2011 Season Preview: UNC players to watch, history and trends

Our analysis on the starters, top backups, history and trends for the North Carolina Tar Heels coming to Clemson on October 22…

2010 Record: 8-5 (4-4 ACC, fourth in Coastal Division)

2011 UNC Schedule

Sept. 3 JAMES MADISON

Sept. 10 RUTGERS

Sept. 17 VIRGINIA

Sept. 24 at Georgia Tech

Oct. 1 at East Carolina

Oct. 8 LOUISVILLE

Oct. 15 MIAMI

Oct. 22 at Clemson

Oct. 29 WAKE FOREST

Nov. 12 at NC State

Nov. 17 at Virginia Tech

Nov. 26 DUKE

Butch Davis is going into his fifth season at UNC - he has a 15-17 record against ACC opponents since joining the Tar Heels. (AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds)

Coach: Butch Davis (79-43 career record, 15-17 vs. the ACC [1-0 vs. Clemson], fifth year at UNC).

Offense (2010 ranks): Pro-style (Total offense: 51st/Rush offense: 94th/Pass offense: 26th)

Defense (2010 ranks): 4-3 (Total defense: 30th/Rush defense: 22nd/Pass defense: 50th).

2010 Special Team Ranks: Net punting – 116th/Kickoff returns – 92nd/Punt returns – 53rd/Punt return yardage defense – 92nd/Kick return yardage defense – 86th.

2010 Misc. stats: Turnover margin – 52nd/Fewest penalties – 105th/First downs – 71st/First downs allowed – 29th/Third down efficiency – 70th/Red zone efficiency – 5th/Red zone defense – 27th/Time of possession – 47th.

Outgoing starters: 10

2011 Starters (2010 stats)

Returning Offense (6)

WR: Dwight Jones (Senior, 946 rec. yards/4 TD); Jheranie Boyd (Junior, 310 rec. yards/3 TD); Erik Highsmith (348 rec. yards/3 TD).

O-line: C Cam Holland (Senior, 6-2 320/20 starts); LG Jonathan Cooper (Junior, 6-3 310/22 starts); LT James Hurst (Sophomore, 6-7 310/12 starts).

New Projected Starters (5)

QB: Bryn Renner (Sophomore, 1/2 for 14 yards).

RB: Ryan Houston (Senior)*/Hunter Furr (Junior, 29 rushing yards)/Giovani Bernard (Redshirt freshman).

TE: Sean Fitzpatrick (Redshirt freshman, 6-5 250)/Nelson Hurst (Sophomore, 6-4 260).

O-line: RG Travis Bond (Junior, 6-7 340/4 starts); RT Brennan Williams (Junior, 6-7 315/1 start).

*Houston had surgery on his scapula that is supposed to keep him out right up to the end of fall camp.

UNC WR Dwight Jones had a breakout season in 2010 with 946 receiving yards and four TDs. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Outlook: UNC is one of the eight ACC schools with a new starting QB, and there’s no doubt who it will be after this spring, where sophomore Bryn Renner ran away with a job he was expected to win. Renner only attempted two passes last season with senior T.J. Yates in control.

With last year’s top three rushers gone, UNC looks to Ryan Houston coming off post-spring practice surgery on his scapula to shoulder the load. The senior rushed for 713 yards and nine touchdowns in 2009 and redshirted last season after being held out of the early season games due to the NCAA investigations.

UNC has one of the top wide receiver corps in the ACC with three returning starters – including Dwight Jones, who has the ACC’s second-most receiving yards returning with 946 and found the endzone four times as well.

Three starters back on the o-line with double-digit starts and two more with starting experience – the line should be a strength again for the Tar Heels.

Returning Defense (6)

D-line: DE Donte Paige-Moss (Junior, 7 sacks/49 tackles/13.5 TFL); DT Tydreke Powell (Senior, 2.5 sacks/47 tackles/3 TFL); DE Quinton Coples (Senior, 10 sacks/59 tackles/15.5 TFL).

LB: MLB Kevin Reddick (Junior, 74 tackles/5 TFL/1 sack); WLB Zach Brown (Senior, 72 tackles/1.5 TFL).

DB: CB Charles Brown (Senior)*

*Brown was suspended last season amidst the NCAA investigations – UNC used it as his redshirt season.

