Aug. 6, 2008

By Adam Lucas

Marvin Austin frequently mentioned last season that defensive line coach John Blake had told the youngsters in that position group that 2007 was their year to serve their elders. With that in mind, Austin spent the season watching and learning from Kentwan Balmer. This season, he's trying to emulate him both in terms of on-field production and practice field leadership.

"When Kentwan and Hilee (Taylor) were here I had to learn what to do," he says. "They didn't expect me to be a leader. Now, I have to be myself and do what I'm supposed to do." Doing what he's supposed to do includes spending plenty of time in the offensive backfield; Austin has been a consistent force during team drills. The next step, according to Butch Davis, is for the sophomore to perform at a high level consistently rather than in spurts.

"Trying to be consistent every play is hard," Austin says. "It's a grind. A lot of times, I'll tell the guy beside me that he's not tired. That way, if I tell him he's not tired, then I can't be tired either."...

One of Austin's linemates might have turned in the most athletic play of Wednesday's morning practice. Cam Thomas found himself one-on-one with shifty Greg Little in space during a team period. Little threw a couple fakes at the big lineman, but Thomas stayed right with him...Scouts from the New England Patriots were on hand and took a special interest in the Tar Heel seniors, including Garrett Reynolds. The senior offensive lineman is rounding into one of the offense's leaders, but he goes about his leadership in a very different way from Austin. Reynolds prefers a pat on the back to trash talk. In fact, after one drill, it was Reynolds who helped Austin off the ground, even after the D.C. product had been quite vociferous...The high five is so passe. The current celebration of choice among the Tar Heels is a leaping, half-twisting chest bump, sort of like the old Redskins Fun Bunch. It's graceful when the receivers or defensive backs do it, but when Thomas and Tavares Brown do it, as they did Wednesday, it's a little less fluid...

Two ways to tell a player is making a training camp impression. First, his teammates notice. "He looks like a freak back there," E.J. Wilson said when he watched Shaun Draughn line up at tailback. And second, his head coach notices. "The thing that separates all running backs is vision," Davis says. "The guys with great vision can jump-cut and hit a hole and make eight yards when others might not get to the line of scrimmage. Shaun has that. He has some athletic ability and some vision."...

Davis sprinted across the field to congratulate Jordan Hemby for a good play during goal-line drills...Wilson cut his forehead yesterday and spent Wednesday's practice with white athletic tape wrapped all the way around his head. Showing a good grasp of his football history, he decreed he wanted to be known as "Sweetness" because of his newfound similarity to Walter Payton...

Deunta Williams had a very impressive freshman year on the field, where he earned ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year. He'll play football for a long time because in addition to those on-field talents, he's also a student of the game. When the first-string defense is on the sideline during team drills, Williams is constantly coaching the second-string defensive backs, explaining how to make certain plays or providing clues to look for in the offense. Much more often than not, he's right.

Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of four books on Carolina basketball.