if it hasnt been said already with mack brown you guys should have a championship in the next 5 years

bring da chip home

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/29360333/acc-coastal-season-preview-qbs-put-north-carolina-miami-virginia-tech-ahead-pack#NorthCarolina


North Carolina

Coach: Mack Brown (76-52-1, 12th total year)
2019: 7-6 (4-4 in ACC), 30th in SP+
2020 projection: 9-3 (6-2), 16th
Five best returning players: QB Sam Howell, ILB Chazz Surratt, WR Dyami Brown, WR Dazz Newsome, CB Storm Duck

I'll admit, I didn't like the aesthetics of Brown's return to North Carolina. With so few great coaching opportunities for up-and-comers available in a given year, the thought of a retiree like Brown or, the year before, Herm Edwards cutting in line to get one of them rubbed me the wrong way.

It all looks great if it works, though, and one cannot deny that Brown seems to be making the most of this career coda. He inherited a reasonable-upside team from Larry Fedora, one that had been banged up for two straight years. He stole blue-chip quarterback (and Florida State commit) Howell in recruiting. He hired a pair of exciting young coordinators -- Phil Longo on offense, Jay Bateman on defense. And with a lineup that returns almost wholly intact this fall, he CEO'd his way to a 7-6 campaign; considering the Tar Heels had won five combined games in 2017-18, that's a solid start.


Sam Howell and North Carolina will be tested early with games against UCF and Auburn to start the season. James Guillory/USA TODAY Sports
Now, with massive returning production and the 16th-ranked recruiting class coming to town, Brown has got actual expectations on his hands again.

We grade freshman quarterbacks on a curve, but by the end of 2019, Howell didn't need one -- he was just plain awesome. He battled through up-and-down, freshman-type play for a couple of months, but over the last five games, which included battles with Pitt's best defense in ages and a pre-collapse Virginia defense, he completed 66% of his passes with a 182.0 passer rating. Even with early volatility, he finished 31st in Total QBR. He gets his top five wideouts back, too, including dual thousand-yard receivers in Newsome and Brown. The run game could stand to be more consistent (the Tar Heels were just 66th in rushing success rate), but the top two RBs return, as do six linemen with starting experience, all of whom were freshmen and sophomores last season.


Bateman wasn't quite as immediately successful as Longo -- UNC was 25th in offensive SP+, 44th on defense -- but the front and back of his defense were awfully young. Four freshman/sophomore linemen and four such DBs all logged at least 130 snaps. Sophomore corners Duck and Trey Morrison allowed just a 51% completion rate, and junior Raymond Vohasek can disrupt from end or tackle up front. OLB Tomon Fox is an ace pass-rusher, and inside linebacker Surratt earned all-ACC honors in his first season after converting from quarterback. If Desmond Evans, ESPN's top D-end recruit for 2020, carves out a pass-rushing niche opposite Fox, it certainly seems the upside is high here.

We'll know what we need to know about UNC pretty quickly. The Tar Heels are scheduled to start against UCF and Auburn in the first two weeks, then face a hangover game against FCS heavyweight James Madison after that. If they start 3-0, this is a team with top-10 potential. Opening 2-1 would be pretty good, too.




This post was edited by judson04 on Jun 27 2020 09:41am

I follow recruiting heavily, mac putting together a nice crootin class for UNC standards

Bump

clemson will knock them out the top 25, while UW is ranked 12

Close Thread.

drake lookin like josh allen

i think we should bump this again.

North Carolina making UCF's Chip Lindsey new O-coordinator

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina has hired Chip Lindsey from Central Florida as its new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

The school announced the hiring Thursday, a week after Phil Longo said he would leave the Tar Heels to join the staff at Wisconsin along with offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr.

Lindsey led an offense that ranked 26th in the FBS ranks in scoring (34.4) and 11th in total offense (480.6) last season at UCF. Previously, Lindsey coached at Auburn and Troy.

He'll inherit an offense that returns quarterback Drake Maye, named the Atlantic Coast Conference offensive player of the year by The Associated Press.

The school announced Wednesday that Randy Clements would coach its offensive line after two years at North Texas.

North Carolina football coach Mack Brown signs 1-year extension

North Carolina coach Mack Brown has agreed to a one-year contract extension that keeps him with the Tar Heels through the 2027 season, the school announced Thursday.

The financial terms remain the same from the extension he received a year ago, which included a new salary of $5 million per season.


Brown, who led North Carolina to an appearance in the ACC championship game in 2022, is 30-22 in four years since returning to coach the Tar Heels for a second stint.

Brown has coached North Carolina to bowl appearances in all four seasons.

With quarterback Drake Maye returning for 2023, expectations will once again be high for North Carolina.

"Mack has reenergized our program in so many ways -- from the team camaraderie in the locker room, to the engaged fan base in the stands, to this season's Coastal Division Championship and nine-win finish," UNC athletics director Bubba Cunningham said in a statement. "We know that under his leadership, our student-athletes will continue to succeed on the field and in the classroom while giving back to the community. We appreciate all he and Sally have done to help build a positive culture around Carolina football."

This post was edited by judson04 on Feb 17 2023 12:29am