After practicing within the closed confines of Navy Field since March 14, the North Carolina football team is ready to take its new up-tempo, aggressive style public on Thursday night.
Don’t look for the Tar Heels around Chapel Hill, though. Instead, they’re traveling to Mallard Creek High School in Charlotte for an intra-squad scrimmage at 6:30 p.m.
“Our guys are going to get on a bus, they’re going to carry their pads, they’re going to go on the road and we’re going to perform after a two-hour trip,” coach Larry Fedora said. “For us, that’s another aspect of what game day situations are going to be like.”
He also added that the experience gives Charlotte-area fans a chance to see how far the Tar Heels have come along this season.
Fedora brought the idea of a spring practice circuit from the University of Southern Mississippi, where he and his teams did it each of his four years there.
Although Fedora wouldn’t admit it as a motive, playing in Charlotte showcases the Tar Heels to an area rich with high school football talent. In-state prospects will be able to watch UNC play underneath the lights in their hometown, and later meet with the coaches and players.
Pulling in such recruits is an early priority for Fedora.
“What we want to accomplish, we’re going to get it done with players from the state of North Carolina,” Fedora said.
The trip gives UNC another chance to run the first-year coach’s pass-heavy offense in a live setting.
