CHAPEL HILL – Will they or won’t they?

Imagine training at the level major college football players do for 48 weeks out of the year, yet as the calendar crept toward September not knowing the hard work would be rewarded with games.

Workouts followed by fall camp followed by, well, classes moving online and the unfogiving uncertainty of whether or not there would be a season have made it challenging for players in ways never before experienced.

That’s the emotional swings the North Carolina Tar Heels – and players at every other school in the nation – have battled over the last several months. Even their phased-in return in June was laced with the aforementioned question.

But it appears that’s no longer an issue. The Tar Heels are closing in on a season-opener versus Syracuse on Sept. 12, a game they’ve been told will take place.

“Two months ago, we were thinking the game could be taken away from us at any point and time, but we were still out there working no matter what,” senior Tomon Fox said. “But now we know that less than two weeks away we’re about to step on the field against another team and we have no doubts in the back of our minds anymore.”

The Orange weren’t initially on the schedule. In a world without COVID-19, the Heels would be in Orlando on Friday facing Central Florida on national TV a week before taking on Auburn in Atlanta. Such an enticing first two weeks of the season were washed away and replaced with a more COVID-controlled 11-game schedule that includes 10 ACC games.

But even that appeared in jeopardy just two weeks ago when UNC’s administration paused all athletic activities for four days causing concern among the players.

“They had to cancel practice for a couple of days and we was wondering, ‘Are we really going to have a season,’” junior wide receiver Dyami Brown said. “But we came back on that Monday, had a meeting and they told us we were going to play and we had nearly two weeks to get ready. So, we kicked it to a whole another gear.”

That gear now includes the team closing out preseason preparation and moving into game-prep mode, which they formally did Tuesday. And with that, they can see a game on the horizon. The Orange are visiting Chapel Hill in just more than a week, and the players can taste it.

“Everybody’s full tilt and we know that we’re going to have a good year this year and everybody is going to play through the whole entire year, and nothing can be taken away from us,” Fox said.

Perspective, however, is important here.

To the outside world, these guys are just a bunch of football players, grunts who want to terrorize one another on the field on Saturdays. But they don't see the depth of preparation these players go through. They invest so much, and that's as much why the uncertainty was such a great challenge.

But full-on football is back, which is why the UNC staff is making this week simulate next week in just about every way possible.

“It's been like a roller coaster for them, and for us, all of us,” Carolina Coach Mack Brown said. “And every day, we're wondering, 'Are we going to play?' Should we play and should we not play and who's playing and who's not playing?' And we felt like that it was really important to get them in a routine.

“So, we want them in next week's routine this week. And we want them to understand that we're starting to get back into the norm, and our normal is preparing for a game. You still got your academics. Everybody's social life has been put on hold, so understand that.”

Next week’s routine is now; a typical game-week that includes practices Tuesday-Thursday gearing toward the weekend.

“We'll take Friday as a walkthrough and then we'll have a situation scrimmage this Saturday,” the Hall of Fame coach said. “So, we’re all about Syracuse as of (Tuesday).”

And they’ve entered this mode anxiety free.