Category Archives: Football

Tar Heels in NFL: Howell, Trubisky get off to good starts; Chandler makes big impression for Vikings

It was a good first weekend of NFL exhibition games for the two UNC quarterbacks in the NFL on Saturday, with Washington Commanders rookie Sam Howell putting on a show off the bench and new Pittsburgh Steeler Mitch Trubisky playing well as a starter.More

Howell puts on show in NFL exhibition debut

By R.L. Bynum Rookie Sam Howell may have been the Washington Commanders’ third quarterback in Saturday’s 23–21 loss to the Carolina Panthers in the exhibition opener for both teams, but he was easily the most impressive. The fifth-round pick out of UNC gave the home fans in Landover, Md., a good display of his versatile…More

‘Portraits’ episode focuses on Mack Brown

An episode of “Portraits” featuring Carolina coach Mack Brown will debut this weekend. ESPN2 will first air the show at 10 a.m. Sunday on ESPN2, with the episode re-airing several times on ESPN2 and ESPNU next week.More

ACC Network will air UNC games in several fall sports

Highlighted by the field hockey battle against fellow national power Iowa, North Carolina teams will appear on ACC Network this fall several times. There will be 12 Tar Heels games involving football, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, field hockey and volleyball on the network. That total will likely rise, with the football opener at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27 unlikely to be the only ACCN appearance for Coach Mack Brown’s team.More

Woody Durham treasured note from Vin Scully

Sports broadcasting legend Vin Scully, who died Tuesday at the age of 94, made the day of another broadcast legend with a note he sent. Scully, the iconic Hall of Fame baseball announcer who called Dodgers games for 67 years, first in Brooklyn and then in Los Angeles, sent a note on Los Angeles Dodgers stationery to Woody Durham. It congratulated the longtime Voice of the Tar Heels, who passed away in 2018, on his career.More

Tar Heels in NFL: Williams, Trubisky, Ezeudu projected starters; Hollins turning heads; 29 UNC alums in camps

Bolstered by eight rookies — three with the New York Giants — the number of Tar Heels in NFL camps is a mammoth 29 players, with some fighting for roster spots, many battling to move up the depth charts and others projected to start. Some of the headliners in camps have been running back Javonte Williams, quarterback Mitch Trubisky, wide receiver Mack Hollins and offensive guard Joshua Ezeudu.More

UNC takes attitude adjustment into the football season

CHARLOTTE — The three bywords that Carolina coach Mack Brown has emphasized to his team after a frustrating losing season are passion, accountability and toughness. With all three of those, he’s convinced that the narrow late-season road losses to Pittsburgh and N.C. State would have been victories and there would have been a lot more positive vibes at the end of the season.More

UNC takeover day on ACCN showcases men’s hoops win at Duke, 9 other victories in 8 other sports

When it’s UNC’s turn during ACC Network School Takeovers on Tuesday, you’ll see 10 memorable victories in nine sports from the last school year that aired on an ESPN channel. You won’t see the Tar Heels’ Final Four victory over Duke because that aired on TBS, but you’ll get a chance to relive their 94–81 victory in Durham to ruin Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s last home game (6 p.m.), a softball no-hitter, an amazing football comeback and three ACC Tournament championship wins.More

ACC scraps football divisions starting in 2023; UNC to face three primary schools each season

Next season will be the last with Coastal chaos and the two-division football format in the ACC. The conference announced Tuesday a new scheduling model from 2023 until 2026 that eliminates divisions. It designates three primary opponents that teams will play each year — for Carolina those are Duke, N.C. State and Virginia. The Tar Heels would be guaranteed to face all 10 other opponents twice over the four-year cycle.More

Criswell-Maye battle could lead to two-QB system early in UNC’s season

CHAPEL HILL — Who will start at quarterback to lead Carolina and try to fill the void left by Sam Howell’s departure? While there is a good bit of optimism with the influx of talent and new coaches that the Tar Heels can rebound from a 6–7 season, the answer to that key question isn’t clear. This is at least the third time veteran UNC coach Mack Brown has gone into the summer in this situation.More

Fedora’s Breakers, Bug Howard’s Stars earn USFL playoff berths

Coach Larry Fedora’s New Orleans Breakers and tight end Bug Howard’s Philadelphia Stars earned berths in the four-team United States Football League playoffs but both teams lost last weekend to finish their regular seasons 6–4. Former UNC wide receiver Anthony Ratliff-Williams had two catches for 19 yards Sunday for Houston as the Gamblers knocked off New Orleans 20–3. Philadelphia dropped a 26–23 game Saturday to the New Jersey Generals despite Howard (top photo) collecting five catches off of six targets for 101 yards.More