Tar Heels Football

By Briana Gorman - bgorman@heraldsun.com; 419-6668

CHAPEL HILL, NC — As the NCAA investigates multiple schools, including North Carolina, for allegedly improper contact between players and agents, social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook — which initially may have drawn the governing body’s interest — have become hot topics. 

In the past week, photos and posts on Twitter have come to light that show Tar Heels Marvin Austin and Greg Little, who both appear to be the focus of the NCAA’s interest at UNC, at a pool party in Miami in May. In recent months, Austin not only has tweeted about trips to Miami but also about shopping sprees and posted a photo of a $143 receipt from The Cheesecake Factory.

Since news of the investigation broke, Austin and Little have shut down their accounts. Team spokesman Kevin Best said the players were not asked by the school to deactivate their accounts.

“One of the things we do with all of those kinds of things is we talk to kids about electronics, the media,” UNC coach Butch Davis said. “And this just isn’t as a knee-jerk reaction. We’ve been doing this ever since I’ve ever been the head football coach is just talking about the YouTubes, the Facebooks. … You just have to try to educate them as best you can about making smart decisions.”

Many players on the basketball and football teams at UNC and Duke have Twitter accounts that feature hundreds and, sometimes, thousands of followers. Most of the time, players will post mundane things such as what they are having for breakfast and song lyrics, but sometimes a player’s use of Twitter gets them in trouble.

For example, after the UNC men’s basketball team lost to the College of Charleston in January, freshman John Henson tweeted “Just made someone’s college career relevant.” The tweet was later removed. And in June, Henson and Dexter Strickland tweeted about toning down their comments after getting a talk from the coaching staff because they had offended some people.

“It’s something that we try to educate on and hope that they make good decisions,” said Steve Kirschner, UNC’s associate director of athletics for communications. “If they put things up that are not representative of the program, then we expect them to take it down and there are consequences when they put up stuff that’s inappropriate.”

Kirschner said the players are responsible for what they put on social media sites just as they are responsible for what they say in a news conference. He said coaches, administrators and sports information directors are constantly talking with athletes about Twitter and Facebook, and freshmen receive a presentation when they get on campus. Kirschner said each sport is responsible for monitoring their players’ social media accounts.

“I don’t think that we would want to ban kids from using Twitter and Facebook,” Kirschner said. “I think those sites are extremely popular, extremely common, and I think for the most part, by and large, I think the people that are on them are using them responsibly.”

Art Chase, director of sports information at Duke, said the school doesn’t have a written policy on social media but, much like UNC, tries to educate athletes. He said the school also likes to get feedback from the athletes.

“That age group is certainly very in-tune with social media and networking,” Chase said. “We certainly like the conversation to go both ways where educating them and their relaying information and their thoughts and their feelings to our people so that it’s not a case of, ‘OK don’t do this, don’t do that.’ “

Chase said not only do coaching staffs and other athletic department members monitor the athletes’ social media accounts, but part of the responsibility also falls to the upperclassmen to make sure their teammates are representing the school properly.

“This isn’t the first time that this kind of stuff has happened,” Chase said. “We’ve watched in years past other schools go through it, so I feel comfortable that we’ve been doing a pretty good job of making our student athletes aware of what’s going on.

“Obviously, the media awareness of it this week, and for good reason, has come a little stronger just because of the proximity of the investigations with the ACC, SEC schools.”

ESPN.com’s Mel Kiper recently released his first 2011 Big Board Insider, and there are plenty of Tar Heels represented. That’s good for North Carolina this season, but a scary thought for next year…

No. 3 UNC DE Robert Quinn 

No. 8 BC OT Anthony Castonzo 

No. 13 UNC DT Marvin Austin 

No. 15 VT RB Ryan Williams 

No. 16 Miami DE Allen Bailey 

No. 18 UNC LB Bruce Carter 

No. 21 Virginia CB Ras-I Dowling 

14. North Carolina

2009 Final CFN Ranking: 31

Now that Butch Davis has built a foundation in Chapel Hill, he’s looking to get the Heels over the hump and into the ACC title game with a team loaded with NFL players … at least on one side of the ball. The defense should be tremendous starting with DE Robert Quinn and DT Marvin Austin, along with linebackers Bruce Carter and Quan Sturdivant. The offense will be a work-in-progress until someone can step up and solidify the quarterback play. With the top four producers back, at least the young receivers figure to be much-improved.

