New blood.
Probably the most talked about aspect of the Tar Heel team heading into the 2009 season which means there is not much else to say. By way of recap, even though we all know the deal, UNC lost Hakeem Nicks, Brandon Tate and Brooks Foster to the NFL Draft and graduation. Following them out the door was pretty much the entire passing game save the quarterback who threw the passes and he only played in half the games last season. For the sake of comparison, it is a little bit like basketball in 2006 when so much of the team left we all sat around wondering if Tyler Hansbrough was going to really be that good and whether David Noel and Reyshawn Terry could have breakout years of sorts, enough so to keep the ship on an even keel until the 2006 recruiting class made it to campus.
The analogy works here. Basically, Greg Little is David Noel. Now I am not talking about leadership qualities, though Little might be an outstanding leader. What I am talking about is in both cases you have these tremendously athletic guys with great potential who are put into a position to really help the team. In Noel’s case, he did everything he could have possibly done to carry that team. Yes, having Hansbrough helped, but Noel’s play was huge in bringing that team along. Little is facing the same situation. It is well know Little is a great athlete and has the tools to be a great college football player. However he has been shadowed by guys like Nicks and Tate not to mention the failed experiment at running back. That left the junior from Durham being a role player, being used on special plays and generally contributing when he could which turned out to be not too often. In 2009, Little is it at WR. UNC needs him to fulfill hit potential and produce at that position in a break out fashion. The reason being is the options behind Little are young and inexperienced. This is Little’s season to shine and if he does that, the Heels will have a stable enough presence in the receiving game to keep defenses honest.
As for Dwight Jones and Joshua Adams, they were impressive in the spring. Unfortunately for them they will have to grow up fast. While Little can do the heavy lifting, it would be nice to have these guys develop to a point where UNC has three legitimate receiving threats on the field similar to what we have seen in the past two years. Granted they will not get to Nicks/Tate levels this season but even if they become Brooks Foster that is something. And if you want to carry the analogy from 2006 basketball further, if one of them ends up being a football version of Tyler Hansbrough’s productivity, things will really get interesting.
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Talk some more about my man Dave Noel. Love that dude. Does he have any eligibility in football? I bet he’d be a hell of a WR or TE.
IIRC, he came to UNC as a football player. He is one of the all time favorites. Not just for what he did in 2006 but dude could throw down some wicked dunks.
Yes, Noel was a recruited WR coming out of Southern Durham. You guys remember his 19 points and throwdown (in a losing effort) at Duke his Freshman year?
All Tar Heel football fans are really pulling for Little to really step up. I think it would be a good reward for him for his perserverance if he had a great year.
As I have posted previously, Anthony Elzy is a guy who will be a big key for the Heels passing game this year (from the FB position). His injury last year was overlooked and hurt the Heels offensively down the stretch.
I don’t see Noel listed for the Pro Alumni game. It would be nice to see him playing with those guys.
David Noel – widest man on the court, he was so big his senior year, it was crazy. You know how it is when you are watching a game and there are college kids and then there’s this man on the court. That man was David Noel. Kinda Blair last year, he looked like he was 30 compared to the rest of his team.
The WR issues we face are good ones to have – what happened to your WRs? They went to the NFL. Same issue different group at WF with their defense. I think that you build talent when you have great players on the field regardless. Yes you didn’t get many passes last year, we had Nicks on the field. Anyone going to practice, meetings and games through a season can only benefit working with Nicks and Tate. The people waiting for a chance have to be hungry and ready to play regardless.
One final thought – channeling William – I looked at season tickets as a percentage of seats available and came up with the following – all based on 2008 numbers but directional at least:
UNC 60,000 36,100 60.17%
WF 31,500 15,000 47.62%
NCSU 57,583 37,500 65.12%
FSU 82,300 38,400 46.66%
UF 88,000 76,500 86.93%
Clempson 80,500 58,134 72.22%
ECU 43,000 20,683 48.10%
There you have it, hard to get real information on sales and sometimes just capacity. We are certainly respectable, certainly compared to FSU when you consider they are the only game in town for hundreds of miles.
Go Heels!
I think Dwight Jones is going to be the “real deal.” He comes from Burlington Cummings, just like Brandon Tate, and I think Jones will have a breakout season. What’s even more impressive about Jones, is that, in my opinion, he is even more athletic and bigger than Brandon Tate. I truly think the offense will be fine, as long as T.J. Yates doesn’t get hurt…