CHAPEL HILL – A rainy Saturday morning marked the sixth football practice for North Carolina this spring, as the Tar Heels went to work for a couple of hours inside Kenan Stadium in front of a small contingent of fans.
The practice was open to media and fans, but rain limited attendance, but not much of the media, and certainly not THI, which had five staff members on hand.
Here are some observations from UNC’s practice:
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*UNC announced redshirt freshman jack Malaki Hamrick was “likely out for the season” earlier this week because of a lower body injury. He was at practice standing just inside the tunnel and was on crutches.
*Former CB coach Dre’ Bly was on hand, handshaking and hugging plenty of people – players, parents, HS coaches, and UNC coaches. He was all smiles every time I saw him.
*The rain didn’t affect the practice plan at all. In fact, the staff appreciated a couple of rainy days in the spring and in fall camp in August, because the Tar Heels seemingly have a couple f rain games each season. An estimated crowd of about 500 were on hand to watch the two-hour session.
*After some warmup with the position groups, UNC Coach Mack Brown, who is always mic’d up and talks to the team through the PA system whenever he needs to say something, raised his voice at 10:05 and said, “Game day.”
The players – offense in blue jerseys and white helmets, the defense in white jerseys and blue helmets – got on their sides of the field for stretching, just like in pre-game.
*Now, instead of being on the field, as I usually am when allowed at practice, I watched from just under the overhang at the 50-yard-line. This allowed me to scan the field watching what I wanted, and to also zero in on some guys seeing them from something similar to the vantage point of the press box.
The mission was to intentionally focus on certain players: Spencer Rolland; Willie Lampkin; Alijah Huzzie; Amari Gainor; Travis Shaw; and Ja’Qurious Conley; and unintentionally, because they simply stood out and were hard to miss, Kaimon Rucker, Tez Walker, Nate McCollum, George Pettaway, Cedric Gray, Drake Maye, and Ryan Coe.
A few thoughts on each:
-Rolland is in the midst of his first true offseason in a major college football program. Harvard had offseason programs, but nothing like what ACC teams have, so Rolland already physically looks more like a P5 offensive tackle, and the performance was there today.
We have been told by sources inside the program that Rolland had made tremendous progress, and that his athletic ability, leverage, smarts, and technique made him an NFL prospect, and that he could be the best lineman on the team. What people saw last season from him they can forget, he is much better now and will continue to improve.
That’s what I saw today. He made a really good shade block on a LB in which he didn’t make great contact, but didn’t have to. He did enough to allow the ball carrier to scoot by underneath for a sizable gain.
-Lampkin stands out because I don’t recall seeing an offensive lineman as short as him at this level before. Listed at 5-foot-11 and 290 pounds, he’s a bowling-ball of a player, but the dude is a grinder, too. THI staffer Brandon Peay and I watched him for a while and he was whipping people.
He’s already low at the snap, so he gets up into a d-lineman and can maneuver him well. Brandon will have much more on Lampkin with a coming Peay’s View. Make sure you look for it. But as Brandon said, “There’s a reason he’s here.”
-Huzzie is a thickish corner, and that’s intended as a positive. He kept up nicely a few times on the deep sideline routes not getting muscled off track, which has been an issue for UNC corners in recent years. He has an eye for the ball, and you could see the instincts today.
I watched him a lot in the other practice in which media was allowed to watch, and count me in the impressed corner with respect to Huzzie.
-Gainer reminds me of stud linebackers from the 1980s and early 90s with the slight neckroll he wears and how he carries himself on the field. He is big at 6-fot-3.5, 235, but appears even bigger. Plus, he’s a springy athlete who has the tools to handle the complete role of a jack.
What was really cool watching him is that each time he finished a rep or reps, he went to Gene Chizik, the DC and jack coach, and got a teaching lesson. In fact, one time Gainer got about a 90-second lesson from Chizik, and then followed him around wherever his coach went. Chizik periodically turned to Gainer speaking to him.
There was no jack position at Florida State, and the main reason Gainer came to UNC was to learn the position because it would serve as a stepping stone to the NFL. So class is constantly in session for him, which was enjoyable to watch.
