Tar Heels Football

Ten players who earned first-team, second-team or honorable mention All-Conference honors this past season secured spots on the 2009 ACC All-Academic Football Team, announced Wednesday by…

The UNC football team will play host to William and Mary to celebrate Homecoming on October 30, 2010. Other special dates for next football season include: Football Lettermen and Varsity Monogram Day…

UNC fans seem to have caught the Backup syndrome, eagerly awaiting Bryn Renner’s takeover of the starting quarterback job currently held by senior T.J. Yates. Considering the Tar Heels had one of the…

NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS

Spring practice starts: March 15

Spring game: April 10

What to watch:

• Quarterback T.J. Yates. It’s his job to lose, and the coaching staff still has confidence in him, but Bryn Renner is waiting in the wings, and Braden Hanson will also be given an opportunity. The staff is looking for the offense to improve its passing efficiency and cut down on turnovers.

• The offensive line. It was a patchwork effort in 2009, thanks to injuries and inexperience, and will be a major key in how much UNC improves offensively this year. The Heels have to replace two starters, and Jonathan Cooper is likely to move from guard to center, and right guard Alan Pelc will miss spring drills while recovering from shoulder surgery.

• Defensive line tweaks. There aren’t many questions on a defense that should be one of the best in the country, but somebody has to replace Cam Thomas and defensive end E.J. Wilson. Tydreke Powell is the frontrunner to take over at defensive tackle and Quinton Coples at defensive end. Both were backups last year at their respective positions.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Bryn Renner caught up with tarheelblue.com Monday to discuss his plans to play baseball this spring for the Diamond Heels. The West Springfield, Va., product joined the…

UNC: Spring practice starts: March 15. Spring game: April 10. Question: Is Bryn Renner ready to supplant T.J. Yates at quarterback? T.J. Yates has started for the better part of three seasons for…

With all that is going on with the offensive line - the players out in the spring, the January enrollees, the myriad line-ups employed in ’09 - how will the Tar Heels line up this year on the…

2. North Carolina: The Tar Heels are halfway there. If they could muster enough offense to compliment their dominate defense, UNC could be one of the best teams in the country in 2010. It starts up front with more stability and dependability on the offensive line, but quarterback T.J. Yates also has to make better decisions.

Last ACC title: 1980

Best finish under Butch Davis: Tied for third in the Coastal Division in 2008.

Biggest need for improvement: Passing efficiency. The Tar Heels ranked No. 98 in the country in this category, throwing 17 interceptions and 14 touchdowns.

Judging the effectiveness, or the ineffectiveness, of an offensive line is without question the most difficult task for an outside observer. You may be able to see what the offensive lineman does,…

When offensive linemen enter the two-deep, usually they are upperclassmen who’ve been waiting in the wings, getting bigger, getting stronger and working their way onto the line. However, the state of…

It is always interesting to hear a different perspective on how a recruit becomes a verbal commitment, then a signee, then a Tar Heel. Sam Pittman shared a couple of those stories. When Nick Appel…

One of the burning topics of the off-season will continue to be the state of the offensive line. We decided that the issue was so important that we’d go to the source: offensive line coach Sam…

David Glenn recently caught up with UNC coach Butch Davis on Glenn’s afternoon radio show in the midst of National Signing Day. Among the topics they discussed: nervous moments on signing day; how…