Undermanned and inexperienced, the North Carolina special teams squad entered last season gravely weakened by the ongoing NCAA investigation.
But if Patrick Peterson felt any sympathy at all, he certainly didn’t show it.
On opening night, the Louisiana State kick returner blew through UNC’s depleted forces, chewing up 257 return yards and scoring a touchdown in the 30-24 Tigers win.
With the performance, Peterson exposed a weakness that continued to plague UNC throughout last season. The Tar Heels’ net average of 40.6 yards per kickoff last year placed them second to last in the ACC.
“Last year, just because of everything that happened, we had a lot of young guys out there, and we were kind of experimenting a little bit,” senior place kicker Casey Barth said. “I think this year with those guys from last year on it and with some other guys that couldn’t play last year, we’re really going to put it together and do some big things.”
Along with Barth, the Tar Heels will return deep snapper Mark House, holder Trase Jones and starting punter C.J. Feagles, who as a redshirt freshman averaged 37.5 yards per punt.
Barth, though, is the unit’s cornerstone, and he’s coming off what might be his finest season in Tar Heel blue. Last year, Barth converted 19 of his 22 field goal attempts, succeeded in all 38 extra point tries and, in a game against rival N.C. State, set a new career high with a 49-yard field goal.
But the kicker’s defining moment undoubtedly came during the 30-27 Music City Bowl win against Tennessee. Not only did Barth make the game-tying field goal late in the fourth quarter of that game, but he also delivered the final blow in the second round of overtime.
“Casey has shown that he can (make a big kick late in the game), so I have nothing but confidence in him because I’ve already seen him do it,” interim head coach Everett Withers said. “Casey is one of those guys that I believe we can count on to do a lot of good things in the kicking game for us.”
