CNNSI.com - 2000 College Football Preview - CNNSI.com's North Carolina preview

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North Carolina Tar Heels

First goal: Stay out of the surgery room

College Football: The New Century

'99: 3-8, 2-6 ACC

Coach

Carl Torbush (third season, 11-13; 14-21 overall)

Key offensive players

Ronald Curry, QB, Jr.
The most-hyped high school player of all time must show early on that his mobility hasn't been hampered by the season-ending Achilles tendon tear he suffered in the fifth game.

Alge Crumpler, TE, Sr.
Rebounded from a severe knee injury in 1998 and was named first-team All-ACC as a junior.

Willie Parker, RB, R-Fr.
Won the starting job in the spring without any competition because both Daniel Davis and Domonique Williams were suspended. Coaches love what he showed in the spring.

Key defensive players

Brandon Spoon, LB, Sr.
Star watched helplessly as his team struggled last year after suffering a torn biceps muscle in the Tar Heels' second game.

Ivan Maisel's Player of the Century: Lawrence Taylor, LB, 1977-80
"Helped resurrect Tar Heels under coach Dick Crum."

Brightest Moment: Post-World War II Chapel Hill was dominated by one name: Charlie "Choo-Choo" Justice. The two-time Heisman runner-up led the Tar Heels to three major bowl games and two Southern Conference championships.

Lowest Moment: The Tar Heels went 1-10 in both of Mack Brown's first two seasons, 1988 and '89. Fortunately things went well up from there.

Julius Peppers, DE, So.
A freshman All-America last year as a football player, his arrival on the basketball team helped the Tar Heels advance to the Final Four.

Errol Hood, CB, Jr.
Combined with Michael Waddell (see below), Hood is part of a cornerback tandem that will allow the Tar Heels to play the pressing defense that took them to the top 10 in 1996 and '97.

Key newcomer

Michael "Rabbit" Waddell, CB, So.
A partial qualifier, Waddell has been waiting a year and a half to show off the skills that remind many of former UNC All-American Dre Bly.

Throwback player

Brandon Spoon came back for his senior season just to help the Tar Heels turn things around and to help Torbush, a close friend ever since Spoon's father died two years ago, keep his job.

21st century player

Ronald Curry hasn't proven it yet, but he's always been hyped as the prototypical quarterback of the future: a strong-armed, fleet-footed super-athlete who can beat defenders with his arm or with his legs.

Fast fact

The Tar Heels went through three quarterbacks in its first nine games last year.

Outlook

When the Tar Heels were in the top 10 three short years ago, they were led by a pressing, swarming defense. After getting pummeled for nearly two full seasons, the defense improved, allowing only one touchdown in the final three games of '99. With 10 starters returning from that defense and Spoon, the team's heart and soul, rebounding from his injury, the Tar Heels have the potential to be dominating again. However, the offense has more questions than a month's worth of SATs: It must replace the entire starting offensive line; Curry has to prove he is healed and worthy of all the attention he receives; Parker will have to shoulder a lot of responsibility at tailback; and the receiving corps must be better than it was last year. In addition, the Tar Heels must come up with a new punter and placekicker to replace the record-setting duo that departed. The good news is that the offense might not need to put too many points on the board for the Tar Heels to have a chance to win.

-- Tim Peeler