UNC Football 2023 Season Preview
It’s Time to Take the Next Step in the Mack Brown Process
by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn
The North Carolina football team is coming off their best season since 2015. The Tar Heels finished the season 9-5 and came up short in the ACC Championship game against Clemson. Even though the Heels had tremendous success early starting off the season 9-1, they ended the season on a bad note with four straight losses. The way the team finished the season was totally unacceptable and disappointing and everyone from the staff to the players knew it and expressed such feelings during the offseason.
This year UNC is preparing to finish the season better. Their motto for the offseason has been “9 isn’t good enough. Leading up to this season, Mack Brown and his coaching staff have stated they have been doing everything in their power to find out how they can get this group to go from good to great. With immense talent on both offense and defense, the Tar Heels will once again have high expectations to finish as one of the top teams in the ACC. Expectations include returning to the ACC Championship game and this time expecting a different result.
UNC Offense
On offense, the Tar Heels are once again led by quarterback Drake Maye, who had quite a spectacular season last year. Last year’s offense was one of the most explosive in the country with over 350 yards of total offense and 34 points per game with Drake Maye in his first year starting. Drake Maye threw for over 4,300 yards and 38 touchdowns to only 7 interceptions, while completing 66% of his passes.
He also led the team in rushing with over 600 yards. His play earned him the ACC Player of the Year and ACC Offensive Player of the Year awards. This year, Maye will look to once again have a great season, be in the conversation for the Heisman, and firmly put himself in position as one of the best quarterbacks in college football. He is already believed to be a top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, so expectations are extremely high not just for the team but for him as well.
Even after losing their best offensive playmaker former wide receiver Josh Downs to the NFL, Drake Maye will still have some talent to work with on offense this year. The Tar Heels have six quality running backs that will be able to contribute this year in the running game including Elijah Green, Omarion Hampton, British Brooks, George Pettaway, and Caleb Hood. Elijah Green, who led the team in rushing among running backs with 598 yards, is projected to be the lead back once again this season.
With new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey on board, the offense will expect the rushing attack to be much more efficient and effective in the new scheme. They will also look to take some of the offensive load off Drake Maye in the running game, which will allow him to focus on different things in the offense.
The offense will continue to be explosive in the passing game as well. UNC brought in a couple of transfers at the wide receiver position to bolster the group this offseason including Devontez Walker from Kent State who had over 900 yards receiving and 11 touchdown receptions last year and Nate McCollum from Georgia Tech who had over 60 receptions last season. Both will be key contributors to the offense this season. This will be along with returning wide receivers, JJ Jones, Kobe Paysour, Gavin Blackwell, and Andre Greene JR, who all look to make a significant impact in the passing game this upcoming year.
Offensive Coordinator Chip Lindsay will also look to get the tight ends more involved in the offense this upcoming season. UNC has three talented tight ends including John Copenhaver, Kamari Morales, and Bryson Nesbit, that have been good in the passing game in previous years but were underutilized in the previous offensive scheme, which hurt the offense in key situations most importantly in the red zone.
The offensive line is expected to be much improved after an up-and-down performance throughout last season. At times last year, the offensive line played poorly and had Drake Maye running for his life out there on the field. With the addition of transfer offensive guard Willie Lampkin from Coastal Carolina and an experienced offensive line, those issues will be looked to be addressed. The pass and run blocking are expected to be much better this season and the tight ends are expected to play a much bigger role in the pass and run blocking scheme this year, which will help the offensive line out tremendously.
Overall, the North Carolina offense is loaded at every skill position and expected once again to be one of the best in the country but will look to not fall off as they did at the end of last season. UNC put too much pressure on Drake Maye to do everything in both the rushing and passing game at the end of last year. It felt like they were trying to go for the big play on every down and the offense sputtered and did not play well to end the season.
That was a huge reason for the losses to close the season. One of the areas they will need to improve on is in the red zone. They must use their tight ends more and run the ball more in the red zone to make those trips more efficient and successful. Offensive Coordinator Chip Lindsay was brought in to make sure that they stay consistent with their explosive play every game, providing Drake Maye with all the tools and weapons to help the offense play to their potential this upcoming season.
