April 3, 2008

• Spring Showcase - April 5, 1 p.m.

By Lee Pace

Spring football practice is a five-week compendium of introductions, auditions, experiments and evolution. It's an organized three-ring circus with a new coach here, emerging red-shirt freshmen and sophomores there, players tending to injuries on the sidelines and neophytes sweating and grunting in an effort to be noticed.

The results of Carolina's 2008 spring Petri dish will be on display Saturday when the Tar Heels present their Spring Showcase exhibition. Among the storylines to look for are a thumbs-up reception to new defensive coordinator Everett Withers, a dead-heat in the back-up quarterback competition, the maturation of Greg Little at tailback and the sprouting of potential contributors in the secondary.

"It will be not only a showcase, but a spotlight on some of the younger guys to find out how much they have grown this spring," coach Butch Davis says. "We're not going to learn much more about Garrett Reynolds than we already know. But we need to find out about our back-up offensive line, the second-team secondary. We need to see what Devon Ramsay and Ryan Houston can do running the ball."

The loss of its coordinator and three stout seniors doesn't seem to have been a major deterrent to the continued evolution of the Tar Heel defense. Led by a deep pool of players at tackle and a salty cadre of experienced and younger players jostling for position in the secondary, the unit has been aggressive, noisy and effective.

"We've got a little bit of a swagger on defense," sophomore cornerback Kendric Burney says. "We want to develop a big swagger by August. We can be a Top 25 defense, if not a Top 10 defense if we put our minds to it. We're not rookies anymore."

"This is the best defense I've seen since I've been here," adds senior linebacker Chase Rice, who returns to the starting lineup after an ankle injury last year. "We're flying around and swarming to the ball. In the past, if someone makes a mistake, it's a 30-yard gain. Now we've got nine guys flying to the ball if someone makes a mistake."

The Tar Heels' strength will be along the defensive front as it was in 2007, despite the loss of Hilee Taylor and Kentwan Balmer. Carolina has a solid nucleus including Marvin Austin, Cam Thomas, E.J. Wilson and Aleric Mullins, all of whom have logged significant playing time. Meanwhile, players like Tavares Brown, Darius Powell, Darrius Massenburg, Greg Elleby and Tydreke Powell have significant upside but just need growth and experience.

"I told those guys the first day, `Not to put any pressure on you, but we'll go as far as you guys go,'" first-year coordinator Everett Withers says of the defensive front. "I honestly believe that's how you win games, you win them up front. If you have guys who are roaring and snorting every snap, they make it easy on the back end. I'm impressed with the talent and the job coach [John] Blake has done with those guys. We just need to keep recruiting hard and developing depth."

Withers joins the Tar Heel staff from the University of Minnesota and has several ties to the state and to the program. He grew up in Charlotte, played at West Charlotte High and longed for a scholarship offer from the Tar Heels that never came. He played under Mack Brown for one year at Appalachian State and coached under him for three years at Texas. He was on the staff at Tulane in 1991 under head coach Greg Davis, who would later be the Heels' offensive coordinator for two seasons. He moved to Minnesota for the 2007 season to work under new head coach Tim Brewster, the Carolina tight ends coach from 1989-97. And Withers talked often about Carolina football with ex-Tar Heel David Thornton when they were linebacker and secondary coach, respectively, with the Tennessee Titans of the NFL.

"I know the great understanding and love for Chapel Hill that all of these guys have," Withers says. "Tim understood it was a dream of mine to coach here one day and wished me the best when I left Minnesota. I pinch myself every day when I come to work."

Withers has spent the spring getting to know the Tar Heels' talent and work himself into the functioning of the staff. He won't forecast what sort of schematic philosophy the defense will have come September or even in the years to come, except to say: "We want to play hard, fast and smart. Whatever that is, I don't care. If it's zone with a four-man rush or a go-get-'em mentality with bump coverage and blitzing, I'm fine with either. I just want to play hard, fast and smart. If we do those things, we'll be fine."

The players have quickly adapted to Withers' personality and teaching style.

"He's definitely a `player's coach,'" says Mark Paschal, a senior linebacker. "He's a great teacher, and the guys appreciate and respect that. He's really into the Xs-and-Os and has a great grasp of the game. I think we're lucky to have him."

"I like his style," sophomore safety Deunta Williams says. "There's some fire to him, but he lets you play. A coach who's in your ear on every play can be tough to play for. You start thinking too much.

"The bottom line is, he wants to make us better players. He wants us to take ownership of ourselves, to be accountable. We are what we put on film--no excuses. Being accountable means going to class, showing up on time for meetings. It all carries over to the field."

Among players to check out Saturday are the following:

Greg Little (No. 8) is now permanently entrenched at tailback, where he emerged against Georgia Tech and Duke at the end of the 2007 season; Aaron Stahl (73) has made a successful transition to center from left guard in replacing Scott Lenahan; Da'Norris Searcy (30) has emerged as a challenger to Trimane Goddard at strong safety given Goddard's convalescence from a wrist injury; Melvin Williams (38) is a junior college transfer who is being noticed at free safety; and Johnny White (34) and Richie Rich (26) are competing for backup roles at cornerback after moving from tailback.

Still somewhat muddled is the quarterback situation. Starter T.J. Yates has missed spring ball recovering from shoulder surgery, and Cameron Sexton and Mike Paulus have taken his absence as an opportunity to step up the competitive heat when August arrives. Yates will be the front-runner come training camp and hopefully his rebuilt shoulder and knowledge gained from dissecting last year's record-setting freshman season will allow him to make the improvement one would expect during a freshman-to-sophomore graduation.

Saturday's event will combine elements of a practice and a game and will last about 90 minutes. Practice starts at 12:30 p.m., and gates open at 10 a.m. with an assortment of games and activities for fans of all ages. Davis says the team will run from 60-70 full-speed snaps with roughly 35 percent taken by the proven players and the rest by the younger players.