2008 North Carolina Tar Heels football
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
DivisionCoastal
Record0–5, 8[1] wins vacated (0–4 ACC, 4 wins vacated)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJohn Shoop (2nd season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorEverett Withers (1st season)
Base defense4–3
CaptainRyan Taylor, Matt Merletti, Garrett Reynolds, Hakeem Nicks, Trimane Goddard, Mark Paschal
Home stadiumKenan Memorial Stadium
Seasons
← 2007
2009 →
2008 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Atlantic Division
Boston College xy   5 – 3     9 – 5  
No. 21 Florida State x   5 – 3     9 – 4  
Maryland   4 – 4     8 – 5  
Wake Forest   4 – 4     8 – 5  
Clemson   4 – 4     7 – 6  
NC State   4 – 4     6 – 7  
Coastal Division
No. 15 Virginia Tech xy$   5 – 3     10 – 4  
No. 22 Georgia Tech x   5 – 3     9 – 4  
North Carolina   0 – 4     0 – 5  
Miami (FL)   4 – 4     7 – 6  
Virginia   3 – 5     5 – 7  
Duke   1 – 7     4 – 8  
Championship: Virginia Tech 30, Boston College 12
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • North Carolina vacated 8 wins, including 4 ACC wins
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a member of Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by second-year head coach Butch Davis, the Tar Heels played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina finished the season 8–5 overall and 4–4 in ACC play to tie for third in the Coastal Division. The Tar Heels lost to West Virginia in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. In 2011, North Carolina vacated all its wins from the 2008 and 2009 seasons.[1]

Recruiting

The Tar Heels received 16 letters of intent on National Signing Day, February 6, 2008. One student athlete had already enrolled before National Signing Day and one signed several days later, making this class smaller and less-heralded than the previous year's class.

US college sports recruiting information for recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40‡ Commit date
A. J. Blue
QB 		Dallas, North Carolina North Gaston HS 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 4.6 Jan 18, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:2/5 stars   Rivals:2/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 75
Zach Brown
LB 		Columbia, Maryland Hargrave Military Academy 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 213 lb (97 kg) 4.42 Jan 20, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 79
Jonathan Cooper
OG 		Wilmington, North Carolina John T. Hoggard HS 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 296 lb (134 kg) 5.1 Jan 25, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 78
Quinton Coples
DE 		Kinston, North Carolina Hargrave Military Academy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 237 lb (108 kg) 4.65 Feb 6, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 78
Herman Davidson
S 		Long Beach, California Polytechnic HS 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 4.5 Feb 6, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Dion Guy
LB 		Washington, D.C. Woodson HS 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 219 lb (99 kg) 4.61 Feb 4, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:2/5 stars   Rivals:2/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Braden Hanson
QB 		Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte Latin HS 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 197 lb (89 kg) NA Jul 10, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 73
Todd Harrelson
WR 		Chesapeake, Virginia Oscar F. Smith HS 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 4.53 Jun 28, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 78
Kenneth Harris
LB 		Decatur, Georgia Columbia HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 206 lb (93 kg) 4.60 Feb 3, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:2/5 stars   Rivals:2/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Dwight Jones
WR 		Burlington, North Carolina Cummings HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 4.61 Jan 26, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 81
Michael McAdoo
DE 		Antioch, Tennessee Antioch HS 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 228 lb (103 kg) 4.75 Jan 31, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 77
Ebele Okakpu
LB 		Roswell, Georgia Roswell HS 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 4.50 Aug 4, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 75
Robert Quinn
DE 		North Charleston, South Carolina Fort Dorchester HS 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 250 lb (110 kg) 4.72 Feb 6, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 80
Kevin Reddick
LB 		New Bern, North Carolina New Bern HS 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 4.57 Jan 13, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 78
Joseph Townsend
DT 		San Jose, California Foothill College 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 290 lb (130 kg) 4.87 Feb 9, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NA
Randy White
TE 		Bristol, Virginia Virginia HS 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 234 lb (106 kg) 4.79 Jun 15, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:2/5 stars   Rivals:2/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 73
Melvin Williams
S 		Lebanon, Tennessee Coffeyville CC 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 4.55 Oct 23, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NA
Christian Wilson
TE 		McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania Montour HS 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 4.60 Feb 6, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 81
Jamal Womble
RB 		Sierra Vista, Arizona Buena HS 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 221 lb (100 kg) 4.41 Dec 5, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 78
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 15   Rivals: 16
  • ‡ Refers to 40 yard dash
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2007 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 4, 2008.

