Special Teams 101

Posted Aug 25, 2009
It doesn’t help that the Tar Heels have suffered two critical losses to special teams standouts this preseason. Senior tight end Ryan Taylor sprained the medial collateral ligament (MCL) during the first week of practice and is expected back in two weeks and junior safety Matt Merletti was lost for the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee last week. (Inside Carolina)

Related: Football, Football Recruiting

Bill Belichick, other coaches, call for reforms, but he says fixing tampering ‘above my pay grade’
Five college football coaches sat at the Bill Dooley Pigskin Kickoff on Thursday and covered every corner of a sport in transition: the transfer portal,...
Fri Jul 24, 2026

Steve Newmark Sees Football as 'Anchor' for UNC Athletics
UNC has never quite found its footing in football. To flourish in the new landscape of college athletics, football must be successful and profitable for...
Fri Jul 24, 2026

UNC Football Motivated by Frustrations of 2025 Season
"Nobody likes to lose," Jordan Shipp said Friday. "I wasn’t the only one frustrated. Everybody was frustrated." For Shipp, the former Charlotte prep star, the...
Fri Jul 24, 2026

Detailing Melkart Abou Jaoude’s Offseason
UNC defensive end Melkart Abou Jaoude entered the offseason focused on improving his conditioning. He admitted that last season he sometimes struggled with exhaustion late...
Fri Jul 24, 2026