What we learned from UNC football's first day of training camp

With less than a month until it kicks off the regular season against Georgia, the North Carolina football team held its first training camp practice ahead of the 2016 season Friday morning. 

Here are a few things to note from UNC's first practice of the new season. 

'A bad taste'

A big factor in North Carolina's success during the 2015 season was the leadership of its older players, and if the team wants to improve in 2016, it will need to maintain a core of veteran leaders.

This is especially true because of the way the Tar Heels ended the 2015 season. After going 11-1 and winning the ACC Coastal Division, UNC dropped its last two games of the season — a 45-37 loss to Clemson in the ACC title game and a 49-38 defeat against Baylor in the Russell Athletic Bowl. 

Coach Larry Fedora said the way his team has reacted in the offseason has been a welcome sight. Each and every player is motivated to improve after such a disappointing end to last season. 

"They've had a bad taste in their mouth for 220 days now," he said. "They know that they're about 28 days from the possibility of getting that bad taste out of their mouth.

"They've put in a lot of work, and so that chemistry and the bond that they've built from January all the way to this point, and all the things that we do in the program will make us better and make us a more cohesive unit when adversity does strike, and it's coming."

Never again

Perhaps North Carolina's biggest weakness a season ago was its run defense. Over the course of 14 games in 2015, the Tar Heels gave up an average of 247.5 rushing yards per game. In UNC's bowl game loss to Baylor, the team gave up a whopping 645 rushing yards. 

Since the Baylor game, the Tar Heel defensive line has kept hearing that it's the biggest question mark heading into the new season. Because of this, the group is determined to make sure they don't have another performance like they did against the Bears.

"We still have a bad taste in our mouths from that, and that can never ever happen to this university ever again," said junior defensive tackle Nazair Jones. "And we're doing stuff now to make sure that never happens."

North Carolina's linebackers will also play a big role in stopping the run. The team lost two solid contributors and leaders at the position in Shakeel Rashad and Jeff Schoettmer, but Jones said several guys have stepped up to fill the holes they left. 

Junior Cayson Collins, sophomore Andre Smith and first-year Jonathan Smith have all stood out in spring practices and summer workouts, and will play a large role in what UNC hopes is an improved run defense.

'An ambitious bunch'

Probably the biggest offseason storyline for North Carolina is new starting quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who will make his first collegiate start when the Tar Heels take on Georgia on Sept. 3. 

But while much of the talk has been about how the redshirt junior can help the offense, Trubisky and Fedora said that the rest of the offensive players, including a veteran group of receivers, will make things much easier as the quarterback transitions into his new role. 

"(Mitch) knows he has some really talented players around him, so he doesn't have to do anything special," Fedora said. "Take care of the football, distribute the ball where it's supposed to go and he'll be O.K."

North Carolina's top three receivers — Mack Hollins, Big Howard and Ryan Switzer — are all seniors, so their experience should help Trubisky as he continues to develop. 

The trio is also perhaps the loudest and most confident group of players on the team, but their ability to balance both confidence and leadership will be key to UNC's offensive success in 2016. 

"We're trying to build off last year and we have a lot of work to do, so we need to bring the energy but we also need to put the work in," Trubisky said. "And they understand that line of when to cross it and when not to cross it, and they're mature enough to know that."

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sports@dailytarheel.com