North Carolina's spring football game: What we learned about Larry Fedora's Tar Heels

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North Carolina coach Larry Fedora watches quarterback Bryn Renner (2) direct his fast-paced offense in Saturday's spring game. Gerry Broome/Associated Press

CHAPEL HILL - North Carolina held its annual Blue vs. White spring football scrimmage at Kenan Stadium on Saturday. The Blue team defeated the White, 44-7. Well, actually, the final scoreboard read 44-21 – but that includes 14 points that the White team received at halftime to make the game a bit more competitive.

Of course, the final score of a spring scrimmage doesn’t mean much. And it’s difficult to read too much into the Tar Heels’ spring game, anyway, because it was, you have to remember, UNC’s 14th practice in the completely new, completely different offensive and defensive system that first-year coach Larry Fedora and his assistants are installing. A lot will change between now and September.

Even so, the spring game provided us some insight and some lessons. Here are some of them:

Bryn Renner seems to be adapting well to the new up-tempo, no-huddle spread offense.

Renner completed 23 of his 28 attempts for 295 yards and two touchdowns for the Blue team on Saturday. Not bad. Renner played in a more up-tempo, spread offense during his high school years, but because Renner more fits the mold of a traditional drop-back passer, some wondered how he’d fit into Fedora’s scheme. For those UNC fans who had doubts, Renner’s performance on Saturday had to be comforting.

Marquise Williams has some work to do to make this a true quarterback competition.

Fedora and his staff have often said that every position is open – even quarterback. Williams, a former standout at Charlotte’s Mallard Creek High, made some strides this spring and, by all accounts, he’s a lot more comfortable now than he was in UNC’s old pro-style offense. Even so, Williams has some work to do to push Renner for the starting job. Williams had some nice moments on Saturday and his final statistical line – 17-for-32, 123 yards, one touchdown, one interception – wasn’t bad. But, like Renner, Williams is still learning the new offense. The difference is that Renner entered with more experience, anyway, and he started at a more advanced point. Williams has the physical tools to succeed in Fedora’s offense, in time.

The defense faces a steep learning curve, too.

Much of the focus throughout UNC’s spring practice has been on the offense. That’s understandable given that Fedora’s coaching background is on the offensive side of the ball. But the Tar Heels’ defense faces just as much of an adjustment to the new 4-2-5 scheme that features those two hybrid positions – the bandit and the ram – that help make the defense more versatile. Take out the second quarter, when the Blue scored three offensive touchdowns, and both defenses played well. In fact, the biggest defensive play of the game came in the second quarter, too, when Tim Scott intercepted a pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown.

The Tar Heels seem to have some quality depth at running back.

Giovani Bernard gained 36 on five carries on Saturday before leaving the game after suffering a cut on his head. He could have returned, had it been an actual game, but sat out the rest of the way. In his absence, A.J. Blue, a rising junior, played well. He gained 98 yards on 15 carries. Romar Morris, a freshman who spent last season redshirting, also looked good. He scored three touchdowns – two receiving, one running – and gained 75 yards combined, running and receiving. On his first touchdown, which came on a 17-yard pass from Renner, Morris flashed some breakaway speed.

Welcome back, Casey Barth.

Barth missed most of last season with an injured groin but was granted a fifth year of eligibility. His return means good things for UNC’s kicking game. Barth was responsible for the first two scores of the spring game – a 40-yard field goal, and then a 33-yard field goal. They both came in the first quarter.

UNC’s final practice of the spring will be today. Stay tuned in the weeks ahead for a position-by-position wrap-up of the spring, with a look ahead to the start of fall practice.

-- Andrew Carter

NFL draft: N.C. State LB Terrell Manning's status slips

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With the NFL draft less than two weeks away (April 26-28, New York), Terrell Manning's decision to leave N.C. State after the 2011 season is beginning to look somewhat risky.

While most of the draft analysts still see the 6-foot-3, 237-pound outside linebacker as a likely pick, Manning's status has slipped some during the past month.

Once assessed as a second-rounder, Manning has slipped into the fourth- to fifth-round range in several of the projections. A couple of those even think he might wind up in the big post-draft pool of free agents.

Manning's decision to go pro no doubt was swayed in part by a knee injury he sustained last season. After surgery he was able to return two weeks later and played a key role in the Wolfpack's strong finish, 8-5 record and bowl win over Louisville.

It's not completely impossible that three State linebackers will be drafted. Inside LB Audie Cole is generally projected to go in the third or fourth round. Dwayne Mattox, an outside LB, has a some chance of going late.

UNC's Zach Brown has a shot at being the first outside linebacker picked. The first ACC player to go could be Boston College inside LB Luke Kuechly.

