Butch Davis: Maximizing the Tar Heel Spring Experience

Michael Felder

Columnist Written on March 24, 2009

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CHAPEL HILL, NC - OCTOBER 11: North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Butch Davis watches the play against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Kenan Stadium October 11, 2008 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

(Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

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Michael Felder will be twittering for UNC fans from the Spring Showcase.

The trees start to green up, the lawn mowers come out on weekends, windows stay open, and drinking beers on the patio of your favorite bar is back in season.

It can only mean one thing, spring football time in the south.

Teams are introducing philosophies, finding new quarterbacks, and filling roster holes left by graduation, dismissal, and the Holy Grail that is the NFL Draft.

New faces such as Lane Kiffin and Dabo Swinney are building program support, while the most familiar mugs Frank Beamer and Bobby Bowden try to teach another group of young men to cope with expectations.

Teams like Florida, LSU, Georgia Tech, and Alabama are racing towards their annual spring showcases trying to fill holes and show boosters that 2009 can be “THE” year.

The same can be said for Butch Davis, the 57-year-old head man for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. Davis enters his third spring at the helm in Chapel Hill, and coming off a brilliant recruiting effort, the Heels charged into the spring ready to do serious work.

They not only added three new faces to the coaching staff, but the Heels were tasked with replacing holes in the offensive line, secondary, linebackers, and the entire receiving corps.

Opening spring practice on March 4 gave the Heels one of the earliest starts in the nation, and gave the young team a chance to gel with their new staff early. While creating staff and player synergy is crucial, true benefits of Davis’ early spring schedule will be reaped on Saturday March 28, as well as in the months to come.

The advantages will be seen on multiple fronts, including current players, community goodwill, and most importantly on the recruiting trails. It certainly would appear that Davis and his staff have put together another win in Chapel Hill to add to the momentum build during the recruiting season.

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written on March 24, 2009 Preview/Prediction