2016 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

2016 North Carolina Tar Heels football
2016 North Carolina Tar Heels football
Sun Bowl, L 23–25 vs. Stanford
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
	Coastal
Record	8–5 (5–3 ACC)
Head coach	Larry Fedora (5th season);
Co-offensive coordinator	Gunter Brewer (3rd season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Chris Kapilovic (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Gene Chizik (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Captain	Mack Hollins, Nazair Jones, Des Lawrence, Caleb Peterson, Mitchell Trubisky, Nick Weiler
Home stadium	Kenan Memorial Stadium
Uniform
	Seasons ← 2015 2017 →

The 2016 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 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by fifth-year head coach Larry Fedora and played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium. The Tar Heels finished the season 8–5 overall and 5–3 in ACC play to place in a three-way tie for second in the Coastal Division. They were invited to the Sun Bowl, where they lost to Stanford.

2016 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Atlantic Division
No. 1 Clemson xy$#	7	–	1	14	–	1
No. 21 Louisville x	7	–	1	9	–	4
No. 8 Florida State	5	–	3	10	–	3
NC State	3	–	5	7	–	6
Wake Forest	3	–	5	7	–	6
Boston College	2	–	6	7	–	6
Syracuse	2	–	6	4	–	8
Coastal Division
No. 16 Virginia Tech xy	6	–	2	10	–	4
North Carolina	5	–	3	8	–	5
No. 20 Miami (FL)	5	–	3	9	–	4
Pittsburgh	5	–	3	8	–	5
Georgia Tech	4	–	4	9	–	4
Duke	1	–	7	4	–	8
Virginia	1	–	7	2	–	10
Championship: Clemson 42, Virginia Tech 35
# – College Football Playoff champion $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Recruiting

National Signing Day was on February 3, 2016 and was the first chance for high school seniors to officially declare which university or college they will be attending for their college career. North Carolina had 26 high school seniors sign a National Letter of Intent to play football with them. Of the class, 7 athletes enrolled early to UNC.^[1]

US college sports recruiting information for 2016 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	40^‡	Commit date
Jordon Brown RB	Durham, NC	Southern Durham HS	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	4.56	Aug 17, 2015
Jordon Brown RB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79
Logan Byrd QB	Kathleen, GA	Veterans HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	238 lb (108 kg)	4.89	Apr 9, 2015
Logan Byrd QB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80
Kyree Campbell^ DT	Woodbridge, VA	Woodbridge HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	305 lb (138 kg)	5.44	Aug 5, 2015
Kyree Campbell^ DT	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80
Allen Cater DE	Kennesaw, GA	Mount Paran Christian School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	242 lb (110 kg)	5.32	Feb 3, 2016
Allen Cater DE	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 73
J.B. Copeland LB	Southlake, TX	Navarro College	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	N/A	Feb 4, 2016
J.B. Copeland LB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 74
Nolan DeFranco DE	Winter Garden, FL	West Orange HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	226 lb (103 kg)	4.89	Jun 17, 2015
Nolan DeFranco DE	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 75
Myles Dorn WR/DB/S	Charlotte, NC	Julius L. Chambers HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	4.58	Dec 5, 2015
Myles Dorn WR/DB/S	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79
Marlon Dunlap DT	Charlotte, NC	West Charlotte HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	290 lb (130 kg)	5.24	Oct 26, 2015
Marlon Dunlap DT	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 75
Luke Elder OG	LaGrange, GA	LaGrange HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	282 lb (128 kg)	5.55	Jun 21, 2015
Luke Elder OG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78
D.J. Ford S	Lineville, AL	Clay Central HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	N/A	Jan 17, 2016
D.J. Ford S	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 73
Tomon Fox DE	Suwanee, GA	Collins Hill HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	232 lb (105 kg)	4.88	Jun 21, 2015
Tomon Fox DE	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 82
Rontavius Groves WR/CB	Nashville, TN	Pearl-Cohn HS	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	4.5	Dec 6, 2015
Rontavius Groves WR/CB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 76
Tyrone Hopper LB	Roswell, GA	Roswell HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	202 lb (92 kg)	4.74	Jun 16, 2015
Tyrone Hopper LB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 75
Roscoe Johnson WR	Union, SC	Union County HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	173 lb (78 kg)	4.5	Jul 15, 2015
Roscoe Johnson WR	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 77
Jay Jay McCargo OT	Arlington, VA	Bishop O'Connell HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	283 lb (128 kg)	5.4	Apr 25, 2015
Jay Jay McCargo OT	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79
James Pierre^ S	Deerfield Beach, FL	Deerfield Beach HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	4.61	May 19, 2015
James Pierre^ S	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 76
Tyler Pritchett OG	Auburn, AL	Auburn HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	290 lb (130 kg)	5.5	Apr 14, 2015
Tyler Pritchett OG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78
Patrice Rene CB	Alexandria, VA	Episcopal HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	4.57	Jan 20, 2016
Patrice Rene CB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80
Gregory Ross S	Oxon Hill, MD	Potomac HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	4.55	May 23, 2015
Gregory Ross S	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 74
Dominique Ross LB	Jacksonville, FL	Trinity Christian Academy	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	N/A	Jun 16, 2015
Dominique Ross LB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 77
K.J. Sails S	Gibsonton, FL	East Bay HS	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	164 lb (74 kg)	4.5	Feb 3, 2016
K.J. Sails S	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 74
Jonathan Smith LB	Laurinburg, NC	Scotland HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	229 lb (104 kg)	4.77	Aug 17, 2015
Jonathan Smith LB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 76
Chazz Surratt QB	Denver, NC	East Lincoln HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	4.5	Jun 26, 2015
Chazz Surratt QB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80
Noah Turner TE	Mundelein, IL	Carmel Catholic HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	237 lb (108 kg)	4.69	Jul 3, 2015
Noah Turner TE	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 75
Garrett Walston TE	Wilmington, NC	New Hanover HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	N/A	Oct 8, 2015
Garrett Walston TE	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79
Myles Wolfolk CB	Upper Marlboro, MD	Dr. Henry A. Wise, Jr HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	4.5	Nov 29, 2015
Myles Wolfolk CB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 74
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 25 Rivals: 25 247Sports: 36 ESPN: 34
‡ 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: "North Carolina Football Commitment List (19)". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 10, 2016. "2016 North Carolina Football Recruiting Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved June 10, 2016. "North Carolina Tar Heels 2016 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 10, 2016. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved June 10, 2016. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 10, 2016. "North Carolina 2016 Football Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved June 10, 2016.

