CHAPEL HILL – If your general thought about spring football games is that they are boring, and even meaningless, head on over to Kenan Stadium this weekend for a change in perspective.
North Carolina isn’t going to beat around Saturday. Tar Heels coaches have plenty of evaluating to do, as the combination of position battles and young players make this one of the most intriguing spring games in recently memory at Carolina.
“We will be looking at who can play,” UNC Coach Mack Brown said Wednesday at the Kenan Football Center. “Who we will evaluate every play; who increases their value?
“We want to walk out of this game and say, ‘our goals for spring were these things, we accomplished these, we’ve still for to get these… but this guy can play, we’re going to put him in there, and we’re going to put him on the blue team. We’re going to put him on the white team.”
Among the key position battles is at quarterback, where Texas A&M transfer Max Johnson and third-year UNC holdover Conner Harrell are neck-and-neck. The quest for primary backup to Omarion Hampton at running back between true freshman Davion Gause and veteran Southern Cal transfer Darwin Barlow has been an interesting storyline this spring.
Who will start at right guard? What is the depth behind Kaimon Rucker at Rush (formerly Jack)? What about Star? And what young players will shine who have turned in excellent springs to date: Sophomore WR Chris Culliver; true freshman WR Jordan Shipp; true freshman inside linebacker Ashton Woods; JC transfer cornerback Tyrane Stewart, among others.
“They’ve obviously given impressions for coaches throughout the spring,” Brown said. “But who can you trust? Who can play at a high level? Who’s going to change a game and who’s gonna win a game? Because that’s what we’re looking for.”
Boring and unimportant are not accurate ways to describe Carolina’s spring game. Plenty is on the line for the players and coaches. Everyone in the program knows it, and they are primed for a big day.
“There’s a lot of excitement for Saturday, but there’s a tremendous amount of pressure on the guys,” Brown said. “This is important to them. This isn’t a boring spring game where you go out there and not work. We are actively looking at who can make us better.”
Fans should know that quite a few Tar Heels of note will not play. Among them are tight ends Bryson Nesbit and John Copenhaver, running backs Caleb Hood and Jordan Louie, wide receivers Kobe Paysour, J.J. Jones, and Gavin Blackwell, OLB/Rush Kaimon Rucker, safety/star Kalen Cost (baseball), and cornerback Marcus Allen.
Here is a quick primer on what to watch for Saturday:
Quarterback: Johnson is a fifth-year veteran who has thrown 746 passes in the SEC with just 12 being intercepted. He’s a 6-foot-5 lefthander who has skill and knowledge. Harrell is a 6-foot-2 redshirt sophomore who started the bowl game loss to West Virginia, and is supremely fast and quite smart.
“It’ll be really important because it will be the first time that they have played in this offense in front of people,” Brown said about the QBs.
Fans might also pay attention to true freshman third-team QB Mike Merdinger. He is polished and skilled, and could be the program’s future at the position.
Backup Linebacker: Power Echols is entrenched in the middle, and sophomore Amare Campbell has easily secured the other spot, but who will back them up? Depth at this position has been an issue since Brown took over, but there are numbers there now, so who will emerge? Calab Lavallee? Cade Law? Ashton Woods?
“I also want to see the linebackers,” Brown said. “We’ve got Power , who’s played a lot, Amare, who’s played some. And then the other guys haven’t played. So, I want to see them play. That’s why we’ve got to tackle.”
Young Receivers: A thought along the undercurrent this spring has been the veterans receivers wearing red jerseys and physically unable to participate better get healthy soon, because the young ones there are coming and primed to take away some reps. Sophomore Chris Culliver has made numerous spectacular catches this spring, but can also handle the basic stuff. Expect to see him a lot this fall.
True freshman Jordan Shipp came in highly acclaimed and hasn’t disappointed. Fellow true frosh Alex Taylor has also been very good and fair consistent. True freshman, and also a possible future UNC baseball player, Vari Green has dazzled at times.
J.J. Jones, Kobe Paysour, and Gavin Blackwell are injured and cannot play.
Travis Shaw: The former 5-star, and one of the top players nationally in the class of 2022, has not come close to living up to expectations, but according to many in the program, he has made major strides since last season ended, and has received plenty of blue team reps this fall.
Running Back: Hampton might be the best running back in the nation, after him, however, sits a major question mark. Only three running backs are currently healthy, so fans will see quite a bit of Southern Cal transfer Darwin Barlow and true freshman Davion “Bullet” Gause. Both are fast, and Gause has next-star potential. Caleb Hood and Jordan Louie are injured and cannot play.
Behind Rucker: Des Evans and Beau Atkinson are blue-team defensive ends, but in first-year defensive coordinator Geoff Collins’ scheme, both are getting looks at the Rush position, which was called “Jack” under Gene Chizik. Rucker has missed the second half of spring practice after having surgery on a finger, so the talented DE’s have gotten plenty of reps there.
But so have true freshmen Curtis Simpson (wearing Cedric Gray’s number 33) and Daniel Anderson. Redshirt freshman Tyler Thompson is bigger and looks the part, and could be the first backup to Rucker, as Atkinson and Evans might be part of specific packages only. Redshirt freshman Jaybron Harvey has drawn praise but has also been dinged up some.
Rebuilt O-Line: Willie Lampkin is back, and has moved to left guard. He’s the only returning starter up front. The rebuilt line includes a starting (as of now) left tackle Howard Sampson, who transferred in from North Texas, and center Austin Blaske, who came in from Georgia, where he won two national championship rings.
Massive redshirt sophomore Trevyon Green anchors the right tackle spot, and is one of the best stories in the program over the last couple of years. But who will eventually take the field first at Minnesota playing right guard?
Veteran Jonathan Adorno has been the first player with the blue team for most of the spring, but junior Malik McGowan is right there with Adorno challenging for the starting spot. Also making a push the last couple of weeks is former 5-star Zach Rice, who is loaded with potential.
