Junior Tar Heel defensive tackle Marvin Austin announced via Twitter his intention to return for his final season of eligibility.
if u were wondering…….I will be a tarheel for 2010!!!!!!!
The junior was projected to be either a first or second round pick in the upcoming NFL draft. Austin’s return ensures another likely strong defense in 2010, especially if both linebackers Bruce Carter and Quan Sturdivant decide to return along with the experienced secondary.
The Heels finished sixth best in the country in total yards allowed.
North Carolina accepted a bid to play in the Meineke Car Care Bowl for the second straight season, a UNC spokesman wrote in an e-mail release Sunday.
The Tar Heels (8-4) face No. 17 Pittsburgh (9-3), who lost by one point to eventual Big East champion Cincinnati, on Dec. 26 in Bank of America Stadium.
UNC will participate in its third bowl game in Charlotte, with the previous two contests resulting in losses.
“Our program is excited for the opportunity to play in back-to-back bowl games and make a return trip to Charlotte,” coach Butch Davis said.
UNC fell several places in the ACC bowl pecking order after losing to N.C. State in the season finale, ending a four-game winning streak and any potential to play in a more prestigious bowl. Fortunately for UNC, the Heels play a quality opponent and have a chance to improve upon last season’s record of 8-5.
Thaddeus Lewis earned second-team honors over several other worthy ACC quarterbacks. (File photo by Rob Rowe)
With the ACC regular season wrapped up, the first and second all-ACC teams were announced Monday, including 13 players from the Triangle.
Duke
The Blue Devils’ high-octane offense was led by quarterback Thaddeus Lewis, who was voted on the second team. Lewis’ primary target, Donovan Varner, made first team and led the league with 5.4 catchers per game.
Kicker Will Snyderwine made the second team as well as linebacker Vincent Rey.
N.C. State
Glaringly absent from the selections is quarterback Russell Wilson, who led the Wolfpack to a dramatic win over UNC Saturday and accounted for 35 touchdowns on the season.
Tight end George Bryan made the first team, and defensive end Willie Young, who recorded eight sacks this season, was on the second team.
North Carolina
Four North Carolina players, the most of any school, earned first-team honors as voted on by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association. Defensive end Robert Quinn, linebacker Quan Sturdivant, cornerback Kendric Burney and safety Deunta Williams were all selected to the first team.
Burney picked off five passes this season and racked up 200 return yards to reach second in interception return yardage in ACC history.
Defensive tackle Marvin Austin, who is considering turning pro after this season, and linebacker Bruce Carter, who told the media he would be returning for his senior season, both made the second defensive team.
UNC’s only offensive selection came in kicker Casey Barth, and the Tar Heels’ four first-team selections are the most since the 1997 season (six).
Russell Wilson's decision-making will be key Saturday. (Photo by Rob Rowe)
North Carolina (8-3) at N.C. State(4-7)
[12 p.m., Nov. 28, Carter-Finley Stadium]
Televised by ESPN2
A win by either team Saturday won’t have any serious implications on the season as UNC has secured a bowl berth and N.C. State will be sitting at home over the holidays. But a win could go a long way in determining the future for each program.
State faces the uncomfortable offseason questions that come after a disappointing year. After being considered a sleeper in the Atlantic Division with all-ACC caliber quarterback Russell Wilson, the Wolfpack has managed to win exactly one league game with one left to play.
UNC, meanwhile, recovered from losing three straight ACC games with a four-game winning streak, including wins against two ranked teams (Virginia Tech and Miami).
TV/ESPN2 — Quarterbacks T.J. Yates and Dave Shinskie battled for the title of “quarterback who threw the most interceptions” in Chestnut Hill Saturday. Shinskie won … but it wasn’t a good thing.
UNC and BC combined to toss eight interceptions on the day, but Shinskie’s mistakes couldn’t come at worse times. After a three-interception performance against Miami, cornerback Kendric Burney picked off a Shinskie pass and returned it for a touchdown to make it 21-0 in the first quarter.
Safety Deunta Williams (pictured) matched Burney’s Miami performance with his own three interceptions Saturday, including the game clincher that ended a BC drive late in the fourth, which could have tied the game. Williams returned the interception to the 1-yard line where Ryan Houston twisted into the endzone for his second touchdown of the game.
North Carolina travels to Chestnut Hill to begin its two-game stretch of revenge games — with the first against a Boston College team the Heels thrashed 45-24 in Chapel Hill last season.
