Morning Heel: UNC news roundup from weekend

A roundup of the latest UNC news from the past few days

It’s finally game week.

In just five days, the North Carolina Tar heels and Georgia Bulldogs will kickoff their seasons as part of the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta.

Both teams are hoping for a win to start off the season and get on the right foot. With it being game week and all, expect plenty of coverage from Keeping It Heel.

But today we introduce a new weekly article that will spotlight some UNC news from over the weekend, just in case you missed it. Welcome to Morning Heel.

We will roundup the biggest storylines from over the weekend involving UNC and sometimes the ACC.

Let’s kick it off.

Harrison Barnes gets engaged

Just one week removed from winning a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio, the former UNC star is engaged.

Barnes revealed the news of his engagement via Twitter:

As for that gold medal? You can read about Barnes and the lack of playing time at the Olympics via Horran Cameron.

Georgia at full strength against UNC?

Just a week ago it looked like the Georgia Bulldogs could be without some key players in their backfield. But on Friday, head coach Kirby Smart revealed some positive news for the Bulldogs ahead of their date with UNC.

“(Michel’s) doing a lot of positive things,” Smart said during Friday’s Paul Finebaum Show. “It’s just that he hasn’t been cleared to play yet, and it may even be a game-time decision.”

The Bulldogs could have the duo of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel on Saturday. If that happens, UNC’s defense will surely need to buckle up.

SEC blog shows some love to UNC

As we head into the first week of the college football season, the power rankings are starting to be released.

SEC blog, Saturday Down South, ranked every opponent members of the conference will take on this week. They broke it down by category and ranked UNC 5th on that list under “tough matchups.”

Here’s what they had to say:

"The Tar Heels averaged more than 40 points per game last year and will have upset on their mind when they take on the Bulldogs in Atlanta. UNC will have a new starting quarterback in Mitch Trubisky and a star running back in Elijah Hood. Tar Heels defensive coordinator Gene Chizik knows a thing or two about the SEC, but can anybody stop the UGA running game?"

Also in the top five was fellow ACC members Florida State and Clemson.

Kendall Marshall traded

Former UNC point guard Kendall Marshall was traded on Friday. The Philadelphia 76ers traded Marshall to the Utah Jazz.

The Jazz then announced that they will release Marshall instead of paying him the $2 million they would owe him on the contract. You can read more about it here.

New food at Kenan Stadium

If you’re planning on attending a game at Kenan Memorial Stadium this year (which you should do), then you will have the chance to by some local food favorites.

Our friends over at TarHeelBlog breaks down the new food choices that will be available at the stadium this year. Trust me, you’re going to love the new options.