CHAPEL HILL – The players moved out of the hotel back to their places earlier in the week, but fall camp officially came to a close Saturday after North Carolina scrimmaged inside Kenan Stadium.
UNC opened camp July 28 when players reported, and the next day held its first practice. Since then, the team has powered through the grind of training camp, focusing on skills drills, technique, physicality, and jockeying for depth chart positioning.
The Tar Heels are off Sunday and don’t practice Monday since it’s the first day of classes for the fall semester. They return to the practice field Tuesday and to begin preparing for the season opener at Minnesota on August 29.
With the game against the Golden Gophers slated for a Thursday night, UNC’s game-week press conference will actually be Friday the 23rd. Head coach Mack Brown, offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, defensive coordinator Geoff Collins, and likely a few Tar Heels players will meet with the media that day.
A UNC sourse said Saturday the Tar Heels will not release a depth chart for the game because Minnesota has chosen to not release one. Typically, UNC will put one out under Brown, but it’s not mandatory for nonconference games while it is for ACC contests.
Therefore, media and fans probably won’t know who the starting quarterback is until the Heels take the field for their first offensive series.
With camp over, here are some bullet points of relevant information and what we learned over the last few weeks:
*The Minnesota game kicks off at 8 PM EST and will air on FOX. That’s not Fox Sports, but the national network.
*Injury information is difficult to attain during fall camp, especially when the final full scrimmage was held Saturday, and no players were available afterward and no info was leaked. That said, the most notable injury in camp was to starting linebacker Amare Campbell, who broke a bone in his right hand and has been out for about a week. He is not expected to miss the opener, but that hasn’t been ruled out yet.
*Depth behind Campbell and entrenched All-ACC starter Power Echols is a question, though. The room is deep in potential, but it’s awfully young. If Campbell can’t go at Minnesota, expect either redshirt freshman Caleb LaVallee or sophomore Cade Law to start in his place.
*Junior WE Kobe Paysour went down five games into last season with a broken foot. He made progress and was slated to play in the bowl game before breaking the other foot, neither of which were contact injuries. Paysour had a third surgery in the spring but apparently started fall camp healthy. That said, a source in the program says Paysour continues dealing with an injury. We have no other information at this time.
*Defensive tackle Josh Harris has been a pleasant surprise with his maturity, leadership, and performance. Harris spent four seasons at NC State before playing at Ole Miss last season. He is married with two kids (a third is on the way) and has been raved about the last three weeks. Harris started fall camp weighing 350 pounds, but by late this past week was down to 338. He says his playing goal is 330-335 pounds.
*Sophmore defensive end Beau Atkinson had a great camp and could be primed for a big season. He showed plenty of signs last season.
*Kaleb Cost also plays on Carolina’s baseball team and has had a great camp winning the starting spot at the star position. It has allowed UNC’s staff to move DeAndre Boykins back to safety.
*Defensive Line Coach Ted Monachino says his group can possibly go 14 deep, though he’s fully comfortable using 10 or 11 players on a regular basis.
*Monachino says fifth-year defensive end Des Evans has approached fall camp (and the offseason) like a pro, and with them simplifying his responsibility focus, he could take off this season.
*Monachino said junior Travis Shaw has made progress but is still on that track. It appears he is trusted to have more snaps than a year ago (133) but might not be a bulk snap guy yet.
*A concern about not having any running backs behind Omarion Hampton were dashed weeks ago. In addition to the All-America, UNC has Caleb Hood, who is solid when healthy, USC transfer Darwin Barlow, who has become a very well-liked player in the locker room, and true freshman Davion Gause. All four can play, and the thinking here is Gause will definitely get reps, and perhaps more as the season goes on.
*Running Backs Coach Larry Porter is impressed with how well Gause blocks in pass protection. His high school in the Miami area passed a lot and faced plenty of power conference talent, so Gause could find himself on the field early this season.
*Carolina goes two deep at both safety spots and is in excellent shape with its starting corners.
*Who will play behind Kaimon Rucker at the rush position? Jaybron Harvey and Tyler Thompson have shown flashes, but their full readiness for significant snaps if called on remains an uncertainty. True freshman Curtis Simpson followed up a good spring with an even better fall camp.
*Tight end is very deep, and don’t be surprised to occasionally see three on the field at the same time with Jake Johnson and John Copenhaver lining up in 12 personnel and Bryson Nesbit literally as a wide receiver.
*The offensive line goes at least seven deep with a goal of playing up to nine players. The group is inexperienced, aside from Willie Lampkin, but has regularly drawn praise throughout camp. This is the position group with the biggest question mark hovering above. Until we see them play, there’s really know telling how good they are.
*Either Max Johnson or Conner Harrell will take the first quarterback snap at Minnesota. We have maintained for the last week we believed Johnson had the edge, and the last time we were at practice and also spoke with some people who know things, the understanding was Johnson is the likely stater.
*Special teams, in particular the punt unit, has received a great deal of attention throughout the offseason, and certainly over the last few weeks. It appears Tom Maginness has staved off true freshman Lucas Osada for the top punting spot, and the staff has fixed what went wrong leading to a pair of blocks last season.
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