North Carolina searching for breakout year

When Butch Davis took over as North Carolina’s head coach in 2007, experts touted the Tar Heels were a college football sleeping giant.

After a few years showing signs they can shake their slumber and make the prediction hold true, the Heels hope their coach’s fourth year will be a charm and the team can become a power in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Heels are ranked as high as in the Top 15 in some preseason polls.

That ranking will be put to the test Saturday when the Tar Heels lock horns with perennial power LSU in front of a nationally-televised audience.

Kickoff for that game will take place at 7 p.m., and the game will air on ABC.

For Davis, he knows to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.

“We are building a program to compete at the highest level for a national championship,” Davis said at his introductory press conference. “It’s a process that takes time and we are heading in the right direction. … We are climbing the mountain.”

Defense will likely be what makes or breaks North Carolina’s season. The Tar Heels return nine starters on a unit that was one of the best in the country last season.

North Carolina ranked No. 6 in America in total defense and allowed just 17 points per game.

“I think we have a chance to do some very good things,” said defensive tackle Marvin Austin. “Our goal is to be the best defense each and every Saturday. We want to be the best each and every week.”

In the team’s spring game in April, the Heels showed they have the potential to make Austin’s prediction hold true, intercepting five passes and making life miserable for their offense.

Leading the defensive surge will be senior linebacker Quan Sturdivant and senior cornerback Charles Brown.

The duo combined for 145 tackles and 15 tackles for a loss last season.

On offense, the Heels often struggled to find a rhythm in 2009 and ranked No. 83 in the nation in scoring offense.

But the Heels do return plenty of firepower and return plenty regulars from last year’s unit.

Quarterback T.J. Yates returns after completing more than 60 percent of his passes in 2009.

But Yates struggled with consistency last year and was intercepted 15 times – something he hopes to fix in the new season.

Joining Yates will be halfback Shaun Draughn, who rushed for nearly 600 yards last year and receiver Greg Little, who caught 62 passes in 2009.

The talent is in place and the Heels seem ready to tangle with the giants of the college football world.

But it all starts Saturday against a team who’s reached the summit before – two times in the past decade.

“We had a great spring,” Davis said following the team’s spring game. “But we have a long way to go before September. We know that first one will be a tough one.”