^These signees will not be enrolling at UNC in 2016 due to not being admitted into the school.^[2]^[3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	5:30 p.m.	vs. No. 18 Georgia*	No. 22	Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA (Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game)	ESPN	L 24–33	75,405^[4]
September 10	7:30 p.m.	at Illinois*		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	BTN	W 48–23	60,670^[4]
September 17	3:30 p.m.	11 (FCS) James Madison*		Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	ACCRSN	W 56–28	56,000^[4]
September 24	3:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh		Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	ESPNU	W 37–36	54,500^[4]
October 1	3:30 p.m.	at No. 12 Florida State		Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPN	W 37–35	77,584^[4]
October 8	3:30 p.m.	No. 25 Virginia Tech	No. 17	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	ABC/ESPN2	L 3–34	33,000^[4]
October 15	3:30 p.m.	at No. 16 Miami (FL)		Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, FL	ABC/ESPN2	W 20–13	58,731^[4]
October 22	3:00 p.m.	at Virginia	No. 22	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA (South's Oldest Rivalry)	ACCRSN	W 35–14	40,882^[4]
November 5	12:30 p.m.	Georgia Tech	No. 21	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	ACCN	W 48–20	58,000^[4]
November 10	7:30 p.m.	at Duke	No. 17	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC (Victory Bell)	ESPN	L 27–28	39,212^[4]
November 19	3:30 p.m.	No. 5 (FCS) The Citadel*		Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	ACCN+	W 41–7	41,000^[4]
November 25	12:00 p.m.	NC State		Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry)	ESPN	L 21–28	59,000^[4]
December 30	2:00 p.m.	vs. No. 18 Stanford*		Sun Bowl El Paso, TX (Sun Bowl)	CBS	L 23–25	42,166^[4]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 1 released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

^[5]

Personnel

North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora enters his fifth year as the North Carolina's head coach for the 2016 season. At the end of the 2015 season, assistant head coach, Seth Littrell, was hired as the head coach at North Texas.^[6] As a result, co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, Chris Kapilovic, was promoted to offensive coordinator, and will retain his role as offensive line coach.^[7] Former Tar Heel player, Chad Scott, was hired to replace Littrell as the tight ends/hybrids coach.^[8]

