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Extra Points: Heels Reviving Linebacker Tradition
Feb. 8, 2008
By Lee Pace
Two of the frequent spikes that Tar Heel football has made over the last century have come in the late-1970s/early 1980s era and then again in the 1990s. Both epochs saw Carolina tower into the Top 10 and post several win totals of 10 games or more per season. One of the common threads to those cycles was the pronounced numbers of linebackers who made All-ACC and graduated to the NFL draft and successful careers in the pros. Check it out: Carolina won 50 games over six years from 1979-84 and in five of those years had a first-team All-ACC linebacker (Buddy Curry, Darrell Nicholson, Lee Shaffer, Mike Wilcher, Chris Ward and Micah Moon) and six players drafted into the NFL. Carolina won 21 games over two years in 1996-97 and had a first-team All-ACC linebacker both years (Brian Simmons the first year and Kivuusama Mays the second), and the players flopped to second team in the year they weren't first team. The depth at linebacker was prodigious those seasons as well, as future All-ACC players Keith Newman and Brandon Spoon were starters or backups. All four of those players enjoyed significant NFL careers, as did another player who never made All-ACC, James Hamilton.
And the Heels' mini-peak in 2001 featured linebackers David Thornton and Quincy Monk, both NFL draft picks and the former still a formidable force on defense for the Tennessee Titans. Since then? Not much. Not one draft pick among linebackers, not one all-conference linebacker in six years. Which is why the four linebackers signed by head coach Butch Davis and staff Wednesday bunched with three from one year ago is a significant story around the Carolina program. You cannot win without quality linebackers. Judging by the on-field performance in 2006 of two of them, Quan Sturdivant and Bruce Carter, and the credentials of the newcomers, Carolina is building a solid and stable position for the future. "This was the year for linebackers," says linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen, himself a first-team All-ACC selection from the early 1990s. "Last year, there weren't that many good linebackers available, just a handful. This season there was an abundance of them. Coach Davis was adamant that we sign four or five kids. I think we've got some good ones." Adds defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano: "These guys fit the scheme. All have height, have size, all can run. In today's game with multiple wide receiver sets and spread offenses, you've got to have guys who can play in space and can run. These guys can do that." Heading the list is Zach Brown, whose home is in Columbia, Md., and who played last fall at Hargrave Military Academy. Brown is 6-2, 220 pounds and has been timed by the Hargrave coaches at 4.3 in the 40. He has also run the 100-meters in 10.4 and has athletic ability that Kenny Browning, the lead recruiter for Brown, terms "freakish." Brown originally committed to Maryland but changed his mind on his official visit to Carolina in January. He's also an outstanding wrestler, going unbeaten on the mat during his junior season. "You won't find another linebacker in the country with that kind of speed," Thigpen says. "He'll compete for Durell Mapp's job at Will (weakside). He can run from sideline to sideline and cover a lot ground. And great wrestlers sometimes are the best tacklers. We have definitely upgraded that position." The staff was discussing the incoming players Wednesday afternoon and Brown's name came up in the subject of returning kicks. "It's unique and rare to see a linebacker's name thrown into that discussion," Davis said. "People at Hargrave will tell you he might have been the best running back up there. He's got great burst and closing speed and we're excited to have him." Kevin Reddick (6-3, 230) is from New Bern High's state 4-A title team and is one of the Heels' top in-state signees. He's a "Mike" (middle) linebacker, though he has good speed in the 4.6 range. He was offered by the Tar Heel staff of coach John Bunting between his sophomore and junior years and the Heels held the lead throughout the 18-month recruiting process. They fended off Alabama, Tennessee, East Carolina and South Carolina, among many, for his services. "He's one of the most dynamic linebackers in the state," Davis says. "He's a big, physical kid who can be a dominating force inside stopping the run. He's just won a state championship, and I love to have those guys in your locker room. They understand the commitment to winning." Ebelle Okakpu (6-2, 220) is from Roswell, Ga., and was offered by every SEC school, plus Miami, Clemson and Virginia Tech. He visited Chapel Hill in June and committed in August and was one of the first recruits to fax in his letter-of-intent Wednesday morning. He's been timed at 4.5 in the 40. All three of those