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Defense- we Mill never forget the ‘Blue Wave’
ByGREGCLAY
Sports Writer
On paper, the 1977 football season ap
peared to begin like “76” ended, as
Carolina met the Kentucky Wildcats and
were blown off the field. But that was
hardly the case.
Carolina held Kentucky to 10 points in
the Wildcats’ stadium. This is the same
usually in the backfield as soon as the
quarterback takes the snap, and when he’s
in doubt of who has the ball, Mr. D. will
simply tackle the whole backfield until he
finds the man with the ball, as he did
against N.C. State. One day Hardison may
replace Bubba Smith in the beer c«n-
mercials with the “easy opening” cans.
Juniw Ken Sheets, a starter since his
freshman year, is a vicious pass rusher
7 can forsee Rod Broadway under all that
make-up and lights as *Rod Hollywood.^
Kentucky team that walloped Penn State
several weeks later and humiliated the
Tar heels in the arctic-like Peach Bowl in
1976.
Although Kentucky won the game, but
barely because of key mistakes by the
Heels, the Carolina defense set the stage
for what was to come as the season
progressed. The defense has been spec
tacular all year.
When you say defense nowadays at
UNC, everyone thinks of something
special and, of course, with a smile. The
defense was truly special this year. Gone
are the memorable members of the 1971
defensive team, players such as Burt
Grissom, Bill Brafford, and John Bunting,
to name a few. Some say this defense was
Coach Dooley’s best in his eleven year
tenure at North Carolina.
But the 1977 defensive unit had some
household names that will surely stick in
your mind too. The word defense in
Tarheelia is synonymous with Dee Har
dison. The 6-4, 250 pound strong man is an
All-America candidate and is surely in
contention for the outland trophy. He’s
and overpowering against the run.
Number 89 still has a year to go at Carolina
and I know the opposition in the conference
wished he’d gone to some small college in
his native state of Virginia, perhaps
William & Mary. They could use some
help.
T. K. McDaniel, surely to be known as
the other defensive end because of the
presence of Ken Sheets, has held down his
spot solidly all year. He must havi a
record for fumble recoveries at Caroluia,
so like they sometimes say—he has a nose
for the football, especially when the
pigskin has lost its means of tran
sportation. I just wonder will he ever
explain what his initials stand for.
Anytime you have a middle guard who
does a 4.5 time in the 40-yard dash, you
gotta have mobility in your defensive line.
Dave Simmons fits this description and
this cat has mobility. A former receiver
and running back from a graduating class
of 64 students in high school, Mr. Simmons is
everywhere on the field chasing baU
carriers down from behind which is quite a
feat. They say he’s a drag racer in his
spare time, so that tells you speed is his
forte.
Rod Broadway, Dee Hardison’s look
alike, has been here a while. He’s always
in the middle of things on the field doing
what a defensive lineman should—
plugging holes. He was out all last year
with a knee injury, but that misfortune
definitely hasn’t slowed the elderly me in
“77”. If Broadway can’t find a job in the
pros, maybe he’ll go out west to the
cameras and motion picture screens in Los
Angeles. If “Broadway” Joe Namath can
become “Hollywood” Joe, then I can
foresee Rod Broadway under all that
make-up and shining lights as “Rod
Hollywood.”
People say linebackers are supposed to
be crazy and out of their minds. I don’t
know either of the starting linebackers so I
can’t comment on that accusation. But I do
know that Buddy Curry and Bobby Gay
are as good as any in the league. Curry is
the big play man on defense. He always
makes the key interception. B. C. just has
the best hands at the right time. The
word HAM doesn’t always refer to that
part of the four-legged animal that we
munch on at breakfast time. This time it
means, Hostile, Agile and MobUe and that
means Bobby Gay. The man hits on every
friendly skies at Carolina. That means the
air lanes in this part of the country are
dangerous these days. And that is the
truth. I called Bobby Cale “The Thief”
after I found out he led the ACC in in
terceptions last year with five. The
Delaware-bred cornerbadi is a great one.
His sloider stature belies us on campus
when he’s in jeans, but when Cale is on the
field, the stature theory means nothing.
In 1977 Cale had help at the other cor-
nerback slot. Ricky Barden, the 5-11
sophomore became the “Thief’s
Accomplice” in his first starting season.
Barden has turned in some good games
and he’ll get better. He’s made some
spectacular interceptions which means he
may become a spectacular comerback.
According to the language of football,
the word “safety” means you keep your
end zOTie safe from the opposition. There
are two safety positions and if something
goes wrong between the linebacker and the
secondary, everyone in the stadium will
have their eyes on Number 38 and Number
16.
That’s Alan Caldwell and Bernie
Menapace, respectively. The AU-ACC
team cannot exclude “A. C.” from the list
of top players at the safety position in the
conference. His initials should give him a
‘. Caldwell has a better dance
in the end zone with the goal post.’
play with everything he’s got. Although
Gay is a smallish linebacker, (only 5-11) he
more than makes up for his size when he
pops the man with the brown leather
oblong object.
This year, they say there are no more
head start anyway (ACC and A.C.).
Caldwell says George Atkinson is his idol
in pro foottoll, needless to say. I don’t
know who hits the hardest, but I do know
that Caldwell has a better dance in the end
zone with the goal post.
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