Here Comes Carolina: 2008 UNC Football Offensive Preview

A three-point loss to ECU.  A two-point loss to Virginia.  A seven-point loss in Blacksburg to No. 17 Virginia Tech.  A six-point loss to then-No. 7 South Carolina.  A four-point loss in Raleigh to rivals NC State.  A two-point loss in Bobby Dodd to Georgia Tech.

That's right—six losses by a total of twenty-four points.  Six losses by a touchdown or less.  Six games that were simply a tipped ball, a dropped pass, a made field goal, or a third down conversion away from being Tar Heel wins instead of losses.

In 2008, the Tar Heel offense looks to make these results go the other way.

Similarly to the team entering 2007, this 2008 offensive unit features plenty of talent at every position.  The difference is the level of experience.

While 2007 saw only four players with significant experience open the season, this year's edition features some 15 offensive players who've seen a good amount of quality playing time.

Lets take a look at the this older, more experienced 2008 edition of the Carolina Tar Heels.

Quarterback

At the headlining position of the college football world sits the signal caller.  Since the departure of Darian Durant in 2004, the Tar Heels have started four quarterbacks in three seasons.  Teams live and die with quarterback success, so the emergence of T.J. Yates should restore confidence and stability to this previously shaky position.

Now 21 years old, T.J. Yates had a solid freshman campaign in which he broke the UNC single-season passing yardage record, throwing for 2,655 yards on 218 of 365 attempts.  However, his touchdown to interception ratio of 14:18 was one of many direct contributors to the Tar Heels' struggles.

As a 20-year-old kid, new to the college game and extremely inexperienced, Yates struggled late in the season as teams threw different blitz packages, fronts, and secondary coverages at him.  The young quarterback also battled through shoulder pain during the second half of the season.

This shoulder pain led to surgery in the offseason, a procedure that forced Yates to watch from the sidelines while redshirt freshman Mike Paulus and redshirt junior Cam Sexton dueled in the spring. 

Paulus is the prototypical pocket passer, while Sexton is a slim speedy guy with a big arm.  These two highly touted recruits took advantage of Yates' absence to get reps with the first team, experience that will prove invaluable to the Heels as a team.

Sexton and Paulus battled over the 15 practices, with the younger QB inching ahead in the final weeks of spring ball.  The battle between these two talents should be exciting entering fall camp, with the winner garnering the number two spot.

Heading into 2008, a healthy T.J. Yates should keep his starting job, maintaining the ever-elusive continuity at the quarterback spot that is so crucial in college football—and a luxury that UNC hasn't been afforded since 2004.

Running Back

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