players are rated four-stars by the national recruiting services. "We upgraded our ability a year ago with Bruce and Quan," Thigpen says. "They can run and play in space, play nickel-down situations. All of these guys fit that mold. But the difference is that Bruce and Quan both played quarterback in high school. They had to learn to play linebacker and are still learning. These guys have the same ability but have played linebacker all their career. "They're all football junkies. They love to study film and study the game." A fourth signee who could play linebacker is Kenneth Harris (6-4, 215) of Decatur, Ga. He played safety for the most part in high school but is projected to move to linebacker at Carolina. Seven linebackers over two years, plus six defensive backs signed a year ago and two more this year, will improve the Tar Heels' inventory of players available for special teams, a point Davis and Pagano emphasized in the wake of signing day. Davis spoke of having to play more defensive backs and receivers on special teams than he'd like last fall because of the lack of larger athletes to use in the interior positions of the kicking units. "Quan and Bruce were the kind of guys you depend on for special teams," Davis said. "But once they became starters, it was difficult to ask them to go 25 special team snaps in addition to 60 to 70 on defense. Late in the year, particularly a game like Wake Forest, our kick coverage suffered dramatically because we just didn't have enough players." "You need a pool of guys from the secondary and linebacker who have size, speed, instincts, toughness and can play in space," Pagano adds. "I think we'll dramatically upgrade our special teams play. If you're depleted and don't have great numbers at those positions, you're in trouble." Beyond linebacker, the Tar Heels are also getting better at the front end and the back end. Wednesday's results included landing two top defensive line prospects and one safety from the West Coast.
Defensive end Quinton Coples announced for the Tar Heels after offers from FSU, Florida, N.C. State, Ohio State, N.C. State and Virginia Tech. The Kinston native played last year at Hargrave with Brown and brings considerable physical skills to the table: 6-6, 245, 4.65 speed. "He has a chance to be a Peppers-type guy," Pagano says. "He's big, he's got savvy, he has good range from sideline to sideline and is quick off the ball. He likes football and likes the game. It's all there, it's all in front of him. He's got huge upside." Robert Quinn could play tackle or end for Carolina after picking the Heels Wednesday morning over South Carolina, Auburn and Alabama. He's 6-4, 255 pounds and runs a 4.8 in the 40. Meanwhile, across the country in Long Beach, Calif., safety Herman Davidson picked Carolina over Miami. Tar Heel receivers coach Charlie Williams is a graduate of Davidson's high school, Long Beach Polytechnic, and used his connections there to unearth a prospect who was open to traveling across the country. Davis noted that the incoming class of defensive linemen would likely make for an imposing intramural basketball team--tall, athletic and quick with the body types to add considerable girth in a couple of years. "It's a philosophy I've known all my coaching career--get guys who could be power forwards, centers in basketball with good feet and change of direction, things defensive ends have to do," Davis said. He added that across the board the staff found players who were "uniquely fast" at their respective positions and noted how that kind of speed, quickness and athletic ability allowed the New York Giants to pressure Tom Brady in the Super Bowl without bringing a lot of heat from other positions. "The Giants never blitzed, never hung themselves out by bringing five or six and leaving their secondary 1-on-1 and allowing Tom Brady to pick them apart," Davis said. "That's what our defenses looked like with the Dallas Cowboys and later at Miami. And that's what they'll like here as well." This signing class was tilted more toward defensive players, with four linemen, four linebackers and two backs comprising 10 of 17 commitments. A.J. Blue, who played quarterback in an option and run-oriented offense at North Gaston, has worked with Pagano at safety in camp and could wind up on defense. "The two classes really compliment each other," Pagano said. "Put them together and you've got two solid classes back to back. We've got a good foundation to work from in building a defense." Chapel Hill writer Lee Pace is in his 18th season writing "Extra Points," a colorful and in-depth look at Tar Heel football. He'll answer your questions about the Tar Heels regularly during the season in his "Extra Points Mailbag" column and on the Tar Heel Sports Network's pregame show. Email him your questions (please, no recruiting questions) about the Tar Heels at leepace@nc.rr.com and he'll answer the most interesting ones. |
