The North Carolina tackle wasn’t alone, as the entire offensive line struggled to communicate in UNC’s 17-13 loss to South Carolina on Thursday. But in a neutral-site showdown in Charlotte, the Tar Heels were taken aback by the decidedly one-sided crowd.
“(When) the crowd is supposed to be somewhat split, you don’t go in necessarily anticipating that it’s going to be one of the loudest games you’ve played in,” Heck said. “But I give South Carolina fans credit; that was one of the loudest games I’ve ever played in.”
The deafening noise took its toll. UNC committed six illegal formation or procedure penalties during the night, costing the team 30 yards and cancelling numerous positive gains for a sputtering offense.
“Guys were not on the same page,” Heck said. “There were (at) times a little bit of miscommunication and chaos on the line as far as trying to relay the play call to each other and also hearing the snap count.”
The mistakes were uncharacteristic for the UNC front line, which entered the 2015 season with 106 collegiate starts, most in the ACC.
But after the starting unit executed 29 flawless practices this offseason, Thursday’s crowd proved too much for the Tar Heels’ seasoned offensive line.
“We went the whole camp without one procedure penalty,” said offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic. “Then you go out there, (and) it was a lot louder than I think we anticipated with it being a neutral site.”
Heck noted how difficult it can be to simulate crowd noise during practice, adding that the Tar Heels’ biggest problem Thursday was simply hearing quarterback Marquise Williams’ calls.
