North Carolina Tar Heels: Carrying Injuries Into Virginia Game
The North Carolina Tar Heels took some more hits today when they lost starting guard Caleb Peterson for the season.
Despite the good fortune that the North Carolina Tar Heels have been handed so far this season, they have had no luck at all with injuries. The Tar Heels have added three injuries just this week. First was Mack Hollins from the Miami game. Now backup linebacker Jonathan Smith will also miss the season. Finally guard Caleb Peterson was declared out for the season as well according to reports from ESPN’s David Hale.
Coming into the season, the Tar Heels offensive line was supposed to be a strength of the team. It was a veteran unit with only a single hole to fill. That was guard Landon Turner. However the team has had to replace John Ferranto before the season and now Peterson. That means that Lukas Crowley, Bentley Spain, and John Heck are the only holdovers left. Heck even missed part of the Miami game with an injury.
Lack of consistency on the offensive line can certainly hurt running and passing games.
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Smith’s absence hits at an awkward time for the Heels. The team was already preparing for Virginia with the knowledge that starter Andre Smith would miss the first half of the game due to a targeting call late in the Miami game.
Now neither Smith will suit up for the first half. In this case it may be helpful that the Heels are playing the Cavaliers. Not because of any perceived deficiency in Virginia, but rather the Cavaliers’ new offense. The Woos are building a more spread air raid kind of system. That would require more defensive backs and less linebackers to handle anyway.
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Lack of middle field depth could open up the flats to the Virginia offense. Running back Taquan Mizzell was a pain for the Heels last year, and he could be set up for a repeat performance. Mizzell is just as dangerous in the pass game than in the run game. The Tar Heels still need this win and they should not forget it.