North Carolina coach Butch Davis walked the halls of the Pinehurst resort like he owned the place. His blue, pinstripe suit accented his swagger. It was quick smiles and handshakes as he walked from one interview room to the other. Davis couldn't wait to tell of Carolina's ambitious and hopeful $100 million upgrade to Kenan Stadium.
The first-year Tar Heel coach inherits one of the youngest teams in the league with only 10 seniors on the roster. Carolina and Duke are the only teams in the league that do not return an All-ACC player...Duke did have senior John Talley on the first team. Carolina didn't have one, solitary soul on the 2006 first, second or honorable mention team!! Expect to see quite a few of the Heels true freshman class play this year.
The BC maroon turned to N.C. State red for Coach Tom O'Brien. Please don't call O'Brien a wallflower or compare his personality to Herb Sendek or Dick Sheridan. At the reception/dinner on Monday night, O'Brien was right at home talking with league officials, bowl representatives, national media members and local TV guys like me. One of the more comical stories he shared happened in January. Raleigh got a light dusting of snow and the Wolfpack players were wondering if they had to go out in the snow to practice. O'Brien quickly and tersely relied, "Of course you do..Do you think they asked that on the beaches at Normandy?" Spoken like a true Marine!
The QB situation: "I don't know who the best quarterback is right now."
On the Pack's talented running backs: "The best of the group this spring was Jamelle Eugene but he kept dropping the ball."
On zone defense for DB's: In man the defensive backs spend a lot of time with their backs to the quarterback. Playing zone will allow the DB to see the release and get a quicker break on the ball. The Pack could stand to create more turnovers. They only generated 12 turnovers last season.
A few more football nuggets:
Wake's Jim Grobe is concerned about his linebackers. Jon Abbate left a year early to the NFL and Eric Berry is academically ineligible. Last year the Deacs knew defense was a strength so they didn't have to rely so heavily on the offense. It will be a role reversal this season.
First-year Miami Coach Randy Shannon quickly pointed out the Canes led the ACC with eight football players on the 2006 All-Academic team. He's proud of his alma mater for that accomplishment. Now Shannon wants to get the Canes back in the national championship hunt. He's an impressive guy who you THINK has had his name mentioned as head coaching material before. Job comes open, Randy Shannon's on the list. But actually, Shannon said, prior to the Miami job, he had ONE interview/offer to become a head coach ... 2004 at Mississippi. The wait was worth it now getting a chance to be head coach at the school where he played linebacker.
N.C. State was picked to finish last in the Atlantic Division. Regardless of the pre-season picks, the highest the Wolfpack has finished in the ACC since 1994 is FOURTH!!
Since joining the league in 1992, Florida State has been picked to win the league or its division every year. The Noles are coming off their worst season in league play finishing tied for 5th going 3-5. Four new offensive assistants are on Bowden's staff along with Chuck Amato's return to the Seminoles defensive front. Bobby Bowden, now 77, quipped about the many changes... "Now if we can just win some darn games."
It was a good few days at Pinehurst to kick-off ACC football.
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
