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bfollins writes "Knowing the Enemy Game One, 2010
North Carolina
by Bryan Follins
Unfortunately, the interest in the LSU-North Carolina football game Saturday is being trumped by off the field activities. Due to NCAA and school investigations into the Tar Heel football program, the biggest story so far is who will not win the game, but who will play in the game. One person who will not play is senior defensive tackle Marvin Austin. The 310 pound Austin had 42 tackles and six stops for losses last season. Austin is forecast as a first round NFL Draft pick in 2011. Here are some players to watch on defense for Carolina, if they play:
Robert Quinn—a junior defensive end who had 19 tackles for losses and 11 sacks in the 2009 season. Quinn was first in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in tackles for losses last year. Deunta Williams, Kendric Burney, Charles Brown, and Da’Norris Searcy-This is the UNC defensive secondary. Last year this defensive backfield had 19 interceptions and average 26 yards per return after intercepting a pass. Searcy had 35 tackles last year, and was fifth in the nation in punt returns, averaging 14.6 yards per return. On offense.. Zack Pianalto—The Tar Heel tight end, who had 33 receptions for 334 yards and one touchdown in 2009, despite missing five games due to injury. Greg Little—A wide receiver, and perhaps Carolina’s biggest offensive threat, may not play due to ongoing investigations. In 13 games last season, Little had 62 catches for 724 yards and five touchdowns. The Carolina running game was just as non-existent as the Purple and Gold rushing attack last se! ason. The Tar Heels finished seventh in the ACC in rushing. Ryan Houston, Johnny White, and Shawn Draughn return in the offensive backfield. Sophomore center Jonathan Cooper returns to head a young offensive line. Head Coach Butch Davis has named senior quarterback T. J. Yates as the starter for the game Saturday. Last year Yates threw 15 interceptions. He has thrown 37 interceptions in 32 games in his career at Carolina. Nobody can really get a gauge on this Carolina team. Their best player on defense is not playing, and their best player on offense might not play. This does not mean that UNC does not have other good players. That is something the Purple and Gold will find out Saturday. Note: Corrections from last week. Rueben Randle, Jarrett Lee, and Stevan Ridley’s first names were misspelled. Sorry for the typos. ~ bfollins |
bfollins writes "The Road Less Travelled
by Bryan Follins
The 2010 LSU football is an unknown quantity. Or, is it an unknown quality? Will it produce?
On offense, the good news is that the Purple and Gold return a lot of players who saw considerable action last season. The bad news is that the same offense was ranked last in the SEC in total offense.
The Tigers ranked 11th in the league in rushing offense last season, despite having senior running backs Charles Scott and Keilland Williams. Something was missing, most notably an offensive line. Returning starters Josh Dworaczyk, Chris Fauk, and T-Bob Hebert all saw considerable playing time, and were pushed around most of the time they played. Will there be improvement in the line play? Time will tell.
Jordan Jefferson returns after logging most of the time at quarterback last season. Jefferson completed 61 percent of his passes with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Only three quarterbacks in the league had fewer interceptions last year, Tim Tebow (Florida), Chris Todd (Auburn), and Greg McElroy (Alabama). The other player at that position with any game experience is Jared Lee, and most of that experience is bad. Both Jefferson and Lee are juniors.
Highly touted Zach Lee was supposed to bring help and depth to the quarterback position, but Lee chose to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The running back position lost seniors Charles Scott and Keilland Williams. Senior Richard Murphy returns at running back after suffering a campaign ending leg injury early last season. Junior Steven Ridley was solid in spot action least season. Ridley average four yards per carry while running for 180 yards.
Receivers Terrence Toliver and Reuben Randle showed signs of brilliance last season. Toliver averaged 13.9 yards per catch in 13 games, which was second on the team. Randle average 15.7 yards per catch in four games. These two players are high caliber threats.
However, the big X factor for the Tigers is Sophomore Russell Shepard. He is a player who can break a big play any time he gets his hands on the football. For the Tigers to be successful this season, Shepard must be a big factor in the offense. Last season he averaged 6.8 yards per catch and 6.2 yards per rush.
On defense the Tigers return two very good football players in Kelvin Sheppard and Patrick Peterson. Sheppard had 119 total tackles last season, fourth in the SEC. Peterson was second in the league in the passes defended category.
Other defensive players saw a lot of action last campaign. Will they hold up for an entire season? The often injured Pep Levingston returns on the defensive line, as well as Lavar Edwards, and the enigmatic Drake Nevis, who has shown flashes of brilliance in his three years in Tigertown.
Successful football teams have good offensive and defensive lines. These are unproven areas for the Purple and Gold.
The positives for the Tigers are that Shepard (Russell), Sheppard (Kelvin), Jefferson, Randle, Toliver, and Peterson are playmakers. LSU has to have these players involved in the bulk of their schemes to have any success, at least until other players prove themselves.
LSU will not have to wait long to prove themselves because a solid North Carolina awaits them in Atlanta on Labor Day Weekend.
That is when some questions will begin to be answered.
Links:
http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/2009/Internet/conf%20stats/2009000000911PD.HTML
http://www.lsusports.net/src/data/lsu/assets/docs/fb/09stats/indgbg.htm?DB_OEM_ID=5200#IGBG.DEF"
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