A new era of UNC football gets set to begin on Saturday in Charlotte when the Tar Heels take on South Carolina, with head coach Mack Brown counting on a youth movement to lead his team to victory.
When Brown agreed to come back to Chapel Hill for a second stint coaching the Tar Heels, he knew what he was getting himself in to. The Hall-of-Famer was tasked with quite a rebuilding effort for a program that has won just five games in the last two years combined.
As a result, Brown immediately hit the recruiting trail hard and fast—taking UNC from having one of the lowest-ranked classes in the ACC to one of the better ones.
The prize of that class was four-star quarterback Sam Howell, who flipped his commitment from Florida State to UNC once Brown got involved. Fast forward to now and Howell is set to become the first true freshman to ever start a season opener for the Tar Heels.
Mack Brown is ready to lead the Tar Heels into a new era. (Photo via Dakota Moyer)
Howell’s back up–redshirt freshman Jace Ruder–also has very limited game experience, but there’s a strong possibility that Brown will use both players on Saturday.
“We would like to play them both for a couple of reasons,” Brown told reporters at his press conference on Monday. “Last year, Larry [Fedora] had three that were knocked out of games so you’ve got to have another guy ready. So we always would like to play two. Then you’ve got to figure out how, and we’re not there yet. When do you bring them in, and does it disrupt your team, and does it take away from Sam? But with both of them being so young, we feel like this year we’re going to need both of them.”
While both of the team’s top two quarterbacks are freshmen, they certainly aren’t alone when it comes to the offensive depth chart. Of the 27 players listed on that depth chart by the coaching staff, there are only 11 upperclassmen—five seniors and six juniors.
The defensive side of the ball boasts much more experience and senior leadership, but will still be relying on young players like true freshman cornerback Cam’Ron Kelly.
In some ways, this kind of young roster is a throwback to Brown’s first tenure with the Tar Heels. Brown went 1-10 in both 1988 and 1989 before ultimately ushering in what many consider to be the most successful period in UNC football history.
Another parallel to those teams is the fact that Brown also had to face South Carolina in both seasons, losing both games.
Facing off against one of his old coaching protégés in Will Muschamp this weekend, Brown hopes history does not repeat itself this year.
“It was my first game [against South Carolina] when I was here before [against] Coach Joe Morrison,” Brown said. “In fact, they beat us like 38-14 and after the game, he said, ‘You really have a bad team.’ I said, ‘Thanks, Coach. I was fully aware of that before, but you just reinforced it.’ Hopefully Will won’t tell me the same thing Saturday after the game.”
As of right now, the Tar Heels have lost the last three meetings against the Gamecocks.
Not since Brown led UNC to a 21-17 victory at Kenan Stadium in 1991 have the Tar Heels came out on the winning side in the rivalry.
Another loss on Saturday wouldn’t be the end of the world for this current UNC team filled with youngsters, but a win could go a long way when it comes to putting the program back on the map.
“We’ve talked to our guys about how this is about now,” Brown said. “It’s not about my past. It’s not about their past. It’s about what we do on Saturday. It’s a new era. Or whatever you want to call it.”
Cover photo via Dakota Moyer
