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Beginnings
of a season
Above, sophomore Rod
Elkins works out in shorts
end T-Shlrt as the Hee!s
opened practice two
weeks ago. Above right,
reserve back Jesse
Adams holds a young fan
at Picture Day. At right,
Chuck Sharps passes ss
ho gats pressure from
Calvin Daniels (93) and
Lawrence Taylor (98).
5
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71
h ,
Cy DAVID POOLE
Assistant Sports Editor
The biggest question mark about
; the 19S0 North Carolina football
team was erased Saturday morning.
It was replaced with an ellipsis.
The battle for the starting
i quarterback job between Burlington
I -J junior Chuck Sharpe and
I Greensboro sophomore Rod Elkins
g had been close since spring practice.
But the battle ended at the Tar
Heels' first full scrimmage of the
fall when Sharpe tore the medial
collateral ligament in his left knee.
Sharpe was to have surgery on the
knee Sunday and will miss the entire
19S0 season.
"I am especially sorry for Chuck
I because he has worked so hard to
get ready for this season,' said
I UNC coach Dick Crum.
I The injury, coming just two
I weeks prior to the season opener
j against Furman, clouds what had
been a bright preseason for the Tar.
j Heels. It had been a preseason
i characterized by guarded optimism,
I with players andcoaches expressing
; excitement and eagerness about the
, coming year.
Fan interest in the defending
I I Gator Bowl champion Tar Heels
'! had been high, but most of the
:S people connected with the program
had been working to put the
memory of the Gator Bowl bsliind
and' get cn with" the challenges
It's a co:
to win the
5
liment to be picked
Atlantic" Coast
someone has to be picked every
year. I think the victory, in the bowl
- game was an influencing factor in
that." .
Before the injury to Sharpe, both
he and Elkins had said the duel for
"the top post had made them. better -players.
Wednesday, Crum told
members of the media that Sharpe
had the edge over Elkins, primarily
because of experience. But, Crum
added, Elkins steadily had been
closing the gap and the possibility
existed that, the, two., would share,
time running the team. -
But that optica is no longer open,
and Elkins has been thrust into the
starting role. What had been a
pleasant problem for
Crum choosing between two good
quarterbackshas become an
unpleasant headache. Elkins is
inexperienced, having run only three
plays for the varsity as a freshman.
The inexperience at quarterback is
compounded by the fact that Elkin's'
backup is a freshman, Scott
Stankavage, from Furlong, Pa.
The loss of Sharpe, though
critical, may net be catastrophic.
"Rod (Elkins) doesn't have much
k2j u Lj
' 4 i
experience, but . we have great ;
confidence in him," Crum said.
"He has done a very good job this
fall." ' -
Earlier, when the flht for the top
job was still on, Elkins had said,
"The offense seems to feel
comfortable with either of us.' They
feel confident and . that's the most
important thing."
Pior to the less of Sharpe, the
biggest concern in the Tar Heel
camp was the -mental preparedness
of this season's football team. Crum
has repeatedly blamed 1979's
midseason slump on a lapse of
intensity and had emphasized the
mental aspect to his players this
year.
V We .have, really . locked zt , hit
season," All-ACC tight end Mike
Chatham said. "We got off to a 4-0
start and that was such a
turnaround from the previous year.
We just got too satisfied with our
performances."
Ironically, most of the preseason
concern over the injuries was given
to . tailback " "Famous'.' Amos
Lawrence. Lawrence enters 19 CO
with a chance to become only the
second back in NCAA history (after
Tony Dorsett) to gain more than
1,000 yards in four seasons.
Lawrence, a senior from Norfolk,
See HEELS on paga B-3
' Even when Amos Lawrence was scampering
for 411 yards in one game at Lake Taylor High
School in Norfolk, Va., his goals for the future
could only be described as very modest, ?
He says he never thought much about
attending college until his last few years of high
school, when his coaches began to push him
toward further education after college football
scouts started making Norfolk one of their
favorite hangouts.
Lawrence's first goal was to earn a scholarship.
If he hadn't gotten one, he says he probablly
would have ended up somewhere like Fort
Benning or Fort Bragg. '
"I never really thought that much about
college," he says. "I always said that if I didn't
get a scholarship, I'd go into the (military)
service." "
Pity the barracks that would have faced
Lawrence's platoon in a game of touch footbajU.
Four years and 3,273 collegiate rushing yar)ds
later, Lawrence again is talking with some
modesty, this time about his chances of winning
the Heisman Trophy.
"The Heisman crosses my mind sometimes"
he said at a Picture Day for the Tar Heels Ust
week. "And then I don't really give a damn
about it."
Three days later, to a different audience,
Lawrence talked further about his approach to
the Heisman situation.
"I den't think there's a let of pressure cn me,"
he said. "I'm not going to charge the things 1'ive
been doing for three seasons. The Heisman
Trophy crosses my mind a whole lot, but it's not
something I'm depending on."
Lawrence says he's not hyping himself for the
Heisman because of criticism he expects he would
receive should he talk bluntly and then not win.
"If I don't win, I really don't need the criticism
from the fans or whatever."
The Carolina Sports Information Department,
and Rick Brewer, its director, have not prepared
flashy pamphlets touting Lawrence for the
Heisman honors. Certainly, Lawrence is well
represented in photos throughout the; 1980
football brochure, but his picture shares the
cover of the guide with that of offensive guard
Ron Wooten, another All-American candidate.
Inside the brochure, Lawrence's profile begins:
"If he can stay free of injuries, this young man is
capable of winning the Heisman Trophy.,.." .
In that sentence,' Lawrence's career at Carolina
is almost summarized. Through all his yards and
touchdowns, nagging "injuries to his ankles,
shoulder and groin have kept Lawrence from
reaching his potential.
In fact, no one knows what Lawrence, might
really accomplish on the football field if he stays
healthy. Brewer and head coach Dick Crum,
discussing Lawrence's sophomore and junior
seasons, noted that in the 11 games he was
perfectly healthy," Lawrence gained more than
2,000 yards.
Lawrence is the most frustrated of all. "Ain't
no telling really," he says when asked one of ths
season's favorite questions, 'What can you do if
you're healthy all season?' "If I stay healthy all
year, I've got a pretty good chance at the
Heisman.
"It's very frustrating when you get the little
nagging injuries. Those are the ones that hurt you
the most. You can go somewhat, but there's
always the chance of the nagging injury
reoccuring again."
Not only have Lawrence's injuries been a
popular topic the last three years, but so has his
attitude. When he was slowed down in five g ames
the middle of last season because of a groin pull,
there were spectators and writers who questioned
whether he was injured.
Lawrence became sullen after the loss to Wake
Forest when the injury happened and told
reporters 'No comment when they approached
him after the game.
Last week, Lawrence admitted he doesn't
particularly care for fans and others who love
him when he's cn and chastize him whe he's Izzs
than spectacular. "A running back like me I'm
not trying to brag, but I have a lot of ability and I
know what I can do. When I got the groin pull
against Wake Forest last year I got a lot of
criticism."
As the 19S0 season beckons, Lawrence says he
wishes more people would be ..niott
understanding, and not become Doubting
Thomases when he says, for example, his leg is
Sc3 LAWRENCE on paga B-3
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