North Carolina Tarheels Season Preview

North Carolina should again be good on off ense with 10 starters returning led by Williams, WRs Switzer, Hollins, Quinshad Davis and Bug Howard and a running back corps led by T.J. Logan (582 yds) but including Ellijah Hood, Romar Morris and Khris Francis...Most importantly all fi ve starters on the off ensive line also return and four of them--Ts Jonathan Heck and John Ferranto, G Caleb Peterson and C Lucas Crowley--are juniors joining senior G Turner, though sophomore Bentley Spain emerged from spring as the starter at LT while sophomore G Jared Cohen is pushing Peterson for playing time ...Talented backup QB Mitch Trubisky also returns to provide quality depth...It is on defense, though, that the Tar Heels must improve in order to challenge for the Coastal Division title...New coordinator and former Auburn head coach Gene Chizik brings with him a new 4-3 defensive scheme and the credentials to improve a unit that was ranked 117th in total defense last fall...Chizik will have a couple of young, promising players in Drennon (5.5 TFLs) and Nazair (7.5 TFLs) who saw signifi cant action as freshmen...Senior DT Justin Th omason also returns upfront where he started all 13 games a year ago...Also returning is DE Junior Gnonkonde, DE Jeremiah Clarke and DT Tyler Powell and they will be pushed by January enrollee Jalen Dalton...Senior LB Jeff Schoettmer (74 tackles, 6 TFLs) was the second leading tackler on the team a year ago and returns to lead a LB corps that includes Shakeel Rashad, Joe Jackson, Cayson Collins, Tyrell Tomlin, Cole Holcomb and January enrollee Andre Smith...Two of the three starting CBs return in Brian Walker (3 INTs) and Des Lawrence (71 tackles), but they ended spring in battles with M.J. Stewart and Malik Simmons (34 tackles at Ram) for starting honors, while Sam Smiley (52 tackles, 1 INT) heads into the fall as the leader at free safety with freshman J.K. Britt and junior Dominqiue Green (41 tackles) in the running at strong safety.