After a 2019 season that saw North Carolina finish with a record of 7-6, UNC has been hyped up by many college football analysts heading into next college football season. However, last season was just a sample of what’s to come for UNC in the near future. Yes, the 7-win season may have been impressive for a team that won just 3 games in 2018, but 2020 is the year that they prove themselves as a future candidate to win the ACC Championship.
UNC is winning the ACC Coastal Divison next fall. Here’s why:
First off, it starts with the coach; Mack Brown is definitely the man that you want in order to take your program to the next level. Brown was the head coach of Texas from 1998-2013, with the height of his career being a BCS National Championship victory in 2005. In fact, Brown was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2018, so it’s easy to see why he’s already found success at UNC. On top of that, Brown has compiled a North Carolina 2021 recruiting class that was at one point the 2nd best in the country, so the near future is definitely bright for the Tarheels.
Speaking of recruiting, one of Brown’s first great accomplishments as the head coach of North Carolina was landing 4-star QB, Sam Howell. Howell was one of the best quarterback recruits in the class of 2019, and saying he lived up to the hype as a true freshman would be an understatement. Howell threw for 3,641 yards and 38 touchdowns last season, leaving many college football analysts, myself included, saying that he’s a top 5 quarterback in the country heading into next season. There’s no doubt that Howell will once again be great in 2020, but the rest of the roster is also very talented.
UNC has top 15 WR in the country, Dazz Newsome, as a top target for Howell, and two returning RBs who ran for over 900 yards in 2019. The defense’s key piece is LB, Chazz Surratt, who led the team in tackles last year. Overall, North Carolina has 7 returning starters from last season on defense, so it looks as if opposing offenses will have a hard time accomplishing anything in 2020.
All in all, North Carolina is a talent-filled team with aspirations to do great things next fall, leading me to believe that they will play in Charlotte, NC for the ACC Championship in 2020.
Photo: @TarHeelFootball / Athlon Sports
