CarolinaBlue.com associate editor Adam Powell answers your questions about North Carolina basketball and football in another installment of the Mail Bag. This week's edition includes possible "Late Night with Roy" visitors, and speculation on who UNC's next commitments might be, both on the hardwood and gridiron.

We know that 8 freshmen played last week but how many do you see contributing throughout the season? Do you see players such as (Tydreke) Powell, (Ryan) Houston, (Rashad) Mason, etc. playing, or is Butch Davis content with his current rotations (barring any injuries of course)?

The answer to your question lies heavily in the team's current depth. The Tar Heel coaches would love to save players like Powell and Mason, who have a great deal of talent but could use a year of seasoning in practice, while also getting adjusted to the rigors of the classroom. Given UNC's depth at both defensive tackle and wide receiver, it makes more sense to think that Powell and Mason will redshirt over Houston, who plays a position where the depth remains unclear. Between the three, I think it's much more likely that Houston will play this year, where he could serve well as a short-yardage and third down kind of back. That's not to say that Powell and Mason won't see the field this season, but I believe it's most likely that those guys will redshirt, of course barring injuries like you indicated.

Coach Davis indicated during the week that UNC will be rotating multiple players into the rotation at SAM, in hopes of finding someone that can serve as a viable backup option to Carter. Paschal has the most experience at linebacker, but he is already serving as Wesley Flagg's primary backup at MIKE, and the reality is that he has spent most of his time playing in the middle, which means a transition for him could be more difficult than a player like Quan Sturdivant. In his first year of college, Sturdivant is still learning the fundamentals of playing linebacker in college, no matter which position it may be, and the transition could be easier for him as opposed to changing positions three seasons into his career, as it would be for Paschal. Another possibility at the position is senior Martel Thatch, who has some experience but not at linebacker (he converted from the secondary in the spring). I do not expect Garrett White to move back to linebacker, as he has settled well into defensive end, and is going to get playing time there this fall.

At this point in time, the UNC coaches are being very close to the vest in terms of how they will handle the true freshmen that haven't yet played. In Paulus's case, they do not want to lose his focus and dedication in practice this fall, so it's extremely unlikely that they will tell him earlier in the season that he's redshirting, whether that's what they intend to do or not. Sexton, with his experience, is a more natural fit right now for the No. 2 job at quarterback for the Tar Heels, but the real question is whether or not Paulus takes advantages of his opportunities to get better in practice, and proves to the coaches that he's more ready to take the field and run the offense than Sexton. If that happens, and the UNC staff feels that it needs to make a change at quarterback, then it's likely Paulus won't redshirt.

However, I get the feeling that the coaches are hopeful that T.J. Yates can assume the responsibility all season, and they can allow the current setup to remain as-is. As to the spirit of your question, I don't necessarily think it's fair to assume that Paulus will redshirt just because Sexton played over him against James Madison. As the season progresses, Paulus may have what it takes to supercede Sexton and get on the field, although the staff would probably prefer that didn't happen in order to preserve his redshirt. The bottom line, however, is that the Tar Heels will throw Paulus into the game if they think he is the quarterback most capable of leading the team, which is why it's preliminary to automatically assume he'll redshirt.

Who do you do you think will be the next Tar Heel commit? football and basketball?

It's difficult to say in football, because the program has multiple targets coming on visits in the coming weeks, and any one of them could decide to commit. In my opinion, the next UNC football commitment will come from a group consisting of Jamal Womble, Reggie Bowens, Tony Morgan, and Kevin Reddick. Each of those players are expected to be in Chapel Hill for visits over the next month, and any one of them could feasibly pull the trigger and commit, although it's hard to say which one will come first. Miami duo Travis Howard and Etienne Sabino may also make that list, but it appears their decisions are more likely to come later in the fall than some of the guys making visits to UNC in September and October.

In basketball, I personally feel that the Tar Heels have a respectable shot of locking up combo guard Iman Shumpert on his official visit to UNC next weekend. Shumpert, who has the Tar Heels in his top three along with Georgia Tech and Marquette, was waiting for months for an offer from UNC, and now that he has it, he can expect to get the red-carpet treatment from Roy Williams, the UNC coaches, and the Tar Heel players. Shumpert has been to both Marquette and Georgia Tech on visits before, but he has yet to experience Chapel Hill, and everything that comes along with becoming a Tar Heel basketball player, which could prove to be quite the eye-opening experience for the Illinois native. It has proven difficult for many players in recent years, including Deon Thompson, Alex Stepheson, and Brandan Wright, to say 'no' to Williams coming off the official visit.

