Five takeaways from UNC's spring football game

For the first time since November, 2015, the North Carolina football team took the field at Kenan Stadium. In their annual spring game, the Tar Heels gave onlookers their first glimpse at a 2016 squad looking to build upon the ACC Coastal Division title it earned a season ago. 

Though UNC didn't have enough healthy players to split into a true intra-team scrimmage, offense and defense competed against each other using a scoring system borrowed from the Seattle Seahawks. The offense gets one point for gaining four yards or more on first or second down and for converting on third and short. It also gets two points for converting on third and long and three points for a touchdown. The defense gets one point for stopping the offense from gaining more than four yards on first and second down and for stopping the offense on third and long. Short yardage stops are worth two points and interceptions or fumble recoveries three. 

Based on the wacky system, which the Tar Heels use anytime offense and defense play each other in practice, the offense came out on top 74-70. The offense scored three touchdowns and the defense had four interceptions in two halves of action. 

Here are five takeaways from Saturday's game. 

Special connection

Though he hasn't been officially proclaimed the starter, the expectation is that Mitch Trubisky will be the starting quarterback for UNC in 2016. That seemed confirmed when Trubisky opened the game by completing 10 of his first 11 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown to Mack Hollins. Hollins was responsible for 104 of those yards, including a 41-yard bomb down the left sideline, and finished the game with seven catches for 111 yards and a touchdown. 

Afterward, Trubisky downplayed any sort of special connection between him and Hollins. 

"We were just calling plays, executing them and Mack was getting open," Trubisky said. "We were just taking what the defense gave us." 

The Tar Heels were also missing Bug Howard, who likely would have drawn some looks. Still, seven catches would have been a career-high for Hollins if this had been a live game. 

Ground and pound

Rising junior Elijah Hood was another offensive stud who didn't participate in Saturday's game. But in his absence, the Tar Heels ran 53 times for 292 yards, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Four backs saw eight or more carries behind an offensive line that didn't look like it was missing a beat with former tackle John Ferranto in at right guard for the departed Landon Turner. 

First-year running back Jordon Brown from Southern Durham High School led the charge, carrying the ball 11 times for 85 yards and catching two passes for six yards. T.J. Logan ran 12 times for 53 yards and gained 20 yards on his two catches, while Khris Francis ran eight times for 50 yards and a 16-yard touchdown in the first half. Finally, former walk-on Jacob Schmidt led all backs with 16 carries and 97 total yards — 74 rushing and 23 receiving — and punctuated a 96-yard drive in the second half with a four-yard touchdown. 

Pick city

Though Trubisky and the offense started fast, the secondary for the Tar Heels which helped them rank inside the top-20 in pass defense a year ago eventually showed why it could be even better this season. The defensive backs snagged four interceptions, including a highlight-reel worthy, toe-tapping sideline grab from rising senior Des Lawrence on a Trubisky pass. 

"The coaches have told us that in order for us to go to the next dance, the next place, the defense is going to have to step up," Lawrence said. 

Safety Cameron Albright picked off backup quarterback Caleb Henderson twice and former walk-on Thomas Brown also picked off Henderson. Brown also broke up two end zone passes intended for Vanderbilt transfer Jordan Cunningham, preventing touchdowns. There were also a few other near-interceptions, including Corey Bell and Myles Dorn colliding on a Trubisky pass Bell had in his hands before it was jarred loose. The longer the game progressed, the less separation UNC receivers were able to get. 

"We were much faster than we were last year," Lawrence said. "From sideline to sideline, this defense is one of the fastest I believe I've seen." 

Special specialists

Field goals weren't counted in the scoring system. That's a shame, because Nick Weiler hit a 52-yard field goal early in the second half. The ball barely snuck over the cross bar, but it would have beaten Weiler's previous career-long. Weiler solidified the kicker position for the Tar Heels in 2015, and it's encouraging for Fedora to see he won't have to worry about that position this season. 

The punter position is another matter entirely. Three different players kicked for UNC — Joey Mangili, Corbin Daly and Hunter Lent. Daly began 2015 as the starting punter and averaged 43 yards on three punts on Saturday, but consistency from the position is needed. 

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

The hard part about analyzing a spring game is any good play by one side is balanced out by a bad play from the other. That makes it hard to draw any definite conclusions. Take the linebacker position, for instance. Rising junior Cayson Collins had a few highlight hits and first year Jonathan Smith had five tackles, but they contributed to a defense that allowed almost 300 yards rushing. 

"There were times we did a really good job stopping the run and there were times where they were getting too many yards after contact," Collins said. "It's something that you're never going to able to say that we've arrived at stopping the run, it's just something that you've got to continue to get better at."

Coach Larry Fedora didn't feel like any of his numerous worries about the 2016 team had been answered after spring practice. But he did feel like the team showed a lot of promise and a lot of room for improvement. 

"That's the tough thing about a spring game," Fedora said. "I thought there were good things in some situations and I thought there were bad things on both sides of the ball." 

"Now we've got to go back and really get detailed with everybody to become a better football team."

@loganulrich

sports@dailytarheel.com