The Tar Heels will close out spring camp on Saturday in Kenan Stadium when they host the fifteenth and final practice with their annual spring game. With the game not being televised or streamed in any capacity this year, fans will have to make their way to Chapel Hill for an early look at this year’s team and for those that do, there will be a lot of interesting things to keep an eye on. Here’s a look at the five things we’ll be watching tomorrow.
Quarterback Battle
Mack Brown made it clear earlier this that the quarterback battle is a legitimate one meaning Saturday should give us a good look at both guys with the first team offense. Brown has been very complimentary of what he has seen from Max Johnson as the veteran of the competition and it has us feeling like he probably holds the edge going in. Conner Harrell has reportedly been making a push, though, from those who have been at practice and this will be his chance to make a statement as things head into the summer. If Johnson has the better day, though, there could be some interesting conversations to have over the next few days.
Left Guard Battle
I know it might not be as sexy as the quarterback battle, but it is just as important. Brown said earlier this week that the trio of Jonathan Adorno, Malik McGowan and Zach Rice are battling for the left guard spot and it will interesting to watch how all three of these guys look there tomorrow and how the reps are divided. McGowan appeared to take the most reps with the ones during the all-access practice last weekend and it will be interesting to see if that carries over and he can stand out against what the staff has said is an improving interior of the defensive line. All three guys will get a great opportunity to show the staff why they should be a part of the battle in the fall that will feature D3 transfer Zach Greenberg, a player the staff values very highly.
Travis Shaw
The Tar Heels staff has been raving about the improvements that they have seen from Shaw and Saturday will be our first chance to get a look at it in a game setting. It’s tough to say that you want to him dominate because that could raise questions about the interior of the offensive line, but the hope is that you can at least see some of the special things that the staff has been seeing from him. If he can do that, Tar Heel fans will leave the spring feeling good about the interior of the defensive line unit for the first time since Aaron Crawford and Jason Strowbridge were manning the middle.
Young Receivers
With two of the Tar Heels' top four receivers on the shelf in the spring, the reps have gone to the young guys who have impressed the staff. Chris Culliver seems to have made a leap in the offseason, as has fellow second year receiver Paul Billups II, while the true freshman Jordan Shipp and Alex Taylor have burst onto the scene and opened some eyes early. This foursome should get some substantial reps on Saturday and it will be interesting to see who stands out and could push to still see reps with the ones in the fall when both J.J. Jones and Gavin Blackwell return.
Offensive Line
We focused on one position above, but the offensive line unit as a whole is going to be very intriguing to watch because of how different the group is from a year ago. Brown has spoken very highly of what he has seen from Austin Blaske at center and Howard Sampson at left tackle and hopefully those same things he has been talking about can show up on Saturday. It will also be interesting to see how much progress Trevyon Green has made at right tackle and if he can leave a good taste in the staff’s mouths heading into the summer when Jakiah Leftwich will arrive to compete with him in the fall. It will also be worth watching to see what the depth looks like here and if this is a unit that finally has a chance to have the true two deep that Brown has been wanting since he returned.