As the UNC football team heads out west this weekend for its season opener against the California Golden Bears, the Tar Heels face a wide variety of uncertainties with which they hope to find answers to.
The most glaring obstacle obviously relates to the 10 players who are suspended for the game following a self-reported NCAA violation for selling team-issued shoes.
In addition, key contributors such as tailback Michael Carter and defensive lineman Aaron Crawford are banged up and will miss the game due to injuries.
Nathan Elliott will get the start at quarterback for the Tar Heels following a four-game suspension to sophomore Chazz Surratt. (AP Photo/ Gerry Broome)
Although the Tar Heels’ 2018 recruiting class was the highest-rated that head coach Larry Fedora has ever brought in to Chapel Hill, they may not have the luxury of getting to sit and learn from the sidelines to begin their collegiate careers.
At his weekly press conference on Monday, the coach even admitted as such—listing a plethora of names that could skip the redshirt process and contribute right away to help fill some of the holes on the depth chart, led by 6-foot-5, 330-pound offensive lineman William Barnes.
“I think we’re going to have some definite guys who get on the field as true freshmen on both offense and defense and then definitely on special teams,” Fedora told reporters.
“I think there’s no doubt that William Barnes is going to play at some point in the game,” the coach added, before rattling off a few more players who could see action in their first career college game .
While a suspension to sophomore quarterback Chazz Surratt solidified junior Nathan Elliott as the starter behind center, it’s less clear who the weapons surrounding Elliott will be.
Tailback Javonte Williams is another of the true freshmen that have caught Fedora’s attention during training camp, and he is expected to compete with junior Jordon Brown and Ohio State transfer Antonio Williams for carries out of the backfield.
Another true freshman expected to compete for touches is wide receiver Dyami Brown, who will hope to give UNC another credible threat outside of junior Anthony Ratliff-Williams—the team’s unquestioned top play maker.
Anthony Ratliff-Williams established himself last season as the Tar Heels’ top playmaker entering the 2018 campaign. (AP Photo/ Gerry Broome)
Already slated to return kicks and serve as the top target in the passing game, Ratliff-Williams is still hoping to convince the coaching staff to let him return punts as well.
“He’s always pushing me for everything,” Fedora said of Ratliff-Williams. “He wants to be out there with everything. Every chance you can put the ball in his hands, he wants the ball in his hands. That’s one of the things I love about Ant, you know, is that he wants the ball in his hands and he knows he can make plays and he can help this football team.”
This week will also represent the Tar Heels’ first road trip to the west coast since 1998, creating another challenge for Fedora and his staff to deal with before the season is underway.
Not only will UNC be looking to get revenge on the Golden Bears for a 35-30 loss in last year’s season opener at Kenan Stadium, but the players will also have to manage their sleep and natural body rhythms to adjust for a trip across three time zones.
It may just be one of many obstacles his team faces this weekend, but Fedora is glad that if they have to go through a grueling travel schedule, they’re getting it out of the way now.
“If I had to pick, I would choose for it to be at the beginning of the season rather than in the season,” he said, of the trip. “A five-and-a-half-hour flight, or basically 11 hours in the air, is not something I would want our team to deal with during the middle of a season.”
Cover photo via Associated Press
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