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Curry, Stability Return to Tar Heel Offense
By Mike Ogle
Assistant Sports Editor
No more converted anything under
center.
No more endless strings of running
plays.
No more boring offense.
He’s back.
North Carolina junior quarterback
Ronald Curry returns to action
Saturday for the first time since collaps
ing under Georgia Tech’s Greg Gathers
with a tom Achilles tendon on Oct. 9.
With him returns the Tar Heels’
hopes.
Curry led the team in total offense by
373 yards in 1999 despite going down
early in the second quarter of UNC’s
fifth game. He passed for 330 more
yards, threw for more touchdowns,
rushed for as many touchdowns and
rushed for more yards per game than
any other Tar Heel.
The offense was chaotic at best in his
absence. North Carolina crossed the
goal line just six times in the post-Curry
portion of the season and could not
manage more than 12 points in any
game until the season-ending 38-0 romp
of Duke.
But now he’s back, and he’s got
something to prove.
“That season is all behind us,” said
Curry, a 6-foot-2,200-pound Hampton,
Offensive Line Excited by New Blocking Schemes
By Adam D. Hill
Staff Writer
Coaching staffs preparing to square
off with North Carolina could consider
scrapping the time-honored practice of
scouring videos from the previous sea
son to grasp the nature of the 2000 Tar
Heel offensive line.
In fact, former N.C. State offensive
line coach Robbie Caldwell didn’t even
bother setting up a VCR to see what he
had to work with at his new post at UNC.
“I did not watch any offensive film
from last year,” Caldwell said. “I didn’t
want to form any preconceived ideas
about the personnel.”
Preconceptions will likely prove futile
for a unit that has not played many
game minutes together. Seniors Cam
Holland, Louis Marchetti and James
Wagstaff and sophomore Isaac Morford
have played for the Tar Heels, but not as
a starting unit. Rounding out the line is
junior center Adam Metts, who is
known as one of the fiercest competitors
on the team.
“I think we’re adjusting well,”
Wagstaff said. “I can see us gelling now.
We’re starting to come together.”
Not only does the unit have to gel,
but it will be responsible for anchoring a
line that is schematically different from
last season’s.
Caldwell expects to use several dif
ferent blocking schemes, including a
man scheme, a zone scheme and a mix
ture of the two.
“What we hope to do is change the
tempo for the defensive line when they
are attacking," Caldwell said. “That is
probably a big change from last year.”
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Quarterback Ronald Curry led the Tar Heels in total offense by 373 yards despite suffering a season-ending
injury in the fifth game of the year. He completed 120-of-257 passes for 682 yards in 1999.
Va., native. “We’re looking forward to
this year and years to come. We’re not
going to live in the past. Things happen.
The players
have welcomed
the change.
“Everybody
likes the offense,
especially the
blocking schemes,"
Wagstaff said.
“We’re real posi
tive. We have a lot
of faith in the
offense.”
Wagstaff and
his fellow offen
sive linemen chan
neled their enthu
siasm for the new
UNC right tackle
James Wagstaff
lost 20 pounds from
his 365-pound frame
so he could improve
his quickness.
offense into personal development dur
ing the offseason. Wagstaff dropped
nearly 20 pounds of excess baggage
from his 365-pound frame, making for a
quicker, more mobile player at right
tackle.
The linemen participated in a pro
gram Caldwell called “fat man aerobics”
during the summer. The exercises were
aimed at increasing the players’ metab
olisms and trimming their waistlines.
“We’re going to go out there and try
to get 70 plays a game,” Marchetti said.
“If we’ve got a 17-play drive, we want to
be out there the whole time and not
sucking wind.”
The linemen’s quickness has
improved through the aerobics, allow
ing for a more dynamic style of play.
Such an improvement will help the
Heels, as the unit will have to manage
the task of blocking for the newly
installed option game and a running
back corps that features three freshmen.
“We have a lot of talent back there,”
Football 2000
They happened for a reason, and a lot of
people forgot about us.”
Defenders around the ACC have not
Wagstaff said. “It’s up to us to make the
holes for them.
“I believe in all of our running backs.
They can make some good cuts off our
blocks that enable them to get some
good yardage.”
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likely forgotten about the throwing and
scrambling talents Curry possesses. But
he could even be better this season.
The strategy is set, and the pieces are
in place. The linemen have overcome
the most strenuous part of their new
venture. Now, the unit must focus on
putting it together in a game situation.
“They’ve really done a great job soak-
Friday, September 1, 2000
“I think his mind is sharper than it
was before,” wideout Kory Bailey said.
“He takes command of the huddle bet
ter than he did last year, and he gives us
confidence while we’re in there to make
big plays.”
Curry won’t be leaned upon so heav
ily in new offensive coordinator Mike
O’Cain’s scheme, which stresses a bal
ance between the run and pass. Curry
also has a talented group of young
receivers to look for downfield in
Bailey, Bosley Allen, Sam Aiken and
Jamal Jones.
Backing up Curry at quarterback are
senior Antwon Black and sophomore
Luke Huard.
Black saw his first collegiate action at
quarterback in the second half of the
season in 1999. He is a mobile quarter
back who completed 1 l-of-23 passes for
139 yards and two interceptions.
Huard, a traditional drop-back pass
er, started four games for the Tar Heels
last year. He connected on 29-of-75
attempts for 256 yards, one touchdown
and two interceptions.
If all goes according to plan, Black
and Huard’s contributions will come
mostly on the practice field. Curry has
some unfinished business to take care
of.
“I know the expectations were high
when I first got here,” he said.
“Hopefully, they still are.”
ing it all in,” Caldwell said.
“Now we have to eliminate the nerve
factor. Some of them haven’t played a
great deal, and we get a little jumpy
when we get in a stadium, particularly
when there are people in there.”
5