Roster

2016 North Carolina Tar Heels football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`10`	Mitchell Trubisky	Jr
QB	`11`	Nathan Elliott	Fr
QB	`12`	Chazz Surratt	Fr
QB	`14`	Logan Byrd	Fr
QB	`16`	Manny Miles	Fr
RB	`1`	Khris Francis	Sr
RB	`2`	Jordon Brown	Fr
RB	`8`	T. J. Logan	Sr
RB	`27`	Darius Graves	So
RB	`32`	Jacob Schmidt	So
RB	`33`	Antonio James	So
RB	`34`	Elijah Hood	Jr
RB	`38`	David Smith Jr.	So
FB	`47`	Don Mastromatteo	Sr
WR	`3`	Ryan Switzer	Sr
WR	`4`	Rontavius Groves	Fr
WR	`5`	Juval Mollette	Fr
WR	`7`	Austin Proehl	Jr
WR	`9`	Roscoe Johnson	Fr
WR	`13`	Mack Hollins	Sr
WR	`15`	Jordan Cunningham	Jr
WR	`17`	Anthony Ratliff-Williams	Fr
WR	`18`	Josh Cabrera	So
WR	`21`	Devin Perry	So
WR	`28`	Dante DiMaggio	So
WR	`48`	Thomas Jackson	Jr
WR	`81`	Hunter Smith	So
WR	`84`	Bug Howard	Sr
TE	`80`	Jake Bargas	Fr
TE	`82`	Brandon Fritts	So
TE	`83`	Garrett Walston	Fr
TE	`86`	Carl Tucker	Fr
TE	`87`	Noah Turner	Fr
TE	`89`	Jared Worley	Fr
OT	`51`	William Sweet	Fr
OT	`67`	Charlie Heck	Fr
OT	`71`	Jon Heck	Sr
OT	`75`	Bentley Spain	Jr
OT	`76`	R. J. Prince	Jr
OT	`77`	John Ferranto	Sr
G	`70`	Caleb Peterson	Sr
G	`72`	Mason Veal	Fr
G	`73`	Brad Henson	Jr
C	`52`	Tommy Hatton	Fr
OL	`55`	Jay-Jay McCargo	Fr
OL	`57`	Tyler Pritchett	Fr
OL	`58`	Nick Polino	Fr
OL	`62`	Mark Uptegraff	Jr
OL	`69`	Jonathan Trull	Jr
OL	`78`	Layton Barber	Fr
OL	`79`	Luke Elder	Fr
C	`68`	Lucas Crowley	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
CB	`2`	Des Lawrence	Sr
CB	`6`	M. J. Stewart	Jr
CB	`18`	Corey Bell Jr.	So
S	`15`	Donnie Miles	Jr
S	`16`	Stephen Albright	Fr
S	`26`	Dominquie Green	Sr
S	`27`	Jaye Stackhouse	Fr
S	`29`	J. K. Britt	So
S	`31`	Cameron Albright	So
DB	`5`	Patrice Rene	Fr
DB	`8`	Greg Ross	Fr
DB	`9`	K. J. Sails	Fr
DB	`11`	Myles Wolfolk	Fr
DB	`13`	Jesse Cuccia	So
DB	`16`	D. J. Ford	Fr
DB	`19`	Robert Morgan	Jr
DB	`20`	Thomas Brown	So
DB	`21`	Myles Dorn	Fr
DB	`24`	Zach Goins	So
DB	`28`	Simeon Gatling	Fr
DB	`35`	Chris Ripberger	Jr
DB	`48`	Robert James	So
LB	`4`	Allen Artis	Jr
LB	`7`	Jonathan Smith	Fr
LB	`10`	Andre Smith	So
LB	`20`	Dominique Ross	Fr
LB	`23`	Cayson Collins	Jr
LB	`25`	Ayden Bonilla	So
LB	`30`	Hunter Crafford	Jr
LB	`36`	Cole Holcomb	So
LB	`38`	Keith Beasley Jr.	So
LB	`41`	J. B. Copeland	Jr
LB	`42`	Tyrone Hopper	Fr
LB	`44`	Sam Blobe	So
LB	`52`	Kemmi Pettway	Jr
LB	`54`	Johnathon Sutton	Fr
LB	`57`	Marlon Petty	Jr
DE	`12`	Tomon Fox	Fr
DE	`17`	Dajuan Drennon	Jr
DE	`33`	Allen Cater	Fr
DE	`45`	Mikey Bart	Sr
DE	`53`	Malik Carney	So
DE	`55`	Jason Strowbridge	Fr
DE	`58`	Josh Strickland	So
DE	`91`	Nolan DeFranco	Fr
DE	`96`	Matt Gampe	So
DE	`98`	Connor Barringer	Jr
DT	`49`	Jeremiah Clarke	So
DT	`90`	Nazair Jones	Jr
DT	`92`	Aaron Crawford	Fr
DT	`93`	Robert Dinkins	So
DT	`94`	Marlon Dunlap	Fr
DT	`97`	Jalen Dalton	So
DL	`95`	Tyler Powell	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`24`	Nick Weiler	Sr
K	`90`	Connor Albrecht	So
K	`95`	Tolson Jeffrey	So
K	`98`	Freeman Jones	So
P	`14`	Joey Mangili	Sr
P	`39`	Tom Shelton	Fr
P	`91`	Hunter Lent	So
LS	`41`	Kyle Murphy	Jr
LS	`61`	Tommy Bancroft	So