The ACC probably will not have a quarterback to get picked _ unless you want to count Russell Wilson of Wisconsin by way of State.

-- Caulton Tudor

Tudor: Ex-UNC coach Butch Davis may have important role in Tampa Bay's draft picks

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It'll be interesting to see if Butch Davis' fingerprints turn up on Tampa Bay's selections during this week's NFL Draft in New York.

Fired as head coach by UNC in July of 2011, Davis was hired by new Bucs coach Greg Schiano as a special assistant in February.

Most of the analysts predict Tampa (4-12 in 2011) will take defensive back Morris Claiborne of LSU with the fifth overall pick during Thursday's opening round, but there's hardly an area in which the Bucs are blessed with top personnel.

Schiano, who coached Rutgers for the past 11 seasons, and Davis have had more recent exposure to college players than anyone on the new staff.

That staff includes former ECU running back star Earnest Byner (who was hired to replace ex-ECU head coach Steve Logan) and Fayetteville native Jimmy Raye.

In the same NFC South Division with Carolina, Atlanta and New Orleans, the Bucs have a glaring need for more wide receiver production.

Among the top 10 or so rated wide-outs are Stephen Hill (Georgia Tech) and Chris Givens (Wake Forest). Lower-rated Dwight Jones (UNC) , T.J. Graham (N.C. State) and Danny Coale (Virginia Tech) are prospects with whom Davis is familiar.

On defense, the ACC has at least 20 players likely to be selected during the seven rounds. Davis has coached against almost all of those candidates.

-- Caulton Tudor

Did program's disarray cost Tar Heels in NFL draft?

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The NFL draft concluded on Saturday after only two of North Carolina’s prospects – defensive end Quinton Coples and linebacker Zach Brown – were selected. Dwight Jones, the wide receiver, ended the draft on the outside looking in. So, too, did cornerback Charles Brown. And defensive tackle Tydreke Powell. And Donte Paige-Moss, the defensive lineman who left school early to enter the draft.

Even Coples and Brown went lower than they likely expected they would – Coples at No. 16 overall to the New York Jets, and Brown in the second round, at the 52nd overall pick, to the Tennessee Titans. If you followed the draft at all, you know that NFL personnel types shared similar concerns about Coples and Brown, both. In fact, you could have learned that simply by reading the NFL’s official website.

NFL.com broke down just about every player, anywhere, who had the potential to be selected in the draft. The profiles included an overview and a paragraph of strengths and weaknesses for each player. How strange is it that for both Coples and Brown, the word “disappear” showed up under both players’ listed weaknesses?

For Coples, the first couple sentences explaining his weaknesses read like this: “Coples' motor was the only question mark throughout his collegiate career. At times, he disappeared from the action.”

For Brown, the first couple sentences explaining his weaknesses read like this: “Despite his talent, there are questions surrounding other aspects of Brown's game and life. He has shown a tendency to disappear for long stretches.”

Both players possessed first-round talent. And at one time, Coples was projected as a top-10 selection. But neither Coples nor Brown went as high as their ability suggested they could – or should – have gone.

Questions about each player’s motivation and consistency helped to push them down in the draft. Both players had their share of dominant games during their years with the Tar Heels. But those games were mixed in among others in which they took plays off or disappeared for long stretches.

It’s not a reach to suggest that UNC’s coaching transition didn’t help Coples and Brown. Amid all the uncertainty that surrounded the Tar Heels in 2011, it makes sense that players might not have been as motivated after Everett Withers took over on an interim basis for the fired Butch Davis. On a deeper level, though, the slide of Coples and Brown in the draft could be evidence of issues that might have plagued the program under Davis. Coples and Brown didn’t learn to take plays off until their final seasons, of course. They learned the habits that cost them positioning in the draft under Davis’ watch.

And what does it say, too, that none of UNC’s other draftable players were drafted? Jones, the receiver who caught 85 passes for nearly 1,200 yards, was once seen as a likely second- or third-round pick. Yet he fell completely out of the draft. Paige-Moss, a talented but inconsistent player who left school early, never heard his name called. Ditto for Brown and Powell.

Some of UNC’s undrafted players have already signed as free agents with various teams. The list:

WR Dwight Jones – Houston Texans

C Cameron Holland – Kansas City Chiefs

CB Charles Brown – Baltimore Ravens

S Matt Merletti – Indianapolis Colts

DT Tydreke Powell – Minnesota Vikings

But the lack of Tar Heels’ draftees speaks to a program that had been in disarray for a long time. It can’t be argued that some of UNC’s undrafted players are as talented as many of those drafted in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds on Saturday.