UNC Defense
The UNC defense had an up and down year last season with their play. To start the season, they allowed too many points, and too many big plays, and struggled to get off the field on third downs. The Tar Heels finished last in the ACC in total and scoring defense, allowing over 430 yards a game and 31 points per game. A major issue for them was their inability to put pressure on the quarterback and not making enough plays in the backfield.
In the secondary, they struggled to play the ball in the air and were out of position too often, which allowed explosive plays from the opposing offense. However, the defense did get better as the season progressed. They looked more comfortable in Defensive Coordinator Gene Chizik’s scheme and at times even played better than the offense in the last few games. Much of the success the defense had to close the season was due to the increased play of the younger players on defense. When those young freshmen and sophomores got on the field, they were aggressive and flying around everywhere on the field making impact plays.
This is why there is a lot of optimism around the play of the defense and improvement on that side of the ball this upcoming season. Those same players that got more playing time down the stretch of last season are now in the weekly rotation this year. This year’s defense is once again led by linebackers Power Echols and Cedric Gray, who led the team in tackles last season.
The defensive line will look to be better as they once again possess a lot of talent in their position group. Standout players on the defensive line include Myles Murphy, Kevin Hester, Tomari Fox, Travis Shaw, Kaimon Rucker, Desmond Evans, and transfer edge rusher Amari Gainer from Florida State. Their focus this offseason has been to find ways for them to improve in the pass rush game and blow up more plays and wreak havoc in the backfield.
Last season the secondary was the weakest position group for the Tar Heels. Their best defensive backs did not play good football for most of the year, which is why they had to be replaced by freshmen and sophomores for the Heels to get even better play at that position.
However, this year things are expected to be different. They brought in experienced DBs from the transfer portal this offseason including cornerback Alijah Huzzie from East Tennessee State, cornerback Armani Chatman from Virginia Tech, cornerback Marcus Allen, and safety Antavious Lane, which provides the secondary with much-needed depth and experience. This will go along with the young talent they already have at those positions including Giovanni Biggers, Will Hardy, Marcus Allen, Don Champman, and Deandre Boykins.
Overall, the defense will look to put a much better product on the field this year. They have experience in the front seven and secondary that should allow them to play well in Gene Chizik’s scheme. With all the talent the Heels have in their defensive unit, this needs to be the year they put it all together and not be a liability for the team. North Carolina should be able to win games this year because of the defense and take some of the pressure off the offense to score a significant amount of points every game.
On Special Teams, the Tar Heels bring in graduate transfer Ryan Coe, who will be the new kicker, and bring back punter Ben Kiernan. The kicking game last season was much better than in previous seasons and is once again expected to continue that trend this upcoming season
The North Carolina football team has everything they need to be a complete football team and be one of the three best teams in the ACC at the very least this year. Coach Mack Brown brought in new coaches with a lot of collegiate and NFL experience such as Offensive Coordinator Chip Lindsey, Tight Ends Coach Freddie Kitchens, Offensive Analyst Clyde Christensen, Defensive Analysts Ted Monachino and Ty Greenwood, and Special Teams Analyst Jamael Lett to bring a new mindset, culture, and energy to the coaching staff that is much needed and they will be individuals who will hold the players accountable if they are not giving it their all and their very best in every single game and practice.
One thing that the coaching staff struggled with last year is in-game adjustments and the timing of them. Last season they would wait until halftime, which is entirely too long, to make adjustments whether to the offense or defense and it would be too late for them to make a comeback, or they would surrender the lead to their opponents because all momentum was lost. That is something to keep an eye on this season, and with the new additions to the staff something that is expected to be much better this upcoming season
While their schedule isn’t necessarily easy with opponents like South Carolina, Appalachian State, and Minnesota to start the season and Clemson and NC State to close the seasons, the Tar Heels possess enough talent on both sides of the football to win enough games to put them in position to make the ACC Championship once again.
On offense, they can never afford to be conservative because they have no reason to with all the talent they possess and defensively they need to always be the aggressor and bring physicality to each game to make the opposing offense work for everything they get. Both sides of the football will ultimately need to play well for this team to reach its true potential, and if they do, they can win the ACC Championship this season. The first game of the season will be on Saturday, September 2 in primetime at 7:30 p.m. on ABC against South Carolina.