North Carolina Tar Heels Roster 2019 Heels Roster

Offensively Offense

Part of the problem in 2018, especially during the six game losing streak, was a haphazard offense. During the losing stretch, the offense didn't score over 20 points in a single game. Much of the problem for last season's offensive woes was the play of the O-line.

Losing four of those starters might be cause for concern, if not for the porous play preceding the new line. Nathan Elliott surfaced as the starter at quarterback, but a week-one failure against California may have opened the door for a change.

Elliott tossed four passes to the wrong colored jerseys, miscues that ultimately played a huge role in NC's one touchdown loss. Jordan Brown and Michael Carter are scat-back runners who can produce if they get a hole. The problem will be finding any holes to dart through. The Tar Heel offense has a lot of question marks in 2018.

Coach Larry Fedora has been able to live over the past half a dozen seasons on some highly-proficient performances by his offense. Defense has been a second thought. Teams have been able to run the ball almost at will against the Tar Heel defenders.

Last year's performance against the run would certainly need to be better. NC gave up over 200 yards per game, and nearly five yards per carry. This means the Tar Heel defense stays on the field a lot. In addition, this keeps Coach Fedora's offense, productive or not, sitting on the sidelines.

Three starters return in competent secondary, so North Carolina should be able to slow down the passing game. However, until they can stuff the run, the defense will be hard-pressed to prevent the opponents from scoring. With three games in a four-week stretch against top 25 ranked teams, the status of the 2018 Tar Heel defense will become clearer.

The problem during this attempt to rebuild the Tar Heel football program, is that usually the points on that side of the scoreboard are more than what the Tar Heels produce. With questions at quarterback, no power running game in a tough conference, and a suspiciously porous defense, Tar Heel fans may be better to set their eyes on 2019.