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CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina training and medical staffs are certainly earning their keep these days, as multiple Tar Heels are dealing a variety of ailments that will keep them from spring practice entirely or partly, as the Tar Heels take the field next Tuesday for the first time.
UNC Coach Mack Brown met with the media Tuesday to offer a thorough update on where the program stands with spring practice on the horizon, and among the many things he dove into, injuries and the number of players affected was one of them.
By THI’s count, Brown noted 15 players that are affected in some capacity. Here we will note each other players and their availability for this spring.
The Tar Heels open practice March 1 and will hold their annual spring game April 9 at Kenan Stadium.
Two players, offensive linemen Trey Zimmerman and Wyatt Tunall, have taken medical redshirts and will not play again.
Of the 13 players remaining on the roster limited or not available at all this spring, 11 are defensive players.
“We'll have more limited contact on defense because we’ve got more guys out,” Brown said Tuesday in a press conference advancing spring practice. “And that's a little bit of a problem because we've got to tackle better.”
Brown saw a positive to this, however.
“But it'll also, since some of the starters will be out with injuries, it's going to give other guys an opportunity to step up and play,” he said. “So that's going to be good to be able to watch them and force us to put guys out there that need to get more experienced because you're not winning games in the spring.”
Out completely this spring on defense are graduate nose guard Ray Vohasek, defensive lineman Jahlil Taylor, safety Ja’Qurious Conley, safety Gio Biggers, cornerback Dae Dae Hollins, defensive lineman Kedrick Bingley-Jones, and end outside linebacker junior Kaimon Rucker. All but Taylor and Bingley-Jones have started at least multiple games previously for the Tar Heels.
Limited at first, but should be able to handle contact later in the spring, are linebacker Ethan West, defensive lineman Tomari Fox, defensive back Don Chapman, and cornerback Storm Duck.
“A lot of these guys had a lingering injury in the fall,” Brown said. “And they just fought through it and said that they'd get it fixed after the season, but they wanted to make it through.”
On the offensive side of the ball, wide receiver Justin Olson, who started the second half of the season, will be limited when spring practice begins, and tight end Kendall Karr is out for spring. He missed last season with an injury as well.
With building depth a major mission this spring, and that Brown and Gene Chizik, who now runs UNC’s defense, want to use 22 players on that side of the ball in games, the noted players missing all or much of spring could speed up the process in getting deeper.
“For our staff, this will be the most anticipated spring practice I've been in, including the first one that we got here because we had so many people out,” Brown said. “Then, we're going to get to look at a lot of new young guys. So the fact that Ja’Quarious Conley, Gio Biggers and Hollins are out, we know what they do.
“So, we need to see what these young ones can do.”
Carolina is coming off a disappointing 6-7 season that included a 38-21 loss to South Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
UNC's Pre-Spring Practice Injury List
Trey Zimmerman - Medical
Wyatt Tunall - Medical
Kendall Karr - Out
Ray Vohasek - Out
Dae Dae Hollins - Out
Kaimon Rucker - Out
Ja’Qurious Conley – Out
Gio Biggers – Out
Jahlil Taylor – Out
Kedrick Bingley-Jones – Out
Justin Olson – Limited at first
Tomari Fox – Limited at first
Storm Duck – Limited at first
Don Chapman – Limited at first
Ethan West – Limited at first
*Deana King contrinuted to this piece.
