Sept. 12, 2007

By Adam Lucas

Butch Davis likes to do things quickly. Practices are crisp and meetings move fast. But despite all the emphasis on high performance football, there's one very fundamental--and very important--area where it's simply impossible for Davis to make a rapid change:

Team speed.

It just so happens that's also the one attribute Davis prizes over almost any other. He can make his players more prepared. He can refine their tackling technique or pass-catching skills. But no matter how many bowls he's coached in, no matter how many Super Bowl rings he owns, he simply can't make someone faster.

"Most of my background as a coach has been at places where we've tried to dramatically upgrade team speed," he says. "Speed is the one equalizer you can't coach. You can coach fundamentals or technique or all those things. But football is a fast game."

Experience is still valued. But speed is a trump card. On the recruiting trail, the Tar Heels have speed on the wish list at several key positions, including tailback and linebacker. And Davis's personnel decisions throughout training camp and the first two weeks of the regular season underscore a belief that a faster team is usually a better team.

Freshman Charles Brown spent most of his high school career as a wide receiver. He moved to defense upon arriving at Carolina and opened training camp as a third-team cornerback. But after making a couple eye-opening interceptions and flashing the speed that enabled him to run a personal best 4.36 40-yard dash in high school, he began to climb the depth chart.

"I started camp on the third team, but all of a sudden in game week before the opener I was on the first team," Brown says. "Coach Pagano asked me if I was ready. I told him, `It's football. I've been doing it my whole life. I'm always ready.'

"Athleticism can make up for being in the wrong zone for a couple of seconds. With speed, you can make a play even when you're in the wrong place."

Spoken like someone who didn't realize exactly what he might be getting into. Brown earned snaps as the first-team nickel back, and Carolina's first two pass-happy opponents kept him on the field more than might otherwise be expected. It didn't take the Ohio native long to realize that high school speed is a different world than college speed.

"The first couple of plays that I blitzed I realized how different it was," he says. "I was coming at the quarterback and he stepped up. I thought I had a sack, but I missed the tackle. I was thinking, `That wouldn't happen in high school. I'm used to getting an arm on him and he falls.'"

Cornerback is an obvious position where speed is at a premium. But Davis doesn't value it simply at the common slots such as defensive back, receiver, and tailback. Freshman Bruce Carter earned playing time at linebacker because of his speed and athleticism; fellow January enrollee Quan Sturdivant may see more snaps in the next month because of the same attributes.

On the defensive line, freshman Marvin Austin is already making an impact. Even on the offensive line, position coach Sam Pittman has installed a system that values mobility. Look across the depth chart and there are multiple examples of positions where more experienced veterans are behind younger, speedier players.

"To get the fastest, most athletic guys on the field, a high percentage of those will come from the freshman class," Davis says.

The Tar Heels ideally would like to break in the rookies on special teams and then find specific situations where they can contribute on offense or defense. Da'Norris Searcy is on a handful of special teams and also sees duty in some nickel packages. Matt Merletti moved to defense and was on the two-deep within a matter of days in Carolina's late-game prevent package.

Players have noticed Davis's willingness to distribute playing time without regard to age. Freshman Jonathan Smith did not play against James Madison. But when Davis decided he needed more speed covering kicks, Smith removed his redshirt and saw significant action against East Carolina.

"Coach Davis will give young guys the chance to play regardless of classification," Smith says. "That was my motivation to keep pushing and keep working during training camp. If you are prepared to play and can contribute, he will put you on the field.

"I think I caught his attention with speed. It's vital. You have to know your assignment, but flying around the football eliminates some of the thinking you have to do. If I'm running down there full speed, it makes the other guys work that much harder."

Adam Lucas most recently collaborated on a behind-the-scenes look at Carolina Basketball with Wes Miller. The Road To Blue Heaven will be released on October 1. Lucas's other books on Carolina basketball include The Best Game Ever, which chronicles the 1957 national championship season, Going Home Again, which focuses on Roy Williams's return to Carolina, and Led By Their Dreams, a collaboration with Steve Kirschner and Matt Bowers on the 2005 championship team.