The UNC football team is preparing to host the Florida A&M Rattlers on Saturday evening. What exactly should the FAMU Rattlers prepare for in their upcoming matchup with the UNC Tar Heels?
OFFENSE
The UNC football team lost a-lot of offensive power to the 2022 NFL Draft. The Tar Heels said goodbye to their headlining quarterback Sam Howell and also their leading rusher Ty Chandler. The team also had three starting offensive lineman turn pro this spring. Sam Howell was a true dual-threat quarterback and the UNC football team has not officially announced his replacement. They currently have Jacolby Criswell, Drake Maye, and freshman signal caller Conner Harrell waiting for the full time starting role. FAMU will have to be prepared for either of those three guys to be under center on Saturday. The Tar Heels will be returning three out of their four top receivers from last year. That includes Josh Downs who averaged 17 yards a catch and scored three touchdowns for the Tar Heels in 2021. UNC had a run heavy attack last year with Ty Chandler and Sam Howell leading the way. The weakness of the offense was its pass protection upfront as the team ranked near bottom in the nation in that area. FAMU may have a chance at getting some stops with the offensive identity of UNC being in limbo.
DEFENSE
UNC will be returning several key pieces of their secondary this season. They have talented cornerbacks and a safety duo of Cam’Ron Kelly and Giovanni Biggers that are legit playmakers. Kelly and Biggers tallied a total of 117 combined tackles in 2021. That will be a tough group of defenders to throw too. The Tar Heels also has a group of defensive tackles who have the ability to wreak havoc upfront. This includes two 300 pounders in Myles Murphy and Ray Vohasek. They both have a knack for getting in the backfield and disrupting the run game. Murphy and Vohasek will surely be looking to throw FAMU’s new starting quarterback Jeremy Moussa off of his game.