Nov. 5, 2009

By Bill Hass
theACC.com

GREENSBORO, N.C. – When North Carolina’s defense looks for a big play, chances are that Will or Sam or Mike will be involved.

Quan started the season playing Mike but the way things have developed over the last two games, Quan now plays Will, Bruce plays Sam and Kevin has moved into the role of Mike. And sometimes Mike is played by Kennedy or Shane.

It may sound like the ever-changing cast of characters in a soap opera, but actually it’s the world of football jargon. And it’s not that unusual.

Most college teams refer to their linebackers in those generic terms. Generally speaking – and these things vary because of the variety of offensive formations they face – “Will” is an outside linebacker who plays the weak side, usually the one away from the tight end. “Sam” is the other outside backer, the one who plays the strong side where the tight end lines up. “Mike” is the man in the middle.

It’s an area of strength for the Tar Heels. Junior Quan Sturdivant, a three-year starter, plays “Will.” Junior Bruce Carter, another three-year starter, plays “Sam.” And true freshman Kevin Reddick has drawn the starting assignment at “Mike” for games against Florida State and Virginia Tech.

Sturdivant leads the team with 55 tackles and has returned a fumble recovery for a score. Carter is third with 40 tackles plus an interception return for a touchdown. Reddick, the newcomer, has made 23 tackles.

Duke coach David Cutcliffe, whose team will play North Carolina Saturday, believes the Tar Heels have found the right niche for each player.

“I think they’ve helped themselves,” Cutcliffe said. “When you play Sturdivant on the outside at Will and Carter over there at the Sam, you put Carter in position to be playing his best football in space and Sturdivant in a real physical position at Will. And Reddick holds up in the middle and can play tackle to tackle, so it’s a good combination for them.”

This particular alignment has been in place for two games. When the season began, Sturdivant was playing the Mike position. For the last two games, he shifted back outside, where he played as a freshman and sophomore.

“It felt pretty good,” Sturdivant said. “I think I can make more plays outside. Mike was pretty good; I like playing the middle, too.”

The key to making the change was Reddick, a true freshman from New Bern, N.C., who began the season in a backup role on the outside. Coach Butch Davis said the changes were not part of a grand design, but rather a natural progression of a system of rotating linebackers to keep them fresh and to get young players some experience.

Another true freshman, Shane Mularkey, also sees time in the middle, as does Kennedy Tinsley, a senior.

Davis said he didn’t think Reddick played any more snaps than usual the last two weeks. But in a starting role he got an opportunity to make some plays. He made five tackles against Florida State and five more against Virginia Tech. In a reserve role, the most tackles he made in a game was three.

“We’re very pleased with Kevin Reddick’s growth and development,” Davis said. “He and Shane Mularkey have done a very good job as young guys, Kennedy is a senior and we feel confident that he’s going to go in the game and execute and he understands the schemes well. Getting the two young kids in there from time to time has helped keep our starters fresh.”

Reddick said he felt a feeling of familiarity and comfort at Mike.

“That’s where I’ve been playing all my life, in the middle,” he said. “Outside was fine. I think Coach Davis was just trying to put me out there to see what I could do. We have a lot of other linebackers play more than one spot, middle as well as outside. I feel like I’m at home now when I’m in the middle.”

Although he played some at fullback in youth football and as a sophomore in high school, the 6-3, 235-pound Reddick said he has always preferred defense.

“I just like the nastiness at linebacker,” he said. “I don’t even like (playing on) the offensive side of the ball. That’s the person who’s getting hit. I like to make the hits.”

The responsibilities in the middle are about the same at any level of football – making defensive calls, reading keys and making plays. Sometimes Reddick has to drop back in pass coverage, usually in a zone rather than man-to-man.

Still, there’s a considerable difference in the level of competition and speed of the game in college. Reddick said he relied on the advice of Sturdivant before he made his first start.

“He taught me I had to be patient,” Reddick said. “A lot of times I don’t see a lot of things, so he’s telling me to slow down, just read things and let it come. And that’s what happened. He helps me out like an older brother.”

Sturdivant said Reddick has played well in his two starts.

“He’s still young and he’s still learning,” Sturdivant said, “so he had to relax, make sure he took one play at a time, don’t try to get ahead of himself. If you make a bad play don’t worry about it, just keep moving on.

“You’ve just got to relax when you’re in the middle and just make plays.

He’s getter better and he’s working hard at it. He wants to be good.”

Reddick said that while he was playing on the outside, his aim was to stay patient and practice hard with the idea of getting on the field for more snaps.

“I have a nose for the ball,” he said, “and I want to go out there and make plays, help the defense out, help the team out and try to be a leader as the year progresses.”

In Davis’ system, it’s normal for young linebackers to begin their careers at an outside spot. He believes Reddick has a “really good chance” to play in the middle in the long term.

“It’s a little easier to see the game from the outside than it is in the middle,” Davis said, “and sometimes you would like to grow the middle linebackers into that position. It’s something we did (in Miami) with Jonathan Vilma, certainly Ray Lewis, Dan Morgan.

“A lot of the linebackers that I had at Miami started off as Sams or Wills and before their career was over with they ended up moving to the middle. That’s kind of what we’re trying to do here (with Reddick). I think that’s eventually the home where he’ll be. But it will take some time.”

Reddick’s mission over the last four games of the regular season is to help his team qualify for a bowl game. Their road win over Virginia Tech gave the Tar Heels their first ACC victory and lifted them to 5-3 overall. They need two more wins to become bowl eligible.

“I think we showed some people out there what our team really can do, playing hard and getting that W,” Reddick said. “We played our hearts out so we’ve got to finish that out and do it to every team we play. I would like to go out there for the rest of the season and get shutouts. We can make that happen.”

Sturdivant added that North Carolina can’t afford to take anything for granted in the final four games, even after beating the nationally ranked Hokies.

“It gave us more confidence to finish up the rest of the year strong, which is what we want to do,” he said. “But that was last week and we’ve got to move on to this one, which is Duke. So forget that game, have a good week of practice and play well on Saturday.”

Whatever happens, Will, Sam and Mike should be in the thick of things for the Tar Heels.

Bill Hass is a long-time observer of ACC sports. His career at the Greensboro News & Record spanned 36 years, from 1969 until his retirement in March, 2006. He is now writing "Bill Hass on the ACC" for theACC.com. His weekly columns will keep fans plugged in to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

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