2009 Statistics

2010 OUTLOOK
When looking for surprise teams in 2010, North Carolina is going to stand out as they make a jump from finishing unranked to having a Top 25 presence. The upcoming fall will be the fourth season for head coach Butch Davis, the season that all true coaches are measured by their own recruits reaching upperclassmen status. On paper, Davis has passed with flying colors heading into next spring, based primarily on personnel. The Tar Heels now need to take the wealth of athletes and turn them into a 10-win type of program. They were well on their way during the ’09 campaign before getting upset in the last game of the year by rival N.C. State. Such is the nature of the ACC; no one team has risen above its quagmire of inconsistency. Enough cannot be said about how much senior star power this team boasts on the defensive side. According to an opposing ACC coach, the Tar Heels play defense the way Florida State and Miami used to play defense. They have NFL players up and down. Six of these defensive performers were honored as All-Conference selections last fall and NationalChamps.net has tabbed three as preseason All-Americans. The offense is quite the opposite – is there enough ‘wow’ factor? Other than losing OT Kyle Jolly, this will likely be the same exact offense as the year before. Coach Davis and his staff need to have this group learn from its prior mistakes. T.J. Yates has struggled behind center tossing more interceptions than touchdowns in his 2009 outing. Those types of trends have to change and the blocking unit up front will likely see some major shifting in order to locate a combination that works better. Running backs Shaun Draughn and Ryan Houston are quality players and with a little help could become much more of a factor. Looking at the depth charts, North Carolina is setting up to make ‘10 their best since the Mack Brown days of the mid-90s.