-Shaw has certainly trimmed down. I noted that after watching practice two weeks ago, but it stood out even more today because of where I was perched during practice. His tummy is much smaller and he moves much quicker. Power Echols, one of the four players we spoke with after practice, said Shaw’s improved quickness and absolutely noticeable and because he’s carrying less weight around.
Also, Shaw was talking it up a lot in between reps. And this isn’t just a guy dancing and jawing, he was highly encouraging. At one point, while the entire team was taking a break and getting fluids, Shaw went to each defensive lineman, said something, and did a variety of hand shakes and fist bumps.
-Conley is someone I watched a lot two weeks ago, so I didn’t watch him as much today, but still make a point of checking him out some. Three things stood out: He wasn’t wearing a wrap of any kind on his left knee; He was super quick to the ball; and his nose was in front of the ball carrier when he made contact every time. He looked like pre-injury JQ.
*Some guys I didn’t intentionally focus on, but couldn’t help it because they simply stood out:
-Rucker is just so good. He’s so technically sound, has a great motor, and is simply a football player. He is working only at jack right now, and was always with the ones today. UNC is in very good shape with Rucker and Gainer at jack. It’s an upgrade from last season.
-Walker will be a fan favorite by the end of September. He is fast, looks plenty strong, and it appears he can run all routes and catch all kinds of passes. The projection here is he is Carolina’s biggest go-to threat at receiver this season.
-Fans will really enjoy McCollum as well. He made a terrific play – route, cut, and catch – for a touchdown during one drill in which he sure-handed the ball just inside the back of the end zone. I have really enjoyed watching him in the two practices we’ve been able to see.
-Pettaway’s speed from the second level to the third level is what could eventually set him apart. He is so talented, but is still in the coming-along phase of his career. And that’s okay, he’s still very young and has plenty of football left to play, but when it fully clicks, he has the potential to be a special player.
-This is Cedric Gray’s team, at least on the defensive side of the ball, and really, overall. His voice is impossible to miss at times, and it’s something that hasn’t always been there in this program.
At one point in practice, the entire team gathered in the middle of the field, and the one voice that could be heard was Gray’s, “Are you ready?”
-What can be said about Maye that hasn’t already been said? Well, one of his missions this spring is to improve his footwork, and while I didn’t watch too closely about that, I can say that time and time again, his throws drew my attention. He is so good he makes the backups look like, well backups. And that’s no disrespect to them, he is just an A+ of A+ players.
-I actually intentionally watched Coe early in practice, and can reconfirm he has a big leg. He is also impressive in that he looks more like an FCS linebacker than a placekicker. It’s clear the job is his, and I don’t see him losing it.
*The team worked a lot on the run game, and particularly inside the red zone. One sequence was this, as Brown called out, “Second-and-goal, ball at the 12, three plays to score.”
*Two weeks ago, I noted a new drill I saw from the offensive line was them working on footwork and how to properly move – legs not too far apart, not to close, and one not in front of the other – and today they did another drill darting under high “track hurdles.” This was to teach them to stay low off the snap, which better allows them to get up into linemen, making it easier to maneuver however needed.
*Some special teams notes: Punter Ben Kiernan got off some bombs; the first shield team was Kevin Hester, Jonathan Adorno, and Cayden Baker; the second shield team was Travis Shaw, Ed Montilus, and Justin Kanyuk.
*Depth Chart, and please note this is March 25 and is very fluid. But it’s worth noting:
First offense
Barnes (LT), Lampkin (LG), Gaynor (Center), Adorno (RG), Rolland (RT), Maye (QB), Green (RB), Morales (TE), Walker, Paysour, McCollum (WR).
Second offense
Diego Pounds, Malik McGowan, Chance Carroll, Zach Rice, Eli Sutton, Conner Harrell, George Pettaway, Bryson Nesbit, Andre Greene, Christian Hamilton, Doc Chapman.
First defense
Rucker (jack), Hester, Murphy (middle), Ritzie (outside), Echols, Gray (LB), Boykins (star), M. Allen, Huzzie (CB), Chapman, D. Allen (Safety).
Second defense
Amari Gainer, Kedrick Bingley-Jones/Tomari Fox, Travis Shaw, Beau Atkinson, Deuce Caldwell, Amare Campbell, Hollins, Covazos, Holloway, Conley, Jones.
