It may not be exactly the same as it is in the fall—with another team on the opposite sideline ready to do battle—but the UNC football team has plenty of reasons to be excited about Saturday’s spring game at Kenan Stadium.
For fans, coaches, and teammates alike, it seems everyone in Chapel Hill is anxious to see the debut of junior Mitch Trubisky as the team’s starting quarterback.
A rash of injuries has limited the format of the spring game to essentially a glorified offense versus defense practice session, but Trubisky has still put in some time thinking about what he needs to accomplish in order for him to call the day a success.
“One of the goals will be to just manage the offense,” Trubisky said. “Also to make it fun for my family—who’s coming down [from Ohio]—and the fans. And then to put on a good show to show everyone how hard we’ve been working and that we do look good as a team.
Trubisky has proven in his limited playing time that he can both run and throw the ball. (Photo by Smith Cameron Photography.)
“I wanna see good plays on offense, on defense, on special teams,” he continued. “And for myself? I just wanna try to complete every ball.”
Although Trubisky will get the nod as the starting quarterback on Saturday, and likely in the regular season too, UNC head coach Larry Fedora has made it a point this spring to never officially call him the starter. It’s been part of the coach’s plan to keep every player on the team competing for their jobs no matter the situation.
But for what reason?
“I want every guy on our football team to feel like they earned what they’ve got,” Fedora said. “Nobody gave them anything. I don’t want them to give anybody anything.
“And so I want [Trubisky] to come out and earn the job,” he continued. “Plus, when you do that it also earns the respect of your teammates.”
If there’s one group of people on Saturday that would like Trubisky–and the talented group of receivers and running backs around him–to have an off day it’s the Tar Heel defense.
All spring the defensive players have been asked about how new guys will step up to fill the shoes of departed leaders Shakeel Rashad and Jeff Schoettmer—seemingly implying the unit may be due for a step back this season.
Senior cornerback Des Lawrence sees Saturday as a chance to show that despite popular belief the improvements will keep on coming in Gene Chizik’s second year as defensive coordinator.
“Not only do we wanna show our offense, we wanna show ourselves [what we’re capable of],” Lawrence said. “We know what [the offense] is gonna do.
“I think we have–if not the best quarterback in the nation–we have one of the best quarterbacks in the nation,” he added. “So we know what they can do. We know they can put up 40 or 50 points a game, but it’s gonna be on us.
“The spring game is gonna be a testament to what we do [on defense].”
Junior defensive tackle Naz Jones, one of just eight healthy defensive linemen for the Tar Heels right now after Dajaun Drennon broke his foot recently, said he expects the game to be extremely exhausting for the defensive players—especially since they won’t be divided into teams.
Naz Jones (right) will be one of the defensive players expected to fill the leadership void left behind by guys like Shakeel Rashad (middle).
That won’t stop him, however, from trying to help Lawrence and the rest of the defense find ways to succeed as best as they can in the scrimmage format.
“We just gotta dominate no matter if they score,” Jones said. “A lot of times they’ll put ‘em on the 2-yard-line, so sometimes they’re gonna score. But what we gotta do as a defensive line—and as a defense in general—is just dominate our position and be aggressive.
“If we do that, then I think we’ll come out successful—no matter what position they put us in.”
While yes, it’s true Saturday won’t exactly be a smash-mouth game, the competition will still be there.
Fans will get a chance to see the kind of environment Fedora creates for his players, while watching those same young men battle for bragging rights within the team.
That, according to Trubisky, is the best part of the whole deal.
“We’re talking smack all the time, but at the end of the day we’re brothers,” Trubisky said. “I think we’re definitely pushing each other.
“Des [Lawrence] and Naz [Jones] are always in my ear, saying ‘Hey throw me a pick, let me get a turnover in front of Coach.’ And I’ll say, ‘Nah I can’t do that.’
“We’re always messing with each other,” he continued. “It’s just good fun.”
Game Time:
Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday.
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