Larry Fedora is set to begin his third year at North Carolina and the Tar Heels have the pieces in place to make a run at the Coastal Division championship with a chance to play the winner of the Atlantic for its first ACC championship since 1980. The Tar Heels have a great opportunity in front of them and today we will focus on four reasons the Tar Heels can win the Coastal division.
Vic Koenning is in his third year coordinating the north Carolina defense and finally he has the play makers and depth on defense to run his 4-2-5 scheme. The Tar Heels can rush the passer and have talented depth in the secondary. Norkeithus Otis and Shakeel Rashad will be able to rush the quarterback from the Bandit position however a star in the making is Mikey Bart. Bart showed some explosiveness rushing the passer and adds depth to one of the defenses stronger positions. If Dajuan Dreenon and Nazair Jones can provide solid depth to the defensive line the Tar Heels could turn into one of the stronger defenses in the ACC. That is hard to imagine after the performance against ECU however the players are comfortable in the scheme which will cut down on many of the mental mistakes that plagued the defense a year ago.
Quinshad Davis is one of the best receivers in the ACC however Bug Howard is about to become a household name. Howard showed glimpes of his potential last season and is poised to have one of those break out years. The Tar Heels are a tough cover in the Red Zone with both Howard and Davis listed at 6’4. Both receivers have a mentality that if the ball is in the air it is theirs. After Davis and Howard the Tar Heels feature TJ Thorpe, Kendrick Singleton and Ryan Switzer all of who can take it to the end zone on any given play. The Tar Heels do not have Eric Ebron however Jack Tabb and Brandon Fitts both are big athletic targets who are tough to cover in the middle of the field. Neither will wow you like Ebron however they both may be better at blocking and making the easy catch which is something the NFL’s tenth pick struggle with at times.
The running back situation at North Carolina is the best i can remember since the days of Johnson and Johnson. TJ Logan, Romar Morris, Kris Francis and Elijah Hood will be battling it out for touches in the offense. Each guys brings something different to the table which makes it even tougher for coordinators to plan against. With the depth at this position I believe Romar Morris will receive more touches out in the A back position where he operates best out in space. Elijah Hood is the X-factor in the group and will end up splitting the majority of carries with sophomore TJ Logan.
The Tar Heels have a favorable schedule for pulling out a Coastal division title. They do have to travel to Miami however the Hurricanes have been a team North Carolina has had success against. The Tar Heels will have to travel to Death Valley yet this may be the best year to have a game against Clemson. Not that the Tigers will be a pushover and it would not surprise if North carolina lost the game nevertheless Clemson starts with a new face at quarterback and Sammy Watkins is gone to Buffalo. The Tar Heels have Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and Pitt at home. They will travel to Durham yet Wallace Wade Stadium has been known to have plenty of light blue in the stands when North Carolina visits. Finally North Carolina hosts NC State to end the season. The Wolfpack are coming off a win less season in conference play, but with new quarterback Jacoby Brissett NC State will not go quietly into that goodnight.
North Carolina has a great opportunity to do something not seen in Chapel Hill for over 35 years. We looked at four reasons the Tar Heels can win the Coastal division without highlight the quarterback situation or special teams. Will the Tar Heels make enough plays to give themselves a chance at playing in Charlotte for the conference championship? I think they can in a year where the Coastal division is wide open.
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