Less than 48 hours removed from UNC’s 41-27 loss to No. 5 Texas A&M in Saturday night’s Orange Bowl, head coach Mack Brown met with the media via Zoom to discuss what the future holds for the program. 

Although the Tar Heels will lose four All-Americans and other key contributors like receiver Dazz Newsome to graduation and the NFL, three straight years of top-notch recruiting by Brown and his staff has the program on solid footing. 

The obvious centerpiece among UNC’s returning players will be quarterback Sam Howell, who will likely shatter all current school passing records during his junior campaign. 

A total of 19 of the Tar Heels’ 22 starters in the Orange Bowl will be back on campus next season, with Brown announcing Monday that senior tight end Garrett Walston will take advantage of the extra year of eligibility offered by the NCAA. 

Walston joins linebacker Tyrone Hopper, receiver Beau Corrales and kicker Grayson Atkins in taking that extra year, which gives the Tar Heels a much more experienced locker room. 

On Jan. 16, the 12 early enrollees from UNC’s highly-touted recruiting class will arrive on campus—with the rest of the team set to follow suit soon after to begin offseason work. 

Brown also said there have been a lot of potential transfers contacting UNC, although the coaching staff is not able to have communication with those players until they are officially in the NCAA transfer portal. 

Once the roster is finalized, Brown anticipates the team being able to go through a traditional spring practice season– despite the ever-evolving situation with COVID-19 

“I can’t imagine, since we were allowed to play in the fall, that we won’t be allowed to play this spring, regardless of where we are with COVID and the vaccine at that time,” Brown said. “So, we’re planning on spring practice right now. It would start March 23 and we would have our spring game on April 24.” 

With that kind of normal offseason program, there would be more time and opportunity for development—helping build the kind of depth necessary to compete with the nation’s elite teams. 

UNC returns a strong group of wide receivers and defensive backs, while sophomore Eugene Asante proved against Texas A&M that he should be able to slot in nicely at the linebacker position vacated by Chazz Surratt. 

The running back spot remains somewhat of a question as the team looks to replace the superstar tandem of Javonte Williams and Michael Carter, but other areas have more pressing needs. 

Brown specifically noted the amount of depth on the offensive and defensive lines for both Notre Dame and Texas A&M, the two top-five teams to beat the Tar Heels this season. 

Having a strong team on both sides of the line of scrimmage—and a star quarterback—are the key components, he said, to contending at the level he wants the program to reach. 

“I want to take us places we’ve never been,” Brown said. “Saturday night, we were at a place we’ve never been in modern day football. We had a chance to win, and that would have taken us another step up.  

“We’d be standing here talking about the same issues if we had won the game,” he added. “We’ve got to grow as a program, not a game. We’re at a point now, we don’t need to lose any games.” 

 

 

Photo via ACC Media

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