CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina held its eighth football practice of the spring Saturday inside Kenan Stadium, and it concluded with the Tar Heels scrimmaging for the last hour.

THI was on hand for the entire practice, and below are some observations of what we saw. We will focus on the offense in this piece, and next will be the defense.

*Over the first half hour-plus, the team was broken up into position groups and did a variety of drills, though late in this period the offensive line and defensive line were together and had some intense competition.

*Quarterback: The QB rotation right now is Sam Howell, Jacolby Criswell, Drake Maye, and Jefferson Boaz. Howell just looks really good, as one would expect, but in the scrimmage he had about a 55-yard scramble up the gut for a touchdown in which he displayed some quickness and speed getting through the second level of the defense.

Obviously, he wasn’t going to be tackled, so perhaps a defender or more could have closed in on him, plus the play was called back because of a holding call. But, it was an impressive moment for a player who continues to add to his game.

Criswell looks confident, in command, and he throws a nice ball. He looks ready in many respects. He threw a beautiful TD pass to John Copenhaver that was a really nice play on both parts. Maye threw some really nice passes and he has a long stride that made it look like he wasn’t fast on a play in which he just took off. But he is fast with an impressive stride. He did throw a pick (Dae Dae Hollins) in which it appeared Hollins’ quickness breaking on the pass is something Maye is still getting used to. It will server as a terrific film room moment.

*Running Back: Don’t put too much stock into rotations in the spring, but at the same time, the rotations today looked an awful lot like the depth chart. The rotation today was Ty Chandler, D.J. Jones, Josh Henderson, Elijah Green, Caleb Hood, and British Brooks.

Ty Chandler went first in drills and also first in the scrimmage. We also finally got a chance to see that speed Mack Brown has been talking about. He ran around left end on a play in which he turned up field and darted past a few very quick and fast defenders. That was impressive.

In addition, Chandler was more vocal with his group during drills before the scrimmage. It was his eighth practice now at UNC, so he’s clearly getting more comfortable, and as that happens it makes sense to hear him be more vocal.

It is hard to not like Jones more each time we see him. He has all the tools and just looks the part. He’s fast, cuts well, has nice body balance. Jacob Turner said he reminds him a little of Michael Carter, and I can see some of that as well. I said on a podcast two weeks ago he reminds me in a small way of Eric Dickerson, too. He’s really just D.J. Jones and it appears as if he’s going to play a lot this coming season.

Josh Henderson came in as a 4-star prospect, but today may have been the first time he’s looked like a 4-star kid to these eyes. That isn’t a knock on him, we just haven’t seen a whole lot of Henderson, and even in the bowl game, that was a very tough assignment. There’s no guarantee Carter or Javonte Williams would have looked like studs against A&M. His burst of speed on a 53-yard TD run generated some noise from the offense and was rather impressive.

Tight End: This is another room deep in talent, though Garrett Walston is the only player with a lot of experience. Kamari Morales had some really nice plays when we saw practice two weeks ago and did so again today. On one play in the scrimmage, he caught a pass over the middle, turned up field, cut to his left and then shifted back to his right and ended up gaining an additional 10-12 yards. He looks plenty ready to play a lot.

John Copenhaver looked good two weeks ago and did again today. He had the TD catch from Criswell, but also did some other nice things. Kendall Karr made a really nice catch on a play as well. This room has some dudes who can play, plus Bryson Nesbit is coming in this summer. Tight end is not a problem for the Heels.

Wide Receiver: The rotations here varied with the exception that the starters right now clearly are Josh Downs, Emery Simmons, and Antoine Green. But keep in mind, Beau Corrales is doing some stuff this spring but didn’t participate in the scrimmage and he will be a starter in the fall. Also, Khafre Brown is out this spring but will be back in the summer. He is a likely starter, as well.

What stood out today were Stephen Gosnell and Justin Olson. Gosnell is a player. He made a terrific diving catch, controlled the ball and held on to it as he hit the ground. He looks like someone who can run a lot of routes and can make toughness catches, but there’s plenty of finesse and seed there, too.

Olson wasn’t all that decorated when he came in, but he inched close to the rotation last fall and just has a reliability thing about him. Really good hands, breaks well, and runs sharp routes. He showed some speed getting open on one play. Keep an eye on him when the fall comes.

Gavin Blackwell ran with the second team for a stretch in the scrimmage but it was hard to get a read on him. He was out there with Olson and Gosnell.

Offensive Line: Same starters as expected with Joshua Ezeudu out for the spring. Asim Richards LT, Ed Montilus LG, Brian Anderson C, Marcus McKethan RG, Jordan Tucker RT. This is such an impressive group, but what is most interesting about the OL this spring is the potential for depth.

Brown, offensive coordinator Phil Longo, and offensive line coach Stacy Searels say they want to go eight deep, though both Brown and Longo have recently said getting to 10 with this group is within reach. They are absolutely right.

Quiron Johnson is trusted as a backup center and he can play guard. Jonathan Adorno has gained plenty of trust and is getting close to the rotation. Williams Barnes has come up a few times when speaking with Brown, and he is looking more comfortable as the backup right tackle than at any time since he arrived. He once again looked good Saturday.

Add Wyatt Tunall to the list and at some point Cayden Baker, Malik McGowen, and Diego Pounds could be in the conversation. We’ve been hearing some things about McGowen and got to see some of it today. He is starting to look the part. It is safe to say this room is in better shape than it has been in years, perhaps many years.

The white team (second) OL in the scrimmage was Baker LT, McGowen LG, Adorno C, Johnson RG, Barnes RT. Note that Johnson rotated between center and guard.

The offense is loaded, but will rely on some young skilled guys and a grad transfer. Chandler totally looks the part, DJ Jones does, too, and Henderson was impressive today. The WR room has plenty of guys, and when at full strength will be really good. We didn’t see much from Josh Downs today, but Mack Brown calls him “great” every time he talks about him, so expect a lot from Downs.

The o-line is loaded and will have depth, and if Howell ever goes down, the QB position should be in solid shape, especially after Criswell and Maye get more practice reps. The Tar Heels have seven more practices this spring, including the game, plus four weeks once August hits before the opener at Virginia Tech. So Criswell, Maye, the RBs, and younger WRs have plenty of time to get ready to be counted on when called on. The Heels are in excellent shape offensively.