Football: Defensive line ready to bring pain

At this point, everyone — and their mothers — has been forewarned of North Carolina’s defensive line.

UNC returns all 12 members of last season’s unit, which includes starters Marvin Austin, Cam Thomas, Robert Quinn and E.J. Wilson.

But quarterback T.J. Yates needed only three words to describe the defensive front four.

“Smarter, faster, stronger,” he said.

The defensive line boasts the most experienced returning unit  on the squad with two seniors and two sophomores, all of whom started at least 11 games last season.

The unit began its evolution during the offseason, when commitments to conditioning and dieting yielded a quicker front four.

The team will also benefit from offseason additions that comprise a talented group of eight behind them.

And if Austin has his way, opposing ball handlers will have only one type of experience to remember — nasty, brutish and short.

“If you’re not with [Austin] you’re against him,” Wilson said. “While we’re on the field it’s us against them. He has that attitude, almost like a kamikaze attitude. He’s going in, doing what it takes to get the job done.”

Newcomers include freshman SuperPrep All-Americans Jared McAdoo and Donte Paige-Moss, and transfer Jordan Nix.

The freshmen round out one of the deepest rotations in the conference.

"We just want to dominate," Wilson said. "We want to go out there every week and set the tempo for the game.

"We’re in better shape now so we should be able to continue that domination on through the fourth quarter," he said.

With all the hype surrounding the dynamic defensive front, third-year starter E.J. Wilson said the unit has much room for improvement.

The Tar Heels ranked 11th out of 12 teams in the ACC and 80th nationally in sacks last year.

Wilson, who started 13 games in 2008, recorded one sack of the defensive line’s total of eleven.

 “We have noticed that and one thing we’ve really been focusing on is getting the offensive linemen’s hands off of us, don’t let them hit us first,” Wilson said.

“That was slowing us down a step which would cause us to get there right after the ball was released. That’s a lot of quarterback hits that should have been sacks.”

Quinn, 6-foot-5 and 260 pounds, emerged as UNC’s top pass rusher last season, recording 34 tackles, two sacks, and two forced fumbles.

He received freshman All-American recognition, along with a nod from his teammates.

“I think Robert Quinn’s going to be even better this year,” Wilson said. “I think he’s going to continue on the success that he had last year because he’s been working hard and he has a lot of experience.”

Defensive tackle Cam Thomas rounds out the group, and has rebounded from a year plagued with injuries with four tackles in his first season as a starter.

“Cam tries to play that quiet role, but he’s not a shy guy at all,” Wilson said. “When he’s out there on the field, he’s hoopin’ and hollerin’ like the rest of us.”

Coach Butch Davis said he is expecting the havoc for opposing teams — he just hopes it will happen on a consistent basis.

"There were games when we created turnovers," he said. "When we played well against the run, there were games when we played extremely well against teams who threw the ball. We have to put those games together."