Heel Tough Blog: Takeaways from First Unofficial Depth Chart

After not releasing a depth chart publicly for the first game of the season, the Tar Heels released an unofficial one on Thursday morning ahead of the game against the Charlotte 49ers on Saturday. Here are a few of our biggest takeaways from what was released.

Gio Lopez Still the Starter at QB

This was the thing that we were most interested to see after the staff announced on Wednesday that Lopez was out practicing with the team in full and it seems like the staff will stick behind their pick from camp to at least start the game on Saturday. It will be interesting to see how long they will stick with him if he continues to struggle the way that he did in the opener. Hopefully, there is a short leash for a quarterback who failed to move the offense that doesn’t fit his play style down the field after that first drive and that Max Johnson, who fits this system better, will be ready to play again.

Pryce Yates is Nowhere to Be Found

Yates was one of the Tar Heels' biggest acquisitions this offseason along the defensive front and, by all indications, he was running with the ones in fall camp, but he was not in uniform on Monday and isn’t on this depth chart that was released this morning. While there is no concrete information about his status from the staff, Andrew Jones of TarHeel247 did confirm that Yates is banged up and the fact that he is not listed on the depth chart would suggest that this is a significant enough injury to keep him out for this weekend. That is not a good sign for a defensive line that could really use his help after what we saw in the first game of the season.

Marcus Allen Still the Starter at CB

After a rough showing where Allen allowed 135 yards and a touchdown on nine targets and a perfect passer rating, we thought there was a chance that Allen would not be the starter for the team this week, but that is not the case. The hope is that, similar to Lopez, his leash is short and that the coaching staff will not be afraid to try someone else there in his place if he gets off to a rough start in this one. Khalil Conley and Jalon Thompson look to be the options that they could go to and need to be ready to go if needed.

Eidan Buchanan Experiment Over After One Game

This experiment ended in the middle of Monday night’s game as Buchanan saw just 24 snaps in the game, all of which appeared to come in the first half. With him out, William Boone is the guy who is slotting for him at left tackle and the numbers would tell you that is the right move. I don’t know how much confidence you can really have in Boone moving forward, but it seems that he will be the guy for the time being unless someone else can make a statement in practice.

Caleb Hood is the Starter at RB

This is more of a takeaway from Monday night, but it is still a little shocking that Caleb Hood is the one getting the first carries for this team. After all of the promise that Davion Gause showed last year, it felt like a given that he was going to be the starter for this team at the running back spot again this season, but he is buried all down at third on the depth chart and probably didn’t help his push for snaps with his fumble in the game against TCU. Expect to see a lot of Hood and Benjamin Hall for the team based on this depth chart.

Jordan Owens Gets The Nod at TE

It seemed all offseason like this was Jake Johnson’s job to lose and it appears that he has to the Oklahoma State transfer, Jordan Owens. Owens saw the most significant amount of snaps at the spot on Monday and seems to be the guy that the team will lean on when they have a tight end on the field, especially in run blocking scenarios. The team does need a pass catching threat to emerge, though, so there is still an opportunity for Johnson and Connor Cox to have a being impact.

Shipp, Culliver and Taylor Are the Starters At WR

This was a room that underwent a lot of turnover in the offseason and Jordan Shipp, Chris Culliver and Alex Taylor are the trio that have emerged as the starters for this unit. Shipp was productive in the opener, catching four passes for 84 yards, but the other two guys were relatively quiet. If that remains the case, guys like Kobe Paysour, who was a surprise as a non-starter, and Javarius Green could be pushing them for their starting roles as the season goes along. Michigan State transfer Aziah Johnson being nowhere to be found on this depth chart is also something interesting to note here.