13. Penn State

2009 Final CFN Ranking: 15

It’s Penn State, so the team is going to be good, it’ll go to a great bowl game, and it’ll be in the hunt for the Big Ten title, but it’s more of a Big Ten X factor than a sure thing contender going into 2010. Ohio State is loaded, Iowa should be even better, and Wisconsin should be terrific. Penn State has to replace Clark and has to hope for Kevin Newsome or Matt McGloin to be good enough to keep the passing game going while RB Evan Royster gets a heavier workload. There’s work to do to replace several key players on defense like DT Jared Odrick and linebackers Sean Lee, Navorro Bowman, and Josh Hull, but there are several decent prospects on the way ready to step up. This will be a good team that no one will put at the top of the Big Ten preseason pecking order, but it could surprise and be great with a little luck.

12. Iowa

2009 Final CFN Ranking: 8

Preseason top ten … maybe? Only four starters are back on offense, but the backfield is intact and Iowa is always great at filling in the holes with no-name players who come from out of nowhere to produce. The defense returns loaded, PK Daniel Murray and P Ryan Donohue could form one of the nation’s best kicking tandems, and the schedule isn’t all that bad with just two road games in the first eight. The toughest games, Penn State, Wisconsin, and Ohio State, are at home.

11. Oregon

2009 Final CFN Ranking: 10

Oregon won a Pac-10 championship with a team that had very few senior starters, so a repeat is more than just an attainable goal; it’s expected. With Jeremiah Masoli and LaMichael James returning to the backfield and the entire offensive line intact, Chip Kelly’s offense could be even more prolific in 2010. The defense can use a complement to Kenny Rowe at defensive end and the offense is always looking for more consistency from the receivers, but otherwise, this program is poised for a third straight 10-win season.

10. LSU

2009 Final CFN Ranking: 27

Last year was a strong year even if it wasn’t the special one that LSU has been accustomed to. This season should be when the Tigers get back into the national title hunt with eight starters back on offense and the phenomenal recruiting classes of the last few years about to kick in. The defense suffers a big blow up front with the loss of three good starters, but LSU is a factory for coming up with talented linemen. The linebacking corps has the potential to be special with a little bit of time, while the secondary, led by corner Patrick Peterson, will be a rock. No one’s touching this team until the trip to Florida on October 9th, and the Alabama game is in Baton Rouge.

9. Wisconsin

2009 Final CFN Ranking: 19

Look out. There are a few key replacements to make but the Badgers should be considered among the favorites to win the Big Ten title. Last year’s team was good and young, but the 2010 squad should be good and experienced. Now the key will be to see if Bret Bielema’s club can play up to expectations. For all the good things that happened in 2010, the bowl win over Miami was the only victory of note and the Badgers failed in their three big regular season tests against Ohio State, Iowa, and Northwestern. They’ll be in just about everyone’s preseason top 15, and they’ll have to play like it from the start.

8. Boise State

2009 Final CFN Ranking: 3

The preseason hype will be off the charts. This will be the hot team this offseason after yet another big season and with so much talent returning, but will it be enough to finally be in the national title discussion? If the Broncos can beat Virginia Tech in Landover, Maryland in the season opener and if they can get by Oregon State at home, then yes. At this point with so many great seasons in a row, there should be a groundswell of support to see what the team can do when finally given a shot at the whole ball of wax … if it beats the Hokies.

7. Virginia Tech

2009 Final CFN Ranking: 9

Virginia Tech figures to be where it is each season, near the front of the pack in the hunt for an ACC crown. As the Coastal Division gets tighter, with the likes of Miami, Georgia Tech, and North Carolina, there’ll be minimal margin for error. QB Tyrod Taylor has another season of eligibility left, meaning the backfield will be loaded with terrific athletes. While the defense has vacancies that need to be filled, that never seems to be too big of a problem for ace coordinator Bud Foster.

6. Oklahoma

2009 Final CFN Ranking: 35

Reports of the program’s demise might be premature. Boosted by one of the best recruiting classes in the nation, the talent level is still high and now the team is a bit more experienced with eight starters returning on offense led by QB Landry Jones, whose time spent throughout last year was the one positive from the Sam Bradford injury, and RB DeMarco Murray who only seems like he’s been in Norman so long that he once shared a backfield with Billy Sims. The defense loses all-everything DT Gerald McCoy, but it gets back seven starters including LB Travis Lewis and pass rushing star Jeremy Beal. The schedule is interesting with Florida State, at Cincinnati, at Missouri, and at Texas A&M to deal with.