NFL teams, though, like prospects who come from respected and reputable college programs. And sure, if teams thought that UNC’s former players were good enough to be drafted, they would have been. But the instability that hung over the Tar Heels for two seasons didn’t help. And that likely cost the Tar Heels on draft day.

-- Andrew Carter

ACC dominates 'center' stage

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The ACC suddenly has become the "center" of the college football universe.

Take that SEC!

The ACC's football programs  may not be a big deal when it comes to national rankings, bowl games and signing hot-shot high school prospects.

But with the addition of Duke redshirt senior Brian Moore to the Dave Remington  Award watch list, the ACC now has five of the contenders for the award presented annually to the nation's best center.

Moore joins Jay Finch (Georgia Tech), Dalton Freeman (Clemson, 1st team all-ACC in 2011), Andrew Miller (Virginia Tech) and Camden Wentz (N.C. State) among the ACC hopefuls.

The ACC has never produced a Remington Award winner, but obviously this could be the breakthrough year.

Miami's Brett Romberg was the recipient in 2002  and Virginia Tech's Jake Grove the following season, but that was when those schools were in the Big East.

Last year's winner was Michigan's Dave Molk.

Oh sure, this explosion of talent in the middle of the interior offensive line may not turn as many heads as national titles and Heisman Trophy winners.

But hey, most successful plays begin with a successful snap.

-- Caulton Tudor

Will Reggie Jackson see any playing time during the NBA Finals?

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Reggie is close to the Championship, yet so far.
Reggie Jackson is four wins away from becoming an NBA Champion. Oklahoma City will be heavy favorites against whichever team wins the East and they will also have home-court advantage. The former BC star will have a front-row seat for most of the action. His problem? He's not likely to get on the court. 
Jackson had a decent start to his first professional season. A short stint in the DLeague did not hurt his confidence or the Thunder's faith in him. They recalled him, played him again and kept him on the active playoff roster. Once the postseason started though, Reggie has not come off the bench. That's only natural as the games are tighter and the rotations get shortened. But still...of the 15 players on the Thunder roster, only two -- including Reggie -- have not logged a single minute of playing time in the postseason.
Obviously Reggie has value to the team and his teammates. He's part of the preparation and his contributions helped OKC get to where they are. With the games now at their highest importance, I don't expect Reggie to come off the bench and catch the world by storm like a Jeremy Lin. I do hope that one or two of the Finals games are blowouts and Reggie can get some official minutes. 
It must be frustrating for someone like him. He knows he can play. He just can't get minutes on the NBA's best, young team. I think he'll persevere. Either another team will come sniffing or OKC will allow him to grow. Whatever his future, I hope he dose appreciate where he is. There are hundreds of BC basketball alumni who would kill to be part of an NBA Champion...even if they didn't play.

(Not so) embarrassing BC items

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I don't own this...but don't think I haven't thought about buying it.

Mgoblog recently published a post on embarrassing Michigan licensed items. I loved the idea and thought that I should do the same for BC stuff. There was one problem. As I searched for weird and offbeat BC things, I just kept coming across items that I might actually buy. There was nothing too kitschy. Nothing offensively ugly (to me). I rationalized every potential purchase. Fortunately I held strong and didn't buy. The following are some of the more tempting items.


Pittsburgh Eagles
I don't wear hockey jerseys, but I loved this custom BC hockey sweater that merged the BC logo with a Pittsburgh Penguins style look.


BC fans would eat wine & cheese if they let us tailgate longer...
I'm not big on cheese plates but this is something I might break out. Look at the subtle BC logo on the wood top. That's not corny. That's classy. 





Nothing says antique Tiffany Lamp like italics BC logosUnder normal circumstances I wouldn't buy a Tiffany Lamp. I also dislike our current logo. But put the two together and it sort of works. Maybe I should forward this to my wife to inspire some Father's Day ideas. 





I don't wear cufflinks often but...If a Harvard guy wore Harvard cufflinks, he'd be pretentious. If an Alabama fan wore 'Bama cufflinks, he's a rube. But a BC guy could pull it off.



Pets can be BC fans tooI don't own a dog nor do I plan on getting one soon. But you can bet that if I do get a dog, the poor thing will certainly have to wear one of these. 




BC Boat Fender? Sure. Why not?They say the two best days of being a boat owner are the day you buy your boat and the day you sell your boat. I've never owned a boat, but I don't see it that way. In my mind the best day of being a boat owner would be the day you bought your BC Boat Fender.

They've worn worseMy kids three kids are too old for this now, but I am suddenly feeling the urge to have a fourth.

Let me know if there are any other BC licensed items that I should consider. Also let me know anything not so embarrassing that you might own.