It started on Wednesday at Navy Fields. After the warm-up period and stretches, the Tar Heel offense and defense spend most of their allotted practice time apart, with the offense on the grass field, the defense on the turf field. They work in their position groups or against their scout teams, often not bothering to think of one another until the close of practice. Every Tar Heel football practice culminates with a two-minute drill. Offense vs. defense. Ones vs. ones. Neither unit wants to give an inch. The offense wants to score; the defense wants to stop them. There's plenty of jawing back and forth as they work from opposite sidelines, plenty of banter, some friendly, some not so friendly, as each unit works to make themselves –and the other– better.
Turner's Take: The Payoff
