Marvin Austin's Suspension: How Bad Will It Hurt North Carolina?

Breaking news came down today that North Carolina defensive tackle Marvin Austin’s summer just got a whole lot worse. Head Coach Butch Davis announced today that the senior has been suspended indefinitely and will miss the match up against LSU this Saturday.

The timing isn’t shocking considering Austin has been part of a summer long investigation into alleged free trips that consisted of a visit to an agent party and a visit to a training facility. The perplexing part of all this was Davis saying the suspension had nothing to do with the investigation.

This means Austin, who was already on thin ice to begin with, must have broken some sort of team rule and violated the coach's trust. Needless to say that is not the way a potential top NFL draft pick wants to start off his final showcase season.

Now, if you’ve ever seen Marvin or even heard him speak, you know that he’s a gregarious personality to say the least. He's a true character in every sense, and he knows no limits whether that’s a good or bad thing.

The only problem is that sometimes his personality can overshadow his play. The former top recruit in the nation out of Washington D.C. has certainly made an impact in his three years in Chapel Hill but he’s failed to become the monumental dominating force many expected him to be.

Last year Austin totaled 42 tackles and four sacks. He showed flashes of greatness, but he also showed bouts of tremendous inconsistency at times.

All the talk swirling around North Carolina this offseason has had to do with their tremendous defense and how extraordinary they could be in 2010 with so much great talent. Austin was one of the key pieces for that unit, and his absence leaves a big hole to fill in the middle.

Yes the secondary is still great with guys like safety Deunta Williams and the linebacker group is experienced and steady. But how big of a loss is this for North Carolina’s defensive line?

Does this mean opposing offensive lines are now a little more free to try and shutdown elite defensive end Robert Quinn?

There’s no doubt the 300 pounder’s presence will surely be felt. Because even if he wasn’t making every play, Austin was the type of guy who occupied attention and blockers.  

Junior Quinton Coples will likely be the one to fill the void now, and while he is a very capable player in his own right, he lacks the experience that Austin possesses. That type of experience is sorely needed against a team like LSU.

Say what you will about this 2010 LSU team, but one thing you certainly can’t deny is that they’re chock full of weapons. If Jordan Jefferson plays with confidence, they have the potential to do some real damage on Saturday night.

We could only speculate right now as to how this will affect the team, but a distraction like this so close to kickoff can in no way, shape, or form be good for their mentality even if they’ve grown accustomed to this stuff in recent months.

They’re surely going to miss Austin’s presence, but what we’ll find out on Saturday is if this superstar defense can come up with a big enough effort in Atlanta to pull out the victory against a formidable SEC foe.