Aug. 19 practice report: Howell's poise praised while offense looks for more leadership

With training camp officially in the books, the offense that will take the field for Carolina’s season-opener on Aug. 31 is starting to come into focus.

Things weren’t nearly as clear just two weeks ago, when offensive coordinator Phil Longo had to bring the unit together after a disappointing scrimmage.

“All that took was just the coaches calling that out and showing us how close we are to being a great offense,” senior tight end Carl Tucker said. “After that first scrimmage, he really pulled us together and explained to us what we need to do to be the offense we want to be. That following practice, we really turned it up and that was probably the best practice we’ve had.”

Not only was lack of execution troubling, but also a lack of leadership. Some of that was natural, as three quarterbacks battled for the job and one couldn’t truly take the reins. Some was concerning though, as several veterans have had to look within themselves in the days since.

Senior Charlie Heck admits that developing that type of vocal leadership has been a challenge.

“I just have to continue to work on being more vocal every single day,” he said after Monday night’s practice.

Given that the Tar Heels could start as many as three freshmen and sophomores on the offensive line, he knows he — and others — have to push themselves outside of their comfort zone.

“It needs to come from the seniors on offense,” Heck said. “Typically, there’s a lot of quiet players, including myself. I’m not a very loud, boisterous person so I need to find it in myself to pick up the (line), because I’ve got a lot of young guys in that room looking up to me. We’ve got some senior experience at tight end; guys that have played, people that have been there before. So, we need those people to (be a) voice and pick other people up every single day.”

The guy they’ll be protecting has also stepped up, as Sam Howell has already impressed teammates, despite his status as a true freshman.

On track to start after taking over the first-team reps this week, Howell has carried himself with the air of an experienced quarterback.

“I’ve seen a lot of young leadership and that comes with the territory,” running back Michael Carter said. “He’s not just leading to say he’s doing it; he’s trying his best to lead his way which is not always super vocal. It may be coming up to you and being like, ‘Hey man, let it go,’ or, ‘Pick it up,’ or ‘You’ve got to catch that ball,’ but also, he holds himself super-accountable — more than most freshmen would.”

That poise also stands out to Tucker, who marvels at how a player that should have graduated from high school just two months ago has adjusted to college football.

“He’s very calm; calm is the best way to put it,” he said. “For being a freshman, he’s very into himself, very relaxed in the backfield. He doesn’t really show much emotion and just being a quarterback and being so young and having this be the first year that Mack is back, and just having the mentality he has is unbelievable.”

Open practice a success

With the Bell Tower lit up in Carolina Blue, the Tar Heels got their first taste of the bright lights of Kenan Stadium on Monday night during an open practice that served as the official ending of training camp.

With classes beginning Tuesday, players had the day off practice and will get back to work at 8 a.m. on Wednesday.

“We’ve never done anything like this, so being able to do this and have a pretty good turnout, it was really fun,” Tucker said.

The practice, meant to simulate the gameday schedule of Carolina’s season-opener vs. Miami on Sept. 7, was an opportunity to connect with fans who have stuck around through struggles.

“I feel like we came out here and enjoyed the fans,” Carter said. “We love the fans and they mean a lot to us. Some games, we haven’t had great attendance, for obvious reasons, but it was good to come out here and see that they still support us through it all.”

Line shuffling complete?

After the practice, Heck said that senior Nick Polino has been delivering the majority of snaps as the first-team center.

“He’s been doing a great job,” Heck said.

That’s been a concern since the spring, with the Heels also working Brian Anderson and Ty Murray at the position. In particular, Mack Brown has mentioned several bad snaps.

Meanwhile, at right guard, a new player has emerged with Marcus McKethan, a 6-7, 330-pound sophomore, emerging as the first-stringer.

“Marcus is an enormous person, he’s just an oak tree out there on the O-line,” Heck said. “When he can get his paws on his people and use his hands, he’s just a road-grader, so it’s great to have him out there right now.”

With Heck set at left tackle, redshirt freshman Ed Montilus has frequently been praised for his work at left guard, while Jordan Tucker has been in control of the spot at right tackle.

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