UNC Football Position Preview: Offensive line

We take a look at the UNC Football offensive line and what to expect from the Tar Heels unit this season

Entering the 2018 season, the offensive line will be a big question mark for the North Carolina Tar Heels football program and it’s one that could linger throughout the year.

UNC lost four of its five starters from a year ago and the unit as a whole will be young. With that there will be mistakes but it’s up to the offense to weather that storm and get on track.

For a team that is looking to rebuild and turn things around in a hurry, having an offensive line that is inexperienced is usually a recipe for disaster. But there is some hope that they can put things together and pave the way for this offense to be successful.

2017 Review

UNC saw several players on the offensive line lose time due to injury creating a constant shuffling that Larry Fedora hopes to avoid this year.

The Tar Heels lose Bentley Spain, R.J. Prince, Khaliel Rodgers, Cam Dillard, Luke Elder and Tommy Hatton this year but do return tackles Charlie Heck and William Sweet. Having both of them back should help UNC on the edge, protecting the quarterback.

Last season, UNC wasn’t able to build any consistency on the offensive line due to injuries. But they did see some productivity from Heck who started to shine as the year went on.

Heck’s best performance came in the season finale against N.C. State where he held his own against Bradley Chubb.

Sweet put together some early standout performances last season, showing signs of promise for the future. The tackle became a consistent option at the position and will hopefully carry that into this year.

Depth Chart

Center

Starter: Jay-Jay McCargo

Backups: Tyler Pritchett

Guard

Starter: Billy Ross, Nick Polino

Backups: William Barnes, Jonah Melton, Quiron Johnson, Jonathan Trull

Tackle

Starter: Charlie Heck, William Sweet

Backups: Jordan Tucker, Joshua Ezeudu,  Mason Veal

The Tar Heels have a lot of depth on the line but some inexperience. Freshmen William Barnes and Joshua Ezeudu should compete for a starting job during training camp and we wouldn’t be shocked if they started at some point this season.

What to expect?

Despite there being some new faces on this offensive line, it could turn out to be a strong unit if everything goes right.

Having veteran tackles on the outside should help to keep quarterback Nathan Elliott protected and allow him to go through his reads. If this offense wants to be good and consistent this season, it will start with the protection up front.

As for the interior, this is where they could struggle. If Ross, McCargo and Polino all win the starting jobs there’s not much experience.

This unit could be a problem early and if they are inconsistent, it won’t help the running game at all. UNC is going to look to run the ball early and often with Antonio Williams and Jordon Brown, so getting some good push from the interior offensive line will be key.

We expect some struggles especially early on this season due to the lack of experience and familiarity on the offensive line. But that doesn’t mean they will struggle all year.

Expect the line to turn things around if they do struggle and become a sold unit as the season goes on.

Biggest impact?

While there are five starters we could pick from, we will go with the freshman William Barnes.

Barnes became the top recruit in UNC’s 2018 class when Jordyn Adams announced he was turning pro after being drafted by the Los Angeles Angeles. The four-star tackle has the chance to be a really good starter on UNC’s line for every year that he’s here.

That could start with his freshman year.

Look for Barnes to push for a starting spot throughout camp and possibly early in the year. There might be some struggles, but that will just be growing pains. We wouldn’t be shocked if Barnes turned out to have a solid freshman season in Carolina Blue.