Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich
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| | Bob Donnan/US PRESSWIRE |
| | Butch Davis' players have bought into his philosophy. |
Seriously, I'll get to the mailblog later this week, but I keep checking it and your ears are ringing.
I'm sitting in the Atlanta airport on my way home, blogging about Butch Davis, and I see Marc from Fredericksburg, Va., had the same question I did for the Tar Heels' main man:
Hi Heather, I enjoy the blog, and wanted to extend a welcome to ACC country from another IU grad (90 and 93). More importantly (to the Carolina grad part of me at least) is how all this prediction of Davis's success should really be viewed. Am I just a jaded football fan when this sounds very similar to the hype going into Bunting's second year or are things really different around Kenan Stadium this Fall? Thanks, Marc
Marc, I'll let Butch Davis answer that one. I asked him on Monday how soon he thinks his team could be a legitimate contender for the ACC title.
"I don't know," Davis said. "It could happen this year, it could happen anytime in the very near future. We're definitely moving the football program in the right direction, but we need more depth, more talent and more speed. But we're moving in the right direction."
The players have bought into his philosophy. The way Davis presents himself is evident in his business-like approach. He was the only one of the Coastal Division coaches in the room wearing a suit and tie (all of the others wore team logo apparel).
"Coach Davis is the man," safety Deunta Williams gushed. "I've never seen anybody come in and just command respect ... I remember the first day he came to the office. People were slouching in their chairs. As soon as he walked in everyone sat up. He didn't even say anything. Everybody just sat up. He commanded everybody's eyes, their attention. Everybody respects him because we know what he has done and he's turning it around now."
The media picked North Carolina to finish second in the division, but the Tar Heels did receive four first-place votes (65 voters).
"It is what it is," Davis said. "It's a compliment and it will give us something to shoot for."
I went into the ACC football kickoff thinking North Carolina has a legitimate shot at the Coastal Division for three reasons: Davis, the talent on his roster, and the rest of the division isn't all that impressive. I asked Williams if I was nuts.
"I think you're extremely smart," he said, laughing, of course. "This year is going to be our breakout year. This is our season. We're definitely going to do something big this year. It's just a feeling that everybody has. We talk about it, we believe it. It's not just talk. Even our coaches, you can tell there's something different about our team this year. They haven't really talked much about it, but the way that they act ... they really feel like this is our year."
If it is, it would definitely be earlier than expected.
