UNC Football: Where Tar Heels stand in ESPN’s post Spring Top 25

The Mack Brown-led North Carolina Tar Heels are finally getting the respect they deserve after an 8-4 overall and 7-3 in conference record last season.

Going into this season, there’s a lot of hype around the program as they welcomed in another impressive 2021 recruiting class as well as returning most of their starters from that bowl loss to Texas A&M. And now, the national media is starting to recognize that.

In their latest preseason Top 25 rankings, ESPN considers the Tar Heels a Top 10 team as they checked in at No. 8 overall. 

Here is what ESPN says about the Tar Heels next season following their Spring game:

"Outlook: If anyone is going to finally challenge Clemson in the ACC, it might be the Tar Heels, who are enjoying a resurgence in Hall of Fame coach Mack Brown’s second tour.With quarterback Sam Howell and all five starting offensive linemen back, the Tar Heels spent the spring trying to identify replacements for 1,000-yard runners Carter and Williams and top pass-catchers Newsome and Brown. Slot receiver Josh Downs emerged as Howell’s No. 1 target, while Antoine Green and Emery Simmons proved to be reliable options as well.Versatile transfer Chandler, who had 3,291 all-purpose yards in 46 games over four seasons at Tennessee, showed he will definitely help at running back. Josh Henderson, D.J. Jones, Elijah Green and Caleb Hood will battle for the rest of the carries.Defensively, the Tar Heels were searching for a more effective pass rush, and Desmond Evans showed some promising signs, along with Myles Murphy and Kaimon Rucker."

The No. 8 ranking can be contributed to quarterback Sam Howell who is set to be a top-three quarterback this upcoming season . Howell has impressed fans in the last two seasons with a combined 7,227 passing yards, 68 touchdowns, and only 14 interceptions. Howell led the ACC in back-to-back years in passing touchdowns and already sits at 10th all-time in ACC history in the category.

He’s a favorite to win the Heisman with a loaded wide receiver room and expectations of bringing Carolina to the promised land.

While Howell returns, his backfield will be a little different. The Tar Heels lost both Javonte Williams and Michael Carter. However, they landed a top transfer in former Tennessee back Ty Chandler.   Williams and Carter amounted for 33 touchdowns and 2,957 combined yards from scrimmage for UNC Football last season. Chandler, last season for the Vols, had four touchdowns, 456 yards in just 100 carries for a 4.6-yard average while playing behind Eric Gray.

Chandler is expected to be the main back when it comes to carries this season, however, he will still split carries with freshman Caleb Hood and junior Josh Henderson. Carolina ends up with a room filled with talented running backs.

Another fitting reason for UNC football to be ranked number 8 is due to the emergence of the defense. The last few seasons, it’s been the explosive offense with the last second score to seal the victory, however, this season could see the defense being the top key in victories. Despite the draft seeing Carolina’s best tackler, Chazz Surratt, get drafted to the Minnesota Vikings, there is a lot of excitement in the air for this defense.

A big reason is the returning staff and players such as defensive back Tony Grimes, who is expected to have a big year, and freshman defensive end, Keeshawn Silver. If the spring game was any indicator, then the ACC should be on notice with high expectations from the defense this season.

Carolina also has a favorable upcoming schedule, which can see the UNC football program going undefeated. The toughest match-up, much like last season, is the game against Notre Dame with an expectation of the winner to play Clemson in the ACC title game. An undefeated season with an ACC championship would be just enough to get a national playoff berth for the Heels. These reasons with the trajectory of improvement the UNC football program has shown are why Carolina ranks in at number 8.

Be sure to keep up with Keeping It Heel as we continue our coverage on the UNC football team and the upcoming season.