UNC's Butch Davis Challenges the ACC to Rival the SEC

With the rapid approach of National Signing Day, we’ve focused recently on the critical lifeblood known as recruiting.  One of the new players that has emerged in the Tribal Fever Footprint is the University of North Carolina.  Their top recruiting staff may well lead to a new "big boy" on the block, not only in the ACC but in the BCS.

The Tar Heels football program had a nice run from the late ‘70s to the late ‘90s but had fallen on hard times earlier this decade. With the hiring of Butch Davis for the 2007 season, things have changed for the better and the talent level in Chapel Hill has increased dramatically. UNC fans haven’t seen this many quality football players (2009 class currently ranked 6th by Rivals) on campus since the Mack Brown era, and there seems to be no stop in the current momentum.

The job Davis did at the University of Miami speaks for itself as his Hurricanes roster from 7-8 years ago has star players scattered around today's NFL.  Most unbiased football experts would place those Davis-era Miami teams alongside today's SEC powerhouses.

However, there were questions regarding whether Davis could get the same number of quality players to North Carolina without having the local benefits of the south Florida talent he had at Miami.  Only three years into his program, the answer has to be an emphatic YES!

The first sign of success was when Davis and recruiting ace John Blake landed Marvin Austin, the top defensive lineman in the country, two years ago. With two classes in hand, the UNC staff led the Tar Heels to an 8-4 regular season record and a bowl berth in 2008. It was a welcome sight for North Carolina fans to see that Butch Davis’ recruiting was going to translate to wins on the field.

Much was made of the parity in ACC football last year, and looking forward to 2009, I think you still have to consider Virginia Tech and Florida State as the top dogs.  Both Virginia Tech and FSU were national contenders at the beginning of the BCS era, and there is little reason to believe they can't do it again. 

However, there is a real opportunity for UNC, thanks to the recruiting being done by Butch Davis and his staff, to challenge Hokies and Seminoles for ACC supremacy next year and to also inspire their entire conference to look beyond conference titles towards national titles.  When they get their third and fourth signing classes on campus, look for North Carolina to become a major force in the ACC and an emerging contender for a BCS berth.

Chapel Hill has long been home to the best basketball players in the country, but with Davis and Blake working their magic, the fan base has been enthused for pigskin once again.

Patrick Snow
 

related tags

Read More...

Comments

Please login or you can to leave a comment.

If you aren't registered, Register Now to start leaving comments.