
{"id":19953,"date":"2011-07-28T10:07:44","date_gmt":"2011-07-28T14:07:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/?p=19953"},"modified":"2011-07-28T10:09:49","modified_gmt":"2011-07-28T14:09:49","slug":"high-expectations-for-tar-heels-offense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2011\/07\/28\/high-expectations-for-tar-heels-offense\/","title":{"rendered":"High expectations for Tar Heel offense"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/2011\/07\/28\/high-expectations-for-tar-heels-offense\/landreth-mug-28\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-19954\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/landreth-mug1.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"landreth-mug\" width=\"100\" height=\"134\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-19954\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/landreth-mug1.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/landreth-mug1-84x113.jpg 84w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/landreth-mug1-75x100.jpg 75w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>By Eddy Landreth<br \/>\n<\/strong><em>Staff Writer<\/em><\/p>\n<p>PINEHURST \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Not since the coaching days of Bill Dooley and Dick Crum have so much anticipation and so many high expectations surrounded a Carolina offensive line as this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s group. <\/p>\n<p>This unit possesses the physical and mental qualities to meet or exceed those expectations, junior offensive guard Jonathan Cooper said.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You always want to be positive and think about the potential a line can have,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Cooper said during the annual ACC Football Kickoff at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153But to make leaps and bounds, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know that I could have ever thought that we would be projected as well as we are now.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>One reason for the optimism is size.<\/p>\n<p>James Hurst, sophomore left tackle, is listed at 6 feet 7 inches, 310 pounds. He started as a freshman. Cooper is 6-3, 310, and center Cam Holland is 6-2, 320. Right guard Travis Bond is 6-7, 340, and right tackle Brennan Williams is 6-7, 315.<\/p>\n<p>Yet size is just one attribute that separates this group, Cooper said.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153One of the biggest differences,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Cooper said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153might be everybody on the line not only being knowledgeable, but being physically and athletically gifted. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to take away from the other guys. I just feel like this is a group of guys with size, strength and ability that is unlike the other groups.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>The demands of an offensive lineman have evolved from mostly run protection to pass-blocking elite athletes on defense.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Think about who they have to block, the premier defensive linemen in America, some of the fastest linebackers you could ever imagine,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d coach Butch Davis said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The days of being just a big, strong offensive lineman \u00e2\u20ac\u201c those days are over. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to have some athleticism.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Offensive line coach and newly promoted assistant head coach Sam Pittman has played a crucial role in training these young men.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sam Pittman is a great teacher,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Davis said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153He also has a really good insight into the physical qualities in what it takes to be a good offensive lineman. It used to be if you were a big guy with long arms, that was enough.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Now you have to be mobile. Versatility is a big part of college football today. With injuries, the ability to move somebody from right guard to left guard, left guard to center, that is why we highly regard Jonathan Cooper so much. I truly believe that kid could be a marquee player at any of the three interior positions.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>These athletes must accept teaching and be able to retain the knowledge and utilize it under pressure.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It has a lot to do with everybody going down the line, knowing what they have to do and what others have to do,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Cooper said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153as opposed to having a few seniors on the line who know what to do and having to tell the guy beside him what to do.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>All of this translates into promise.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I feel like we can be a lot better,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Cooper said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We have the smarts to do it. We have a lot of experience. Everybody knows what they are supposed to do.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>No one epitomizes the potential in this line more than Hurst. Few true freshmen play on the offensive line. Even fewer start at left tackle.<\/p>\n<p>Left tackles must slow hard-charging, athletic defensive ends and protect right-handed quarterbacks\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 backs.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I love playing beside [Hurst],\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Cooper said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153There are a lot of guys who come in on the offensive line who may be physically able to play and start as an offensive lineman. But James Hurst might be one of the smartest guys I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever met with football knowledge. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll find myself going to the film room with him and picking his brain to see what he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s thinking. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, like, super smart football-wise. And he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s very athletic.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The coaches just say something, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll pick it up and have it ready for practice,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Cooper said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153He will have just learned it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Soon we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll learn just how much they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve all learned and how genuinely athletic they are.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_19955\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19955\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/2011\/07\/28\/high-expectations-for-tar-heels-offense\/cooperjonathan1\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-19955\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/CooperJonathan1.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"Cooper,Jonathan1\" width=\"400\" height=\"559\" class=\"size-full wp-image-19955\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/CooperJonathan1.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/CooperJonathan1-107x150.jpg 107w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/CooperJonathan1-80x113.jpg 80w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-19955\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">PHOTO BY JEFF CAMARATI. Offensive guard, Jonathan Cooper in a game versus Florida State <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Eddy Landreth<\/strong><br \/>\nNot since the coaching days of Dooley and Crum have so much anticipation surrounded a Carolina offensive line as this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s group. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":19954,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[431],"class_list":["post-19953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19953"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20004,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19953\/revisions\/20004"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}