Tyler Zeller, in my opinion, is much less likely to commit after the official visit than Shumpert, because he has several additional officials scheduled to places like Notre Dame and in-state programs Indiana and Purdue. Roy Williams does get the last in-home visit in early October, which is a plus, but for the purposes of answering the question, I would say that Iman Shumpert is the likeliest player to become North Carolina's next basketball commitment.

I think North Carolina is in good shape with Wilmington (N.C.) Hoggard interior lineman Jonathan Cooper, and while he's got several other visits planned, the Tar Heels are sitting well with him. In terms of their other top prospects, Memphis (TN) Evangelical Christian's Barrett Jones and Lynchburg (Va.) Liberty Christian's Bobby Massie both have UNC in their respective top fives, and plan to make official visits this fall. Jones could take a visit during the season, while Massie is more likely to wait until after his high school season comes to an end. Both of those players are looking hard at other schools, and while it's certainly possible that UNC may miss out on both of them, there is a realistic chance that one or the other of them could be sold on coming to Carolina.

UNC's other top tackle prospects, Columbia (S.C.) Flora's Kenneth Page and Concord (N.C.) Robinson's R.J. Mattes, are long-shots at best to play at Carolina. Page still has several schools he's considering, including in-state rivals Clemson and South Carolina, while Mattes, at least for the time being, appears more drawn to Clemson and Virginia.

The UNC staff has been telling prospects that they would like to sign two offensive tackles in this year's class, so the reality is that they may not get three signatures from 'hogs' on Signing Day this year. With so much depth up front, however, they can probably get by with bringing in just two more offensive linemen. If I had to make an educated guess, I'd say the best likelihood of a two-player class of linemen would be Cooper and either Jones or Massie.

What players, if any, will be coming to Late Night with Roy?

We know that the Tar Heels will be entertaining Oklahoma City (OK) Putnam guard Xavier Henry at "Late Night," and there's a pretty good possibility that 2008 commitment Ed Davis will be on-hand as well. Although 2009 prospect Dexter Strickland is not expected to make it to "Late Night," he will be on the UNC campus in late October. It's certainly possible that some in-state prospects in the 2009 class, such as Mason Plumlee, Earnest Ross, and Akeem Richmond will also make the trip. Although it hasn't yet been confirmed, 2010 standout Kendall Marshall is also a possibility.

UNC officials this week have given us no information that would indicate that Rich is not expected to start and play heavily against East Carolina. The Tar Heels still appear to be in the midst of trying to find that "go-to" player in the offensive backfield, so while Rich may very well get the first carry of the game and take the field with the starting offense, he is very likely to split time once again with redshirt freshmen Johnny White and Anthony Elzy. Rich could technically "start" the game, but it remains to be seen whether he'll be the guy that the UNC staff depends on most for production in Saturday's contest.

Of all the 2008 football recruits.... who, in your opinion, is the highest rated player at any position that UNC truly appears to lead for ... at this point? I'm referring to any instant impact player, per Marvin Austin last year.

At this point, I'd have to call it a tie between two players, each three-star prospects; Miami (Fla.) Krop defensive back Travis Howard, and New Bern (N.C.) linebacker Kevin Reddick. Both Howard and Reddick admitted to me this summer that North Carolina is their current leader, and while they are expected to take official visits to other schools and entertain other offers, both players have a very realistic chance of playing their college football in Chapel Hill, and perhaps becoming defensive teammates someday. While UNC does have its collective eye on prospects that are higher-rated than Howard and Reddick, those appear to be the highest-rated players that currently claim the Tar Heels as their leader.

Last night on ESPN-U, Brown revealed that North Carolina is on his list of 16 schools. Naturally, he won't be able to visit all of those schools officially, and given the fact that he hasn't yet visited Chapel Hill, combined with the distance between UNC and Wichita, KS, it's difficult to say that the Tar Heels are in his upper echelon of schools right now. That being said, however, I don't believe that it truly is a "three-team race" as you indicated. Brown has advisors closely helping him through this process, and the five-star standout has proven to be both patient and methodical thus far through recruiting. As I've stated multiple times before, the real question with Brown is whether or not he sets up a visit to North Carolina. If he doesn't, there's really nothing to see here as it relates to the UNC perspective, although I'd also say it's preliminary to believe that Brown is basically looking at just Oklahoma, USC, and Miami, because of all the heavy interest he's getting from the other schools on his list.