Mack Brown pays a compliment to Alabama and Clemson

UNC head coach Mack Brown joined The Paul Finebaum Show on Wednesday and had some nice words about the Crimson Tide and the nearby Tigers. 

“Alabama & Clemson have bought houses in the College Football Playoff neighborhood, so far we’ve just been renting,” Brown said. “But we’re trying to stick around.”

Both teams have six appearances in the playoff. Alabama has won three national titles, and Clemson has won two. The Tar Heels have never made the College Football Playoff, but the expectations in Chapel Hill this season are high.

While they likely are not there quite yet, UNC will look to challenge Clemson’s recent stranglehold on the ACC in the coming years. Mack Brown’s recruiting classes have been impressive; Brown had a top-15 class in 2020. 

The AP released their preseason poll on Monday, and UNC starts the season at No. 10. That ranking is their highest preseason ranking since 1997 when they were No. 7. During last season they were ranked as high as No. 5 and finished the year No. 18.

UNC has two games against opponents ranked in the poll: No. 14 Miami and at No. 9 Notre Dame.

All eyes on Mack Brown’s quarterback

Sam Howell returns to North Carolina for his third year as a Heisman contender. Howell was named to the CBS Sports All-American Second Team Offense earlier today. 

Howell lost all of his primary weapons from last season to the NFL. Dyami Brown had 1,099 receiving yards and Dazz Newsome added 684 yards himself. Running backs Michael Carter and Javonte Williams rushed for 1,245 yards and 1,140 yards, respectively. The four players’ yardage accounted for 65% of UNC’s total yardage last season. 

North Carolina picked up transfer running back Ty Chandler from Tennessee. Chandler was a top-100 recruit but never got more than 135 carries in a season during his four years in Knoxville. Redshirt freshman Khafre Brown, who finished last season with 337 receiving yards behind Brown and Newsome, is incredibly talented but has huge shoes to fill. 

UNC returns 10 starters on defense, but they lost their best 2020 player in Chazz Surratt. Former Tar Heel All-American Dre Bly recently said sophomore Tony Grimes reminds him of himself. If Grimes can have the year the former five-star recruit is likely capable of, UNC will be hard to beat.