No. 11 – North Carolina Tar Heels Season Preview

Against all expectations, Mack Brown has made North Carolina into a program to be respected once more. After going a combined 5-18 in Larry Fedora’s last two seasons in Chapel Hill, Brown has steered the Tar Heels to a 15-10 record in his two years with a trip to the Orange Bowl. Brown seems to have the magic touch at this job considering he made UNC into the second-best program in the ACC in the 1990s, and the Tar Heels are once again the second-best program in the conference coming into the 2021 season.

North Carolina Regular Season Win Total

Over 9.5 Wins -115

Under 9.5 Wins -115

OFFENSE

This is an extremely potent offense. Brown flipped Sam Howell out of a commitment to Florida State shortly before National Signing Day, and Howell has led a resurgence in this program. After a promising freshman season, Howell was even better during the 2020 campaign. He completed 68.1% of his passes for 3,586 yards with a whopping 10.3 YPA. Howell threw 30 touchdowns compared to just seven interceptions too.

UNC lost two 1,000-yard running backs, so it will be tough to replace their production in the backfield. British Brooks saw a little bit of action for the Tar Heels in 2020, but Tennessee grad transfer Ty Chandler looks likely to be the primary running back for this team in 2021.

There are questions in the receiving corps too. The top two receivers from 2020 are gone, but there is more proven talent behind them. Khafre Brown and Beau Corrales appear ready to take over as the top two receivers, and Josh Downs showed some flash last year too.

Offensive line is not a cause for worry. All five starters return from last season, and there are over 100 combined starts if you include the top reserve. Nine of the ten players in the two-deep have at least three years of experience, so the Tar Heels figure to have one of the best offensive lines in the conference.

DEFENSE

Defensive coordinator Jay Bateman came to campus with a certain amount of fanfare. He had a ton of success during his five years at Army, but he has only been slightly above average in two years with North Carolina. This is an area where the Tar Heels should improve in 2021.

The secondary should be one of the best in the conference. Both Storm Duck and Tony Grimes have shown a lot of potential at cornerback, and Kyler McMichael played very well in 2020 after transferring over from Clemson.

UNC’s linebacking corps will miss Chazz Surratt, but there is a good amount of talent at this level. Jeremiah Gemmel was the second-leading tackler on the Tar Heels in 2020, and Tomon Fox provides a lot of stability as a three-year starter.

Bateman runs a 3-4 defense, putting a lot of emphasis on nose tackle Raymond Vohasek up front. There is talent elsewhere along the defensive line too.

SCHEDULE

North Carolina should win double-digit games in 2021 given this schedule. The Tar Heels avoid Clemson in cross-division play, and they get to host division rival Miami. Their toughest test will be a road trip to Notre Dame on Halloween weekend, but the Tar Heels will have two weeks to prepare for that test.

PREDICTION

There is a good chance the Tar Heels recreate their 2015 season. UNC appears set to be the second-best team in the conference and on its way to a 10-win season, but the Tar Heels are unlikely to compete with Clemson in the ACC Championship Game. Still, that would be a successful season and concrete proof that Brown was the right hire.

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