketball's Greg, is not ready.
Western New York is not exactly the land of big-time high school football, after all.
Austin, Rivals.com's No. 7 overall player in the country, looked overweight and seemed to loaf through drills. There are three weeks left of conditioning to work that out of him, but it's hardly encouraging.
Davis, however, remained upbeat. As he walked Powell, Austin and the rest of the freshman defensive linemen through a bag drill, he looked like a college football coach destined to win a championship. Not only did he explain what each player should do in that drill, he took two minutes to explain why it is important. Then, as the players performed up to snuff, he gave gentle encouragement.
"We'll live with it for the first couple of days, but eventually ..."
H. Williams Kellenberger can be reached at 407-9950 or hwkellenberger@coxnc.com