No time for the weary at the Kenan Football Center.

Mack Brown and his staff must be exhausted after completing a unique season that began last June and pretty much hung in the balance throughout the Tar Heels’ 11 scheduled games.

But there is work to do, more than Brown could have ever expected with the fluid (code word for crazy) world of college football. Here are some good news tidbits.

Add to COVID class of seniors coming back for another season (placekicker Grayson Atkins, outside linebacker Tyrone Hopper and wide receiver Beau Corrales) the names of emerging tight end Garrett Walston and maybe defensive stalwart Tomon Fox, who tied Lawrence Taylor’s UNC record for career sacks in the Orange Bowl.

Another reason Brown likes to say, “We basically played the game with next year’s team.” But there are even more possibilities.

And there’s the confusing transfer portal, which allows players with remaining eligibility to transfer without sitting out a season, resulting in a barrage of phone calls to Brown and his assistants from players who watched the Tar Heels play and want to join a program that will be preseason ranked in top ten for 2021.

Along with a record Carolina audience watching the Orange Bowl, there must be dozens of players who want to finish their careers on a team with a chance to go to the College Football Playoff.

Maybe a 1,500-yard back who has a season or two left with a mid-major team, such as rising junior Sincere McCormick of Texas-San Antonio, a water bug almost the exact size, weight and speed of Michael Carter. Might McCormick, who was second in the nation in rushing, Sincerely want a chance to play in the Power 5?

Then there are the 12 early enrollees from the elite high school class of 2021 who report to campus January 16, ready to get ready for spring practice? Or guys who missed some of this season with injuries?

Brown’s stated goal was to make Carolina the Cool Place. In three years, he has surely done that. Who wouldn’t want to come?

(featured photo via the Capital One Orange Bowl)

 

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community. Contribute today – every single dollar matters.

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Related Stories
None