Carolina Football Displays Talent In Spring Game

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.- The North Carolina Tar Heels displayed a multitude of talent at their annual spring football game which took place on  Saturday, April 24th in a rainy Kenan Stadium.

UNC looked like a well-rounded football team with some tiny mistakes to clean up in their spring game. The Tar Heels showed competitiveness and potential from some guys who did not see the field a lot last year. 

Offensively, North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell finished 6-10 passing with 118 yards with a touchdown throw to Antoine Green. Green is expected to be Howell’s go-to guy this upcoming season. 

The game also featured some guys that teams should watch out for in the coming years. Freshman Drake Maye took some snaps, and despite being 3-8, had some impressive throws that showed off his arm strength and accuracy. 

Jefferson Boaz, the redshirt-freshman quarterback, also took the field some. Although he did not have too many opportunities to show off his arm, being only 1-6 for 5 yards, he did show his speed. Boaz sprinted in a 38 yard TD run, making him the leading rusher of the day.

UNC has some big shoes to fill at the running back position after their top two guys entered the draft. Junior Josh Henderson and freshman Caleb Hood look like they are capable of doing so.

Added on top of, of course, a veteran and experienced offensive line.
Hood finished with 35 yards on six attempts with a long of 12, while Henderson left the game with 33 yards with the same number of attempted throws and a touchdown in just one drive.

DJ Jones was the only other running back to score.

Ty Chandler also is a running back to look out for on this upcoming UNC squad. A grad transfer from Tennesse, Chandler finished 5th for the most all-purpose yards for the program.

Defensively, Carolina looked prepared, in-shape, and capable of facing any team in the ACC. A big standout player was Junior linebacker, Eugene Asante, who only had one start last season.

Asante finished with four total tackles, three solos, two sacks, and two tackles for loss. He looked like he will be a great pass rusher and run stopper for the Heels this season.

The defensive backs may have been a little lucky because of the rain, but they looked good; really good. Only 11 out of 27 passes connected all day. Defensive had only one takeaway all day, which came from redshirt-freshman Christopher Holiday.

Overall, UNC has a great team with talent and potential, but some holes to fill. They had in total seven penalties for various reasons. Defensive pass interference, offsides, false starts, and more.

Impressively, there were no holding calls against the O-line, which deserves a shoutout to the big boys.

If UNC hopes to take the ACC by storm and topple some of those teams that sit at the top right now, they need to tighten those loose screws and continue to rely on the talent they have.

North Carolina kicks its season off on September 3rd against Virginia Tech. The Hokies will look to get revenge after the Tar Heels won their matchup 56-45 in 2020.