FanHouse UNC

Ahmad Brooks. Michael Johnson. Um, Peter Lalich. Do Virginia fans really miss all those days when Al Groh was still that heat in the streets and VIrginia could crack the top 20's of most recruiting rankings? Well, it sure made Signing Day much more fun, as the past couple of years have seen UVA bank solid, if not unexciting classes filled with linemen on both ends and likely a solid tight end prospect.

2009 has been, well, not too much different, however, over the past couple of weeks there had been speculation that mountainous man Morgan Moses, a 6'7", 343 lb. masher from Richmond could be a key pickup for Virginia. On the one hand, you have UVA's reputation as an OL factory, with D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Branden Albert and most likely Eugene Monroe becoming top-15 NFL picks over the past few years. On the other, you have concerns that Moses may not qualify academically for Virginia (especially after the decommittal of Alex Owah, who qualified under NCAA standards, but not UVA's) and a head-to-head competition with the ascendant UNC program.

Now that Brandan Wright has announced he's heading to the NBA, fans of the Tar Heels can move on with their lives. While it would've been great to see Wright stick around for another year, North Carolina was prepared for this happening. So what does this mean to the Tar Heels that will be around next year?

• TYLER HANSBROUGH: This will be a very interesting year for Psycho T. Without Wright, Hansbrough won't get the same amount of rest he did last year. And when he's on the court, he won't have that other great post man to take some of the pressure off him. Well, maybe not.
• DEON THOMPSON: Thompson will most likely step into the starting role next to Hansbrough. Thompson showed flashes of a player who could have a nice career in Chapel Hill. Now he'll get starter's minutes and a platform to vault himself into the national spotlight.
• ALEX STEPHENSON: Thompson was an offensive force off the bench last year. Stephenson was the defensive guy. Stephenson was known in high school as a premiere rebounder which should get him some good minutes this year. He will most likely be on the bench, but will rotate with Hansbrough and Stephenson in a frontcourt rotation. While he will be asked to be a defensive stopper and rebounder, his offense must improve. He's pretty handy around the basket but didn't show that he make his own play to get a shot off.
• TYWON LAWSON: With no Wright or the graduating Reyshawn Terry, Lawson will be asked to score a bit more.
• WILLIAM GRAVES: People forget that Graves was part of that outstanding freshman recruiting class. However, Graves elected to redshirt last year despite being a guy that could've been in the rotation. UNC brings no one in this year, so Graves will be able to fill in down low.
• SENIOR CLASS OF 2008: With Wright officially gone, the Tar Heels know that they have a front line opening in the 2008-2009 season [especially if Hansbrough leaves next year]. Just as Wright came in for a one and done, so could kids like Greg Monroe, Ed Davis, Al-Farouq Aminu, Samardo Samuels or Drew Gordon who'd love to come in and play right away in Chapel Hill.
• ROY WILLIAMS: A lot of these big time recruits just watched Williams look out for Wright today. The fact that Williams told Wright to go pro even though it appeared Wright may have stayed if Williams recommended that to him spoke volumes about the coach. Now a lot of these one-and-done kids may consider the Heels moreso than some other teams when they can really see that the coach has their family's best interests at heart.

The North Carolina offense is banged up after returning home from a tough trip to Miami where they lost 27-7.

Freshman wide receiver Hakeem Nicks suffered a high ankle sprain (see photo on right) on a beautiful 37 yard reception in the first half and did not return to the game. Nicks is listed as doubtful for this week's matchup at home against South Florida.

Freshman quarterback Cam Sexton also had to leave Saturday's game late in the second half after suffering a mild concussion. Backup QB Joe Dailey filled in nicely, but it looks like Sexton's been able to shake off the cobwebs enough to return to practice this week. He should be ready to go against South Florida as well.

As the Tar Heels prepare to face Miami at noon, here are a few pre-game questions that have been running through my head:

• What's the over/under on the number of banners that will be flying over the stadium supporting the removal of coaches John Bunting and/or Larry Coker?
  
  
• Will the Tar Heel defense surrender fewer than 500 yards of offense?
  
  
• Would mobile quarterback Joe Dailey be a better choice to run the UNC offense against a lightning fast, blitz happy Miami defense?
  
  
• Will there be more than 20,000 fans in attendance?
  
  
• Will Miami fans run coach Larry Coker out of town even if Miami wins in a close game?
  
  
• How much "reverse smack" will the two fan bases talk to one another today?

After the Tar Heels' last on-field performance at Clemson which resulted in a 52-7 drubbing by the Tigers, I've decided that there's just one key to success this week for the Tar Heels as they travel to Miami:

COMPETE!

I use the word "success" rather than "victory," because success this week will not be measured with a win or a loss. Rather, success against the Canes will be determined by how hard the Tar Heels play and how willing they are to compete.

Against Clemson, North Carolina simply didn't show up. They got down early and just flat out quit on themselves, their coach, their school, and their teammates. As a result, they were embarrassed.

As an old coach once told me, "You're never a failure until you quit trying." In the Tar Heels' case, they failed at Clemson.

If the boys in blue compete on every play, fly around the field with intensity and desire for 60 minutes, and are willing to go blow for blow with mighty Miami, then the game should be close.

Win or lose this week, a strong display of heart, toughness, and leadership will be considered a welcome success in my book considering what we've seen in previous weeks. A win, albeit quite possible, would simply be icing on the cake.

North Carolina four-star recruit, wide receiver Greg Little, will announce his college intentions on Monday, October 9th at 3:00 PM following this weekend's visit to Southern Cal.

