If mistakes had to be made, I don’t believe that North Carolina could have chosen a better season to step outside the lines than 2010: U.N.C. competed with U.S.C., expansion, realignment, the B.C.S. and Ohio State for negative headlines all season, with the program’s issues surely last on the list when it comes to its draw on a national level. So congratulations are in order, I suppose, though we can’t forget that U.N.C. has been found to have committed several disturbing infractions, misdeeds that cost a number of would-be stars all or a significant part of the 2010 season. The Tar Heels can use the spring to begin the process of putting all this negative publicity behind them.
The Renner era begins. Those who maligned T.J. Yates and his play over his first three seasons stood corrected after 2010: Yates could very well have been the conference player of the year had it not been for Virginia Tech’s Tyrod Taylor. So Bryn Renner steps into some fairly large shoes, though one should remember that a sizable portion of the U.N.C. fan base wanted Renner, then a redshirt freshman, to be the starter ahead of Yates last fall. Good thing Butch Davis went with experience over up-and-coming talent. It’s Renner’s time now, however, and should very well be for the next three seasons. U.N.C. fans might have found this statement ludicrous this time a year ago, but the Tar Heels would be extremely fortunate if the sophomore resembled Yates in the least.
Last year’s gained experience. A total of 35 players on scholarship missed at least one game for U.N.C. in 2010, whether due to injuries or N.C.A.A.-mandated suspension. That’s 41 percent of U.N.C.’s roster of scholarship players, an astounding percentage of missed starts. There is a silver lining: those missed games allowed several players on both sides of the ball step into the rotation or the starting lineup, which might have hurt U.N.C. at times in 2010 but should pay dividends in 2011. Take the defensive line, which lost two potential all-Americans before September; those losses gave linemen like Tydreke Powell and Donte Paige-Moss the opportunity to spend the season in the starting lineup. A similar story took place on the offensive side of the ball, where players like Dwight Jones, Erik Highsmith and Anthony Elzy made the most of increased chances.
Sneaking up on the A.C.C. The Tar Heels could adopt an us-against-the-world mentality, though that logic might have been worked better in 2010. It would make more sense to band together over the thought that this team might be able to sneak up on teams in the A.C.C.; the Tar Heels might be overlooked nationally and in their own conference this coming season, thanks to the idea that the Coastal division will be Virginia Tech’s to lose. Can U.N.C. sneak up on the rest of the conference?
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