North Carolina football 2017: Projected Tar Heels depth chart
Offense
Notable Losses: Quite frankly, the North Carolina offense will look almost nothing like it did a year ago. Mitchell Trubisky leaves quarterback vacant, while T.J. Logan and Elijah Hood both abandon the backfield. That’s not all as wide receivers Mack Hollins and target-monster Ryan Switzer are both gone. There are losses on the offensive line as well, but that truthfully might not be a bad thing for the Tar Heels.
QB: Brandon Harris, senior (transfer, LSU)
While there are incumbent candidates like Nathan Elliott or Chazz Surratt that could compete for the job, there’s no way North Carolina brings in former LSU quarterback Brandon Harris as a transfer without giving him the reins to the offense. Is that necessarily a good thing? That remains to be seen. Come the opener, though, it’d be a shock if Harris wasn’t starting.
RB: Jordon Brown, sophomore
Hood and Logan split time as the running back in the spread offense, amassing 265 carries between them last season. Brown had the next most carries, though he toted the ball a meager 20 times. He wasn’t particularly productive in that limited work, but the 5-foot-10, 180-pound back has promise entering his second campaign in Chapel Hill.
WR: Austin Proehl, senior
WR: Thomas Jackson, senior
WR: Jordan Cunningham, senior (RS) (transfer, Vanderbilt)
The loss of Switzer is going to be the most pivotal here for the Tar Heels, but the hope is that transfer Jordan Cunningham can be a similarly reliable target out of the slot. Austin Proehl isn’t spectacular, but is also solid, while Jackson could be a big play guy on the outside of the spread offense.
TE: Brandon Fitts, junior (RS)
Brandon Fitts caught only six passes a year ago, playing behind the dynamic Bug Howard. He’s a much different player than his predecessor, but could be key as a big-bodied possession target in the passing game.
LT: Williams Sweet, sophomore (RS)
LG: Bentley Spain, senior
C: Cameron Dillard, senior (transfer, Florida)
RG: R.J. Prince, senior (RS)
RT: Charlie Heck, sophomore (RS)
The untold truth of the Tar Heels and Trubisky last season was that he was pressured far more often than he should’ve been. North Carolina can potentially correct that with a ton of quality and versatility, chief among them being Bentley Spain. He’s an NFL-caliber talent that can play both guard and tackle, depending on if Sweet or Heck are letdowns on the outside.
AP: Anthony Ratliff-Williams, sophomore (RS)
Though many consider an all-purpose guy like a running back, that’s not as much so with the Tar Heels in their spread formation. They’ll use a fourth wide receiver in that role and Ratliff-Williams is a player capable of being that. He possesses a ton of versatility and will be deployed from a number of different looks.