Aug. 7, 2008

By Sergio Tovar

It's not uncommon for football coaches to come up with unique drills to help players improve on certain aspects of the game, but seeing soccer balls at football camp is still a little strange.

The Carolina coaching staff used the balls Thursday to help the team get better at blocking field goals and punts - something that Butch Davis thinks could make the difference between winning and losing this upcoming season.

The drill consisted of individual players getting in a defensive stance, waiting for a ball attached to a wooden stick to be "snapped" and then running at full speed to block the soccer ball before it was punted.

"If it hits you on the chest or on your hand it might hurt a little," Davis said to his players. "But it won't hurt at all if we win the game."

The team also went through some live kicking drills. Walk-on Trase Jones and punter Terrence Brown have shared the holding duties for kickers Jay Wooten and Casey Barth.

"It seems to be going pretty well and hopefully we'll be able to keep it up through camp," Brown said, adding that he has been playing catch to prepare for this new responsibility.

"You've got to catch it a different way that you would a normal football... trying to get your index finger on the tip of the ball so it's an easy transition to the spot on the grass."

Coach Davis said he has been very impressed by the two holders.

"The snaps are a couple times maybe three to four to five inches off target but they have good hands and they can get the ball down, get the ball spun and give the kicker the confidence to go ahead and worry about his mechanics and not have to worry about the placement," he said.

Wooten said earlier this week he feels comfortable kicking field goals anywhere inside of 50 yards. Freshman linebacker Ebele Okakpu, who seems to be flourishing with the special team, was one of the long-snappers for the second kicking team.

Tight ends coach Steve Hagen had his position group run through what he referred to as "the gauntlet," a contraption that players have to run through in order to recreate defensive contact.

Describing the gauntlet isn't easy. First, picture two wiffle ball bats positioned head-to-head with springs on the handle ends. Then picture those pairings being stacked from knee level to shoulder level, with a total of five pairings. Then, players have to sprint through the gauntlet while the springs force the bats to swat at the ballcarrier--and the ball.

Players don't seem to like running through the gauntlet, but Hagen told his players that they needed to suck it up.

"This stuff is easy," he said. "We used to do it with tires."

The cornerback and linebackers went through interception drills, during which coach Everett Withers threw interceptions to the players so that every player out on the field knows what to do if they intercept a pass. The Tar Heels will go through their first scrimmage of training camp on Saturday. It is closed to the public.