Top UNC Football players for 2018: No. 21 Offensive Line
Keeping It Heel continues its countdown of the top 25 football players on the North Carolina Tar Heels’ roster with player No. 21
#25 Dyami Brown | #24 Johnathon Sutton | #23 Matthew Flint | #22 JT Cauthen
The college football season kicks off in about five months, and it will be here before we know it.
NFL teams are currently preparing for the NFL Draft which is less than a week away as teams, players, and fans are getting pretty anxious. With football on our minds, we decided to take a look at the upcoming season for the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Let’s take a look at player No. 21, the first non-player on this list, but instead, a position group that is key to the success of the Tar Heels offense.
Last Season: The offensive line was a big reason that North Carolina struggled so much last season. Despite possessing several seniors and a graduate transfer at center, the line struggled to keep the quarterback upright or create holes for the running backs.
North Carolina’s offense finished 99th in the nation last season, while the rushing offense ranked 90th. The line also allowed 30 quarterback sacks, tied for 40th most nationally.
I understand that it isn’t entirely the line’s fault that the offense struggled, but it was a huge reason.
Why they might move up this list: The Tar Heels have brought in some really good offensive linemen the past few seasons.
William Barnes and Avery Jones join redshirt freshmen Billy Ross, Brian Anderson, and Jonah Melton to give UNC a deep, young offensive line group that should improve on last year’s team.
Additionally, the line should be aided by better play from the offensive skill players, particularly at quarterback.
Why they might move down this list: All of these new guys just underline one of UNC’s biggest issues, experience. Of the group that finished last season as the starting five, only Charlie Heck returns this season.
Good lines have spent years together mastering their craft. This group will be getting a crash course in that.
Prediction: Let’s go with the following five as starters for 2018: LT Charlie Heck, LG Nick Polino, C Jay Jay McCargo, RG Jonathan Trull, and RT William Sweet. Only Trull doesn’t have at least two seasons left, meaning this group could grow this year and be very strong the next.
Throw in all of the young guys behind them, and the future looks bright for this group.