Head coach

Larry Fedora

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Gunter Brewer (OC/WR)
Gene Chizik (DC)
Keith Heckendorf (QB)
Lou Hernandez (Str+Cond)
Chris Kapilovic (OC/OL)
John Papuchis (LB)
Chad Scott (TE)
Tray Scott (DL)
Charlton Warren (DB)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

Game summaries

Vs. Georgia

	1	2	3	4	Total
#22 Tar Heels	0	10	14	0	24
#18 Bulldogs	7	7	9	10	33

At Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tar Heels	17	7	7	17	48
Fighting Illini	14	2	0	7	23

James Madison

	1	2	3	4	Total
#11 (FCS) Dukes	21	0	7	0	28
Tar Heels	14	21	14	7	56

Pittsburgh

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	5	14	14	3	36
Tar Heels	0	16	7	14	37

At Florida State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tar Heels	7	14	7	9	37
#12 Seminoles	0	7	7	21	35

Virginia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
#25 Hokies	6	7	14	7	34
#17 Tar Heels	0	3	0	0	3

At Miami (FL)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tar Heels	10	10	0	0	20
#16 Hurricanes	0	3	7	3	13

At Virginia

	1	2	3	4	Total
#22 Tar Heels	7	7	14	7	35
Cavaliers	0	7	0	7	14

Georgia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Yellow Jackets	7	10	3	0	20
#18 Tar Heels	17	10	14	7	48

At Duke

	1	2	3	4	Total
#15 Tar Heels	14	7	6	0	27
Blue Devils	0	21	7	0	28

The Citadel

	1	2	3	4	Total
#5 (FCS) Bulldogs	0	0	0	7	7
Tar Heels	14	17	10	0	41

NC State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wolfpack	14	7	7	0	28
Tar Heels	0	7	0	14	21

Stanford–Sun Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
#16 Cardinal	7	6	3	9	25
Tar Heels	7	0	10	6	23

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	22	RV	RV	RV	RV	17	RV	22	21	18	15	RV	RV	—	—	RV
Coaches	20	RV	RV	RV	23	16	RV	21	20	17	13	24	25	RV	RV	—
CFP	Not released									21	17	—	—	—	—	Not released

References

^ "North Carolina 2016 Football Commits". 247 Sports. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
^ McAllister, Michael. "Syracuse Adds 2016 3-star Safety James Pierre". Scout.com. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
^ Callahan, Don. "DT Signee Kyree Campbell Denied UNC Admission". Scout.com. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m "2017 UNC Football Media Guide" (PDF).
^ "2016 North Carolina Tar Heels Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
^ "North Texas hires UNC off. coordinator Littrell as coach". USA Today. December 5, 2015. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
^ Martin, Ross (February 3, 2016). "UNC promotes Coach Kap to offensive coordinator". 247Sports. Archived from the original on February 7, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
^ "UNC Announces New TE Coach Chad Scott". Scout.com. January 29, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2016.

[1] "North Carolina 2016 Football Commits". 247 Sports. Retrieved May 6, 2016.

[2] McAllister, Michael. "Syracuse Adds 2016 3-star Safety James Pierre". Scout.com. Retrieved June 10, 2016.

[3] Callahan, Don. "DT Signee Kyree Campbell Denied UNC Admission". Scout.com. Retrieved June 10, 2016.

[attendance-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m "2017 UNC Football Media Guide" (PDF).

[5] "2016 North Carolina Tar Heels Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved March 28, 2016.

[6] "North Texas hires UNC off. coordinator Littrell as coach". USA Today. December 5, 2015. Retrieved June 13, 2016.

[7] Martin, Ross (February 3, 2016). "UNC promotes Coach Kap to offensive coordinator". 247Sports. Archived from the original on February 7, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2016.

[8] "UNC Announces New TE Coach Chad Scott". Scout.com. January 29, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2016.

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