New Projected Starters (5)

D-line: DT Sylvester Williams (Junior).

LB: SLB Darius Lipford (Sophomore).

DB: CB Jabari Price (Sophomore, 20 tackles/1 INT/5 PBU); SS Matt Merletti (Senior, 37 tackles/2 INT/4 PBU); FS Tre Boston (Sophomore, 32 tackles/4 PBU/1 INT).

North Carolina Quinton Coples (90) sacks Rutgers quarterback Tom Savage during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010, in Piscataway, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Outlook: Last season’s NCAA investigations sat some key starters, but helped the Tar Heels find the next in line a little quicker than they expected.

Arguably, defensive line was hit hardest by the suspensions preseason, but it didn’t show as defensive ends Quinton Coples and Donte Paige-Moss formed the top sack duo in the ACC.

Linebacker is another position that would’ve taken a bigger loss if not for the NCAA as senior WLB Zach Brown and MLB Kevin Reddick both earned starts that would’ve been occupied by seniors if not for suspensions.

The secondary is a mixed bag with a two-year starter at corner in Charles Brown, who redshirted last season with NCAA suspensions already handed out. But again, they have experience that a team, who had nine starters back in ’10, wouldn’t normally have there.

Returning Kicker/Punter (2)

K: Casey Barth (Senior, 19-22 on FGs/8-11 from 30+ yards).

P: C.J. Feagles (Sophomore, 37.5 yards per punt).

Senior UNC kicker Casey Barth was one of the more accurate in the ACC last season - hitting 11-of-11 from under 30 yards and 8-of-11 from 30+ yards. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Outlook: Casey Barth was among the more accurate kickers in the ACC – hitting 11/11 from 29 yards in and 8-of-11 from 30+ yards with a long of 49-yards. C.J. Feagles hopes to follow in the footsteps of NFL punter dad Jeff Feagles after averaging 37.5 yards per punt last season. His dad’s career spanned 22 seasons with 1,713 career punts.

Notable Backups (2010 stats)

FB: Devon Ramsey (Senior, 15 rec. yards/1 TD).

DB: CB Josh Hunter (Sophomore).

Clemson/UNC recent history: North Carolina took control early and Clemson couldn’t get their offense rolling in a 21-16 loss at Chapel Hill. UNC RB Johnny White did most of the damage with 179 total yards and two touchdowns on the game. Clemson was 3-of-14 on third down conversions on the game.

Dabo Swinney talks about the UNC loss

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Clemson players versus…UNC: Starting on offense, WR Jaron Brown had a banner day at UNC with four catches for 107 yards and a fourth quarter TD that brought the Tigers within striking distance of the Tar Heels.

WR DeAndre Hopkins had seven catches for 46 yards and a 31-yard punt return. RB Andre Ellington was contained for the most part with 12 carries for 55 yards. TE Dwayne Allen pulled in seven catches for 55 yards.

In the special teams, Dawson Zimmerman had 40.2 yards per punt on five punts. Chandler Catanzaro kicked a career-long 48-yard field goal in the first half, but missed a fourth quarter 42-yarder.

MLB Corico Hawkins led the Tigers in tackles with seven, SLB Quandon Christian had six, FS Rashard Hall broke up a pass and had five tackles and DT Brandon Thompson posted two tackles with a pass breakup.

Trends: Last time UNC came to Death Valley, Clemson handed them a 52-7 loss. The Tar Heels are 5-3 in ACC road games the last two seasons – including wins over FSU and Virginia Tech. The Tigers are 7-1 in home conference games the last two seasons (exception being the 30-21 loss to Miami in 2010).

2010 Schedule/Results

Sept. 4 vs. LSU (Georgia Dome) – L 30-24

Sept.18 GEORGIA TECH – L 30-24

Sept. 25 at Rutgers – W 17-13

Oct. 2 EAST CAROLINA – W 42-17

Oct. 9 CLEMSON – W 21-16

Oct. 16 at Virginia – W 44-10

Oct. 23 at Miami – L 33-10

Oct. 30 WILLIAM & MARY – W 21-17

Nov. 6 at Florida State – W 37-35

Nov. 13 VIRGINIA TECH – L 26-10

Nov. 20 NC STATE – L 29-25

Nov. 27 at Duke – W 24-19

Dec. 30 vs. Tennessee – W 30-27 2OT