Tag: Carolina football

Tar Heels in NFL: Javonte Williams, Trubisky two of six UNC alums named starters; who will play and who got released?

After running into the NFL spotlight during his rookie season, Denver Broncos running back Javonte Williams takes on a greater role with heightened expectations. The power back and Pittsburgh quarterback Mitch Trubisky will probably be the Tar Heels who will have the brightest spotlight on them as the NFL season starts this weekend. After 29 UNC alums entered NFL camps, only 16 will be on active opening-weekend rosters, with three on practice squads, one suspended and another out for the season. Williams and Trubisky are among six Tar Heels listed as starters.

Chizik looking for solutions after nightmare game for his UNC defense

Like in Gene Chizik’s first stint as defensive coordinator at North Carolina, his goal is to have his defenders stay in front of the opposing players and give up short gains as long as the number of big plays is limited. The cliché is “bend but not break.” But there was a lot of breakage in the Tar Heels’ 63–61 win Saturday at Appalachian State, particularly in the Mountaineers’ 40-point fourth quarter.

Maye impressive again as UNC holds off App State in instant classic

BOONE — In a small two-game sample size, Drake Maye has already shown the potential to become the best quarterback in North Carolina program history. And his defense still has work to do. Maye led UNC to a thrilling 63–61 win Saturday over Appalachian State at Kidd Brewer Stadium, ending a skid of seven consecutive losses away from Chapel Hill, in an instant classic.

Maye, RBs impress as much as defense disappoints in UNC win

CHAPEL HILL — Drake Maye quickly threw away any concerns about Carolina’s quarterback situation after Sam Howell’s departure, and the Tar Heels’ young running backs looked impressive. Still, other worries from last season popped up against a short-handed FCS team Saturday. While Maye looked poised and polished, his offensive line wasn’t much better than the one Howell played with at times. Although the defense made some big plays, it couldn’t contain the passing game of a Florida A&M team missing three starters and many top reserves much of the night.

Maye to start for UNC at QB in opener but Criswell will also play

Ultimately, the legacy quarterback who flipped his original commitment from powerhouse Alabama won Carolina’s starting quarterback battle. Redshirt Drake Maye, the brother of former basketball star Luke Maye (2015–19) and the son of former quarterback Mark Maye (1983–88), will start Saturday’s 8:15 p.m. season opener against Florida A&M (ACC Network), getting the nod in a close competition with Jacolby Criswell.

Tre Boston co-host for new ACCN show; two ACCN shows to air at UNC next week

Former UNC and NFL defensive back Tre Boston will be a co-host for a new ACC Network weekday program that debuts Monday. Boston, Mark Packer and Taylor Tannebaum will be co-hosts for “ACC PM,” a football-focused program on weekdays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. It will be broadcast from the same studio in the basement of Packer’s Charlotte home used for the weekday morning show “Packer and Durham,” which was discontinued earlier this summer, with the last episode July 1.

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.

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.

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.

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.