His final five choices are UNC, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Florida, and USC. He decided not to officially visit UNC, although he has attended some games.

Rumors recently began circulating among the UNC fan base that he may be leaning toward the Tar Heels, but it seems an unlikely choice at this point.

Although he lists playing time, academics, and coaching staff as his top three priorities, Little stated following his Notre Dame visit that the Irish were the leaders for his services.

North Carolina possesses all three attributes Little's looking for in a school, but only about half of North Carolina's elite in-state prospects tend to stay in state, choosing instead to attend higher profile programs in the SEC and Big 10.

Hopefully his decision will fall in favor of the hometown Heels, but I tend to believe it will be either Notre Dame or Ohio State. I hope I'm wrong.

Adding Greg Little to a 2007 recruiting class that already includes commitments from Mike Paulus, Ryan Houston, and Dwight Jones would lay the foundation for a potentially powerful Tar Heel offense two or three years down the road.

Win or lose, North Carolina's effort against the Miami Hurricanes in Coral Gables on Saturday will dictate the rest of their season.

Miami has decidedly better talent, but whether they have a better team remains to be seen. If the Tar Heels are able to play tough, compete, and either win or lose close in a hard-fought matchup, the rest of the Tar Heels' season looks promising.

If North Carolina shows up expecting to get routed like they did against Clemson, then the Heels will most likely struggle to win another game.

It's not the talent that seems to be the problem with North Carolina. From where I sit, it seems to be more of a motivational and competitive issue. Whether this issue is a result of poor coaching or a reflection of our team's mental resolve isn't quite clear. I expect, however, that the blame should be shared by both coaches and players.

Realistic Tar Heel fans don't expect this team to be 10-2 or even 9-3, but they do expect their team to play hard and compete rather than roll over and play dead for their opposition like they have in several games during John Bunting's tenure.

It'll be interesting to see which UNC team shows up on Saturday...the Tar Heels who spanked Miami in the first half of last year's game or the Tar Heels who were dominated in the second half of last year's game.

North Carolina's bye week could not have come at a better time for North Carolina coach John Bunting. Coming off a 52-7 shellacking at the hands of Clemson, Bunting's job seat was hotter than ever. The bye week helped cool off that seat a little, but a win over Miami would go a long way towards preserving his job and the recruiting commitments he's established for 2007.

Matt Clements of Tar Heel Daily echoes this sentiment:

"The Tar Heel coaching staff has gotten off to a great head start on an excellent recruiting class of football prospects for 2007, but they now must continue working to ensure that all of those prospects arrive on campus as expected. Recruiting will be much tougher for Carolina unless the team achieves better results on the field for the remainder of this season."

Rumors have also been circulating on recruiting Web sites and message boards that several UNC football commitments are being actively recruited as a result of the Tar Heels' poor start.

Defensive tackle William Brimfield, a 2007 UNC commitment from South Carolina, confirmed that Steve Spurrier has offered him a scholarship, but he denies rumors that he has re-opened his recruiting as a result of the Tar Heels' poor play.

Five-star UNC commitment Dwight Jones, a wide receiver from Burlington, North Carolina, is also reportedly being wooed by Tennessee, a school known for pilfering some of the best North Carolina high school talent.

Whether there's truth to these rumors or not, a win over Miami and continued strong play for the rest of the season could be enough for Bunting to hang onto his job and retain the commitments he's worked so hard to attain.

North Carolina coach John Bunting has developed somewhat of a reputation for pulling off major upsets in the games following a bye week.

So, I thought I'd take a look at the numbers and see if this reputation was deserved or somewhat overblown. The result was a mixed bag.

Dating back to Bunting's first year at the Tar Heel helm in 2001, John Bunting's record following a bye week is 4-3 with one asterisk; the exception being the weekend following the 9/11 attacks of 2001 when no games were played in any college arena.

Following that week, Bunting pulled off a major shocker by abusing the Florida State Seminoles in Chapel Hill 41-9.

If you discount that week when everyone in the nation had a bye, Bunting's record is a respectable 3-3, a .500 winning percentage which is higher than his overall record.

Here's the list of Bunting's post bye week results:

10/22/2005 vs. Virginia W 7-5
10/30/2004 vs. Miami W 31-28
9/20/2003 @ Wisconsin L 27-38
9/28/2002 vs. Georgia Tech L 13-21
*9/22/2001 vs. Florida State W 41-9
11/1/2001 @ Georgia Tech L 21-28
12/1/2001 vs. Southern Methodist W 19-10

Make of this list what you will, but there's no doubt that Bunting's teams perform slightly better than average after a bye week.

Note also that he has beaten Miami following a bye, but is 0-2 in post bye week road games. He has won his last two, however.

We'll see how this trend plays out this weekend in Coral Gables where the Heels are 19 point underdogs.

North Carolina head coach John Bunting says that his Tar Heels have "gotten better" after their bye week. Not only are the Heels "perfectly healthy," but the team was able to get a lot of fundamental work done and increase the competition level at weaker positions:

"We've been developing a lot of the young players, scrimmaging them, something we haven't done before. We've increased a little competition which is good. If we can continue to get better we'll see some improvement and be pleased with what we see this coming week."

Hopefully, Bunting is correct in his assessment because North Carolina travels to Miami as a 19 point underdog to the Hurricanes.

Bunting's teams have traditionally performed well coming off of bye weeks, which bodes well for the Heels. But one of the major concerns involves the team's recent passive play on defense.

Bunting and defensive coordinator Marvin Sanders addressed the issue of passivity prior to last week and promised a more aggressive style in the future. We'll see if they live up to that promise in Coral Gables.