Coaching staff

After signing a contract extension at the end of the 2007 season, Butch Davis enters his second season as head coach. Chuck Pagano resigned as defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach to become an assistant coach with the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL. He was replaced by Minnesota assistant Everett Withers.[2][3]

Name Position [4] Seasons in Position
Butch Davis Head coach 2nd
John Blake Associate head coach / recruiting coordinator / defensive line 2nd
Ken Browning Running backs 15th
Jeff Connors Strength and conditioning coordinator 8th
Steve Hagen Tight Ends 2nd
John Lovett Special teams coordinator / Defensive Assistant 2nd
Sam Pittman Offensive Line 2nd
John Shoop Offensive coordinator / quarterbacks 2nd
Tommy Thigpen Linebackers 4th
Charlie Williams Wide Receivers 2nd
Everett Withers Defensive coordinator / defensive backs 1st

Roster

Wide Receiver
  • 1 Brooks Foster – Senior
  • 2 Cooter Arnold – Senior
  • 3 Kenton Thornton – Junior
  • 15 Anthony Parker-Boyd – Sophomore
  • 19 Josh Washburn – Junior
  • 23 Quentin Plair – Sophomore
  • 34 Brett Long – Senior
  • 82 Todd Harrelson – Freshman
  • 83 Dwight Jones – Freshman
  • 85 Rashad Mason – Redshirt Freshman
  • 87 Brandon Tate – Senior
  • 88 Hakeem Nicks – Junior
Offensive lineman
  • 60 Zack Handerson – Sophomore
  • 64 Jonathan Cooper – Freshman
  • 65 Cam Holland – Redshirt Freshman
  • 66 Mike Ingersoll – Sophomore
  • 67 Morgan Randall – Sophomore
  • 68 Mike Dykes – Redshirt Freshman
  • 69 Lowell Dyer – Junior
  • 70 Alan Pelc – Sophomore
  • 71 Carl Gaskins – Redshirt Freshman
  • 72 Kyle Jolly – Junior
  • 73 Aaron Stahl – Junior
  • 74 Sam Ellis – Sophomore
  • 75 Garrett Reynolds – Senior
  • 76 Bryon Bishop – Senior
  • 77 Kevin Bryant – Redshirt Freshman
  • 79 Calvin Darity – Senior
Half-back
Tight End
  • 80 Ed Barham – Sophomore
  • 81 B.J. Phillips – Sophomore
  • 86 Randy White – Freshman
  • 89 Richard Quinn – Senior
  
Quarterback
  • 7 Mike Paulus – Redshirt Freshman
  • 11 Cameron Sexton – Junior
  • 13 T. J. Yates – Sophomore
  • 14 Braden Hanson – Freshman
Running Back
  • 5 Jamal Womble – Freshman
  • 8 Greg Little – Sophomore
  • 20 Shaun Draughn – Sophomore
  • 30 Carter Brown – Sophomore
  • 32 Ryan Houston – Sophomore
  • 45 Devon Ramsay – Redshirt Freshman
Fullback
  • 4 Bobby Rome – Junior
  • 6 Anthony Elzy – Sophomore
  • 43 Curtis Byrd – Sophomore
Defensive tackle
  • 9 Marvin Austin – Sophomore
  • 91 Tydreke Powell – Redshirt Freshman
  • 93 Cam Thomas – Junior
  • 94 Brian White – Junior
  • 96 Tavares Brown – Junior
  • 97 Aleric Mullins – Junior
Defensive End
Cornerback
  • 12 Charles Brown – Sophomore
  • 16 Kendric Burney – Sophomore
  • 23 Jordan Hemby – Junior
  • 24 Tavorris Jolly – Sophomore
  • 26 Richie Rich – Junior
  • 29 Brian Gupton – Redshirt Freshman
  • 34 Johnny White – Sophomore
  • 37 LaCount Fantroy – Redshirt Freshman
  
Linebacker
  • 35 Herman Davidson – Freshman
  • 36 Kennedy Tinsley – Junior
  • 41 Mark Paschal – Senior
  • 44 Chase Rice – Senior
  • 45 Alex Crisp – Sophomore
  • 47 Zach Brown – Freshman
  • 49 Ryan Taylor – Junior
  • 52 Quan Sturdivant – Sophomore
  • 53 Kenneth Harris – Freshman
  • 54 Bruce Carter – Sophomore
  • 55 Linwan Euwell – Redshirt Freshman
  • 57 Dion Guy – Freshman
  • 57 Hayden Hunter – Sophomore
  • 58 Ebele Okakpu – Freshman
Safety
  • 7 Josh Stewart – Sophomore
  • 10 Melvin Williams – Junior
  • 21 Da'Norris Searcy – Sophomore
  • 25 Matt Merletti – Sophomore
  • 27 Deunta Williams – Sophomore
  • 28 Jonathan Smith – Sophomore
  • 31 Trimane Goddard – Senior
  • 32 Tyler Caldwell – Junior
  • 43 Jabir Jones – Senior
Long Snapper
  • 51 Trevor Stuart – Sophomore
  • 58 Mark House – Sophomore
Punter / Place Kicker
  • 11 Casey Barth – Freshman
  • 16 Trase Jones – Sophomore
  • 17 Grant Schallock – Sophomore
  • 18 Jay Wooten – Redshirt Freshman
  • 19 Terrence Brown – Senior
  • 29 Reid Phillips – Sophomore


Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 306:05 p.m.McNeese State*
ESPN360W 35–27 (vacated)58,000[5]
September 117:45 p.m.at Rutgers*
ESPNW 44–12 (vacated)42,502[5]
September 203:30 p.m.Virginia Tech
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
ABC/ESPNL 17–2059,800[5]
September 2712:00 p.m.at Miami (FL)
ESPN2W 28–24 (vacated)35,830[5]
October 47:00 p.m.No. 23 Connecticut*
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
ESPN2W 38–12 (vacated)59,500[5]
October 113:30 p.m.Notre Dame*No. 22
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry)
ABC/ESPNW 29–24 (vacated)60,000[5]
October 183:30 p.m.at VirginiaNo. 18
ABC/ESPN2L 13–16 OT52,342[5]
October 2512:00 p.m.Boston College
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
RaycomW 45–24 (vacated)48,000[5]
November 812:00 p.m.No. 20 Georgia TechdaggerNo. 19
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
RaycomW 28–7 (vacated)59,000[5]
November 153:30 p.m.[6]at MarylandNo. 17
ABC/ESPNL 15–1746,113[5]
November 2212:00 p.m.[7]North Carolina State
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry)
RaycomL 10–4160,000[5]
November 293:30 p.m.[8]at Duke
ESPNUW 28–20 (vacated)30,322[5]
December 271:00 p.m.vs. West Virginia*
ESPNL 30–3173,712[5]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

McNeese State

1 2 3 4 Total
McNeese State 0 14 6 7 27
North Carolina 7 7 7 14 35

Brandon Tate put on a dazzling one-man show, scoring on an 82-yard punt return and putting North Carolina ahead for good with a 57-yard touchdown catch to help the Tar Heels hold off McNeese State 35-27. Tate finished with a school-record 397 all-purpose yards for the Tar Heels, who showed little else in an unimpressive start to their second season under Butch Davis. In a game suspended nearly two hours due to weather, they blew a 14-0 first-half lead and had to rally from a third-quarter deficit against Football Championship Subdivision McNeese State, who outplayed the Heels much of the way. T. J. Yates had 221 passing yards and 2 touchdowns.[9]

Rutgers

See also: 2008 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team
1 2 3 4 Total
North Carolina 0 17 21 6 44
Rutgers 3 3 0 6 12

T. J. Yates threw three touchdown passes and the Tar Heels won for the first time outside North Carolina since 2002, beating error-prone Rutgers 44-12 in a nationally televised game that pitted Butch Davis against his former pupil, Greg Schiano. Hakeem Nicks and Brandon Tate combined for 10 catches, 204 receiving yards, and three touchdowns as the Heels offense rolled over Rutgers. Carolina's defense generated 4 Rutgers turnovers (3 INTs and a fumble) and scored off of a 66-yard interception return by Bruce Carter.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b North Carolina has vacated all wins from the 2008 and 2009 football seasons: "North Carolina Response to Notice of NCAA Allegations" (PDF). September 19, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 11, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
  2. ^ "Butch Davis Agrees To Contract Extension Archived 2007-12-24 at the Wayback Machine." tarheelblue.com. Retrieved on January 28, 2008.
  3. ^ "Pagano Headed Back To NFL." tarheelblue.com. Retrieved on February 12, 2008.
  4. ^ "North Carolina Coaching Staff Archived 2007-12-14 at the Wayback Machine." tarheelblue.com. Retrieved on January 28, 2008.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "UNC Football Media Guide, 2009".
  6. ^ "The Daily Tar Heel. (Chapel Hill, N.C.) 1929-1943, November 14, 2008, Image 1 · North Carolina Newspapers (digitalnc.org)".
  7. ^ "The Daily Tar Heel. (Chapel Hill, N.C.) 1929-1943, November 22, 2008, Page 3, Image 3 · North Carolina Newspapers (digitalnc.org)".
  8. ^ "The Daily Tar Heel. (Chapel Hill, N.C.) 1929-1943, November 25, 2008, Page 4, Image 4 · North Carolina Newspapers (digitalnc.org)".
  9. ^ "McNeese State vs. North Carolina - Game Recap - August 30, 2008 - ESPN".
  10. ^ "North Carolina vs. Rutgers - Game Recap - September 11, 2008 - ESPN".
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