BC needs a win and a Clemson loss in order to advance to the ACC title game. UNC is jostling for bowl position, including an outside chance of reaching the coveted Chick-fil-A Bowl.
KENAN MEMORIAL STADIUM/CHAPEL HILL — With UNC leading 23-17 midway through the fourth quarter and Miami threatening to take the lead, Kendric Burney (pictured) leaped and snagged his third interception of the game, resulting in a wacky touchdown return.
Burney, who became the first Tar Heel with three picks in a game since Dre Bly in 1996, appeared to lateral the ball forward to teammate Melvin Williams. Williams then carried the ball to the endzone where video replay showed he was stripped after crossing the goal line.
“The play before that, the interception where I scored, Melvin was asking me why I didn’t pitch him the ball,” Burney said after the game. ”So it was funny that I pitched it to him there, cause he stood there for like half a second.”
The officials ruled that Burney fumbled instead of pitched the ball, which gave UNC a 13-point lead.
“To me it looked like he pitched it forward, but I can’t get involved with it,” Miami coach Randy Shannon said. ”We could have made something happen on those other plays and it would have made a difference.”
Jacory Harris led Miami back down the field and brought the score back within six points. UNC’s Ryan Houston and Greg Little rushed the ball relentlessly on the following Tar Heel possession and took nearly six minutes off the game clock before Casey Barth made his fourth field goal of the game.
KENAN MEMORIAL STADIUM/CHAPEL HILL — UNC quarterback T.J. Yates and the Heels’ passing game finally started clicking Saturday as they lead 20-7 bolstered by three Miami turnovers.
Offensive coordinator John Shoop continued his innovative play design by using fake reverses to get receivers and backs open for short completions.
Kendric Burney picked off two passes, returning one for a touchdown, and Da’Norris Searcy also caught an interception to stall the Miami offense, which effectively moved the ball against UNC’s defense but managed only seven first-half points because of turnovers and miscues.
Harrison Barnes, the No. 1 senior recruit in the nation and the human form of Fort Knox, signed a letter of intent to attend North Carolina at a news conference Friday.
“Coach Roy Williams?” Barnes said via Skype in his high school auditorium, breaking the extreme tension that had been building for weeks.
Barnes teased the crowd by saying a statement about each of his six finalists and seemed to give the most respectful comments about Duke. He then said he would be attending … the coach he calls on Skype.
Williams answered the call with the entire team with a huge smile on his face.
“I’m so privileged to go play for Coach Williams,” Barnes said. “Coach Williams found out when everyone else found out … when I called him on Skype.”
His decision ended months of speculation and a fascinating recruitment, including fans tracking Williams and Mike Krzyzewski’s planes, more message board inside sources than the entire population of Ames, Iowa, waitergate (don’t ask), and Barnes’ apparel for the past six months.
Duke, Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma and UCLA were his other finalists.
Barnes kept his decision from leaking out to the public in an era of predictability in the recruiting world yet sported Jordan clothes from head to toe at school Friday.
“About Tuesday or Wednesday I made my final decision,” Barnes said. “We wanted to do something big, and we thought this would be the most classy way to do it.”
The 6-foot-7 wing player will join five-star recruits Kendall Marshall and Reggie Bullock and likely will make the Heels the preseason No. 1 team in 2010.
Big Honking Image on "Ward leads Hurricanes to fourth in a row against Blackhawks, 4-2": I've noticed a recurring theme with this blog are the _giant_ images in the posts. The image in this post is 1646x1225 but it is forced into a box that is 498x371.
This is bad for four reasons:
1) On slower connections, they take a while to download.
2) It is big waste of server bandwidth, which costs
Ben Wilson on "After a tough 25 minutes, N.C. State goes cold in loss to UNC": LOL, like UNC is ANY different than NC State or any other school for that matter when they are losing at home. Do I have to remind you that NC State fans VASTLY outnumbered UNC fans at Kenan 2 years ago in the 42-10 blowout?
Get off your high horse and REALIZE that UNC is NO
TV/ESPN2 — Quarterbacks T.J. Yates and Dave Shinskie battled for the title of “quarterback who threw the most interceptions” in Chestnut Hill Saturday. Shinskie won … but it wasn’t a good thing.
KENAN MEMORIAL STADIUM/CHAPEL HILL — With UNC leading 23-17 midway through the fourth quarter and Miami threatening to take the lead, Kendric Burney (pictured) leaped and snagged his third interception of the game, resulting in a wacky touchdown return.