5. Nebraska

2009 Final CFN Ranking: 17

If you’re looking for your sleeper, or at least a team that might just outside of everyone’s preseason top five who might end up in Glendale, this could be it. Ten starters are back on offense and there’s good, developed depth to rely on, and while the defense loses Ndamukong Suh and Barry Turner off the line and SS Larry Asante from the secondary, Bo Pelini’s defense isn’t going to take a major step back with Jared Crick and Pierre Allen the stars up front. Schedule-wise, the early date at Washington will be a test, but it’s winnable for a team dreaming of a national title. Road games at Oklahoma State and Texas A&M are dangerous, but Texas and Missouri have to come to Lincoln.

4. Ohio State

2009 Final CFN Ranking: 7

The Buckeyes are the far-and-away favorites to the win the 2010 Big Ten title and will be in the mix for the national title from the start. Miami is coming to Columbus, but there isn’t any USC to deal with this year. There are only two dangerous road games, Wisconsin and Iowa, but if the team really is national title-good, it needs to win those. The offense is loaded with experience and the defense should be solid once again as the tremendous recruiting classes of the last few years restock the shelves.

3. Texas

2009 Final CFN Ranking: 4

Texas might be considered one of the favorites for the national title if there weren’t a few question marks about QB Garrett Gilbert’s consistency as the full-time starter. Throw in some nasty road games against Nebraska and Texas Tech to go along with dates against Oklahoma, UCLA, and Texas A&M, and the Horns will have to earn what they get. However, the overall schedule isn’t all that awful for a team this good and there’s no reason to not be in Glendale in early January either as the Big 12 champion or as the Big 12 champion playing for the whole ball of wax. The defensive back seven will be a rock and the losses up front, including Sergio Kindle and Lamarr Houston, can be replaced by more NFL-caliber talent. The offensive line needs to be better and there has to be a running game, but this could still be a team that simply outtalents its way to a championship.

2. Florida

2009 Final CFN Ranking: 2

If you’re ever going to get to Florida, this is it with the phenomenal recruiting classes waiting in the wings. In a year of transition (or Year One A.T.T. … figure it out), QB John Brantley has to live up to all the prep hype and be the NFL prospect that many consider him to be. However, he can be mediocre and the Gators will still likely win the East with a defense that remains loaded despite the loss of future NFL stars like Brandon Spikes and Joe Haden. The offense will have to use the offensive line to pave the way for more of a running game from the backs. The depth chart is laughably amazing with too much talent for one ball now that super-recruit Mack Brown is in the mix with Jeff Demps, Chris Rainey, and Emmanuel Moody. With Tennessee in even more of an iffy phase and Georgia trying to figure out what it is, this might be a three game season going to Alabama and hosting LSU in back-to-back weeks and dealing with an improved Florida State in the regular-season finale.

1. Alabama

2009 Final CFN Ranking: 1

Because it’s Alabama and because the coaching is so great and because the talent level is so ridiculously high after a few years of top-shelf recruiting, this might be everyone’s preseason No. 1 team. However, there are concerns for a team that caught a few big breaks in a down year in the SEC (not to mention Colt McCoy’s shoulder injury in the national title game) and needed a few skin-of-the-teeth wins to get through unscathed. The defense has some major work to do with six of the defensive front seven gone including LB Rolando McClain and NG Terrence Cody. Corner and punt return star Javier Arenas and FS Justin Woodall are also gone. But don’t weep any tears for a defense that has plenty of NFL prospects waiting in the wings. Oh yeah … the offense. The backfield is jaw-dropping with a Heisman-winner (Mark Ingram) along a guy (Trent Richardson) who might be a starter in the NFL right now. Throw in top-five pro prospect WR Julio Jones and three starters on the O line, and the offense will be tremendous. The schedule has plenty of landmines with Penn State, at Arkansas, Florida, at South Carolina, Ole Miss, at Tennessee, at Tennessee, and Auburn to deal with.

GREENSBORO, N.C. - North Carolina defensive standouts Marvin Austin, Kendric Burney and Quan Sturdivant were among the 24 players named to the preseason All-ACC football team Monday. Media members attending the 2009 ACC Football Kickoff at the Grandover Resort cast 44 ballots for the teams.