North Carolina 2022 spring football preview, storylines

What you need to know as the Tar Heels open up their 2022 preparation

A year ago, North Carolina was one of the darlings of the college football preseason buzz machine. But by October, the Tar Heels were no longer anyone's sexy pick.

UNC started 2021 as a Top 10 team, but opened up 0-1, then 2-2, then 4-4. And finished out 6-7 overall with a Duke's Mayo Bowl loss to South Carolina.

Sam Howell isn't walking through that door this fall after the record-breaking quarterback went off to the NFL. And the Heels are playing in an ACC that should find a resurgent Clemson, an rejuvenated Miami, a fast-moving Wake Forest, and a defending conference champion in Pittsburgh.

UNC needs to get ahead of the competition, and that starts this spring. Let's take a look at what's on Mack Brown and the Heels' spring football checklist.

North Carolina football 2022 spring preview, storylines

1. Gene Chizik back on defense

John Reed | USA Today

Gene Chizik was DC for the Heels from 2014-16 and now inherits a unit that under Jay Bateman a year ago ranked No. 105 nationally in scoring defense (32.1 ppg) and yards per play allowed (6.11).

Carolina finished No. 120 in total defense in 2014 under Chizik. It improved in each of his final two seasons, to No. 96 in 2015 and No. 63 in 2016. Now, he comes into a situation not unlike the one he inherited the first time around.

UNC came off one of its worst-ever defenses entering 2014, allowing 39 points per game and 6.53 yards per play. Chizik introduced a new culture and scheme, and with results: Carolina allowed 24.5 ppg and 5.5 yards per play and played for the ACC title.

Chizik was a well-regarded analyst with ESPN in recent years, and now he has a chance to put some of his ideas back into practice. First, he has to foster a player-led leadership this defense lacked last fall, put the right pieces in place, and see what happens. 

Carolina has recruited well at defensive line and linebacker — including 2022 five-star lineman Travis Shaw — and needs to cash in on the talent it's acquired to apply pressure up front and help out this young secondary.

2. How to replace Sam Howell

Drake Maye | UNC Football

Sam Howell leaves Chapel Hill a North Carolina football legend, holding program records in the following categories, including

• Most passing yards (10,283)
• Total touchdowns (109)
• Touchdown passes (92)
• Single-season TD passes (38)

Who's up to the challenge of stepping into the role now? Carolina has three options on the table, but really only two — junior Jacolby Criswell and legacy recruit Drake Maye will be the focus of the QB competition this spring, with early enrollee Conner Harrell likely spending this season as an observer.

Criswell backed up Howell last fall, throwing the ball 21 times with a touchdown on 179 yards passing. Maye played in four games last year, going 7 for 10 for 89 yards and a touchdown.

Maye is a former 5-star prospect and the current favorite to win the job. But don't be surprised if Carolina tries to play both at the position, as Mack Brown has hinted. An official decision likely won't come until the end of fall camp.

3. How to protect the QB

Nell Redmond | USA Today

Experience up front was supposed to be a strength for Carolina going into 2021. In part, it was: the unit blocked well for the run, which accounted for 210 yards per game on the ground. But it also coughed up 49 sacks, the third-most in college football, and more than a half-dozen TFLs per game.

Now the unit loses three starters. But it also gains one very promising addition in Zach Rice, a 5-star lineman from Virginia with a reputation for aggressive, physical play at the tackle position.

UNC has to re-group in a hurry after O-line coach Stacy Searels bolted for the same job at Georgia suddenly. Jack Bicknell, with experience in the SEC and NFL, takes over and needs to find answers at the tackle positions. The strength of the unit should be on the interior, with center Brian Anderson and LT Asim Richards coming back.

Remember to bookmark our homepage to keep up with college football’s latest headlines and follow us on Facebook and Twitter