CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina’s offensive line doesn’t possess the experience of last year’s group, but it might be better.

That’s what UNC Coach Mack Brown has said since before spring practice started, repeating it often and without hesitation.

Brown said he saw a more physical unit in the spring, was positively surprised by a few players, and he even used the sometimes-dreaded “D” word when offering his thoughts about the group.

“I think we’ll have more depth in the offensive line this year than we’ve had,” he said.

Depth and the o-line was basically a cuss word in Chapel Hill since Brown took over more than five years ago. It gets tossed around each year, not just at UNC, but everywhere. Coaches set out to find eight players they can trust, talk about it over and over, note it when answering questions about their units, and so often fall short.

UNC has been no exception the past five seasons. But considering the Tar Heels lost four starters from last fall’s unit that helped Carolina finish seventh nationally in total offense. So how has the staff gone about creating a reality in which it has more depth there as fall camp is a week away from commencing?

Juxtapose these numbers: departed linemen Ed Montilus, William Barnes, Corey Gaynor, Spencer Rolland and Diego Pounds combined to play 4,000 snaps last season.

Returning to the roster are a combined 984 snaps from Willie Lampkin, Jonathan Adorno, Malik McGowan, Zach Rice, and Trevyon Green. Add transfers Austin Blaske, Howard Sampson, and Jakiah Leftwich, and that’s another 424 snaps, totaling 1,408 among eight players.

Inexperienced, yes, but ready to thrive? Also, yes.

“I say we’re more hungry because a lot of guys are getting their shot,” Lampkin said. “I feel like (we’re) hungry.”

That’s fair, but what else?

Not suggesting last year’s unit didn’t get along at all, but people around the program have said this o-line room is different. Of absolute importance up front is chemistry, and it often starts off the field.

Lampkin was a starter a year ago and now leads that room. He says a broad fondness for one another was long-ago established.

“I feel like everybody has good chemistry,” he said. “Everybody’s talking, being friends, talking junk to each other. And that’s just how we do.”

At just 5-foot-10 and 290 pounds, Lampkin was all-conference three times at Coastal Carolina in the Sun Belt, including Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2022. In his first season at UNC, Lampkin earned third-team all-ACC honors after posting a 76.2 PFF grade playing 816 snaps, of which 622 came at right guard.

Lampkin is a bull. He likes to describe himself as a “road grader,” and along with Blaske, a transfer from Georgia, he’s the leader of Carolina’s o-line.

“I love playing next to Willie,” said Blaske, who’s slated as UNC’s starting center. “He comes with that chip on shoulder every day, comes to work, just goes out there and balls out every day. That’s all you can ask. He’s 5-10, 290 pounds, but he plays like he’s 6-8, 340.”

Blaske graduated from UGA playing in three of the four seasons he was in Athens. So, he has two years remaining, as one of the seasons is the Covid year.

He appeared in 15 games for the Bulldogs, logging 158 snaps. Blaske didn’t allow a sack in 44 pass blocking snaps. Most reps were at tackle, where more pass-rushing pressure comes.

“He’s a tough guy,” Brown said. “At Georgia, he was their sixth guy. He’s come in and really fit in. He’s tough, he’s smart, he just like the one (Corey Gaynor) we just had.”

Leftwich, who has played 659 snaps the past two seasons, didn’t finish his course work at Georgia Tech until the conclusion of the spring semester, so he didn’t take part in spring practice with the Tar Heels. But he should contend for one of the starting tackle spots, which include massive North Texas transfer Howard Sampson and equally massive holdover Trevyon Green.

Both are 6-foot-8, with Sampson weighing 325 pounds and Green tipping the scales at 340, though he said in late spring he’s usually in the mid-350s.

Sampson was recruited to UNT by current UNC offensive line coach Randy Clements, but even with that familiarity, the staff was surprised by what they saw from the sophomore.

“He’s been better than I anticipated coming in,” Brown said.

Green has dropped a ton of weight since Carolina begam recruiting him, and is now starting to tape into his immense potential. He played just 41 snaps last fall, but nobody has been in a rush to get him on the field.

Green acknowledges it’s a big process, as does the staff. But he’s getting there, and perhaps has turned enough of a corner that he could win one of the tackle jobs.

“He’s not a guy that you throw out there and he’s going to be great right now,” Brown said. “But he has improved so much since last year. And he’s staying healthy and he’s managing his weight that we feel like he’s got a chance to be really good.”

Together, Sampson and Green provide something Carolina hasn’t had in a while. They are massive, have the appearance of NFL tackles, and are just creeping into their realms of potential.

“We feel like Howard Sampson has a chance to be real good. I mean, 6-8 and 335; coming off the bus, he looks good,” Brown said, before noting something his wife said. “You put he and Trey Green, walk them in first. Sally said, ‘at least we’d look pretty.’”

That trio likely will man the tackle spots.

The guard spot, aside from Lampkin’s, will have a spotlight on it with intense competition in fall camp. After quarterback, it might be the most interesting battle in August.

For much of the spring, senior Jonathan Adorno was at right guard and Lampkin on the left side But 6-foot-5, 325-pount junior Malik McGowan closed hard and started the spring game on the left side, with Lampkin sliding to the right of Blaske.

However, redshirt sophomore Zach Rice, a former 5-star prospect considered one of the top overall players in the class of 2022, closed the spring making a push at that spot. The battle has continued into the rest of the offseason, and will be a major storyline when camp opens July 29.

Of note, Zach Greenberg, a transfer from Division III Muhlenburg College, could factor into these discussions. He didn’t participate in the spring, as he was finishing school to graduate. But he will get a strong look in August at both guard spots and center.

The youth in the room is strong, headlined right now by true freshman Aidan Banfield, whom Brown said could get on the field some this fall. Until some grabs hold of the other guard spot, the opportunity will be there.

And the opportunity is also there for the offensive line to match Brown’s expectations. Was it coach speak to get fans excited, or is this group gonna surprise a lot of people playing at a high level? That remains to be seen.