By JACK DALY

jdaly@heraldsun.com; 419-6672

CHAPEL HILL -- North Carolina freshman defensive end Donte Paige-Moss will be in Orange County court on Aug. 20 to face simple assault charges for punching teammate Hunter Furr.

According to the campus police report, Moss punched Furr twice in the nose in a dorm-room fight on July 16. The two were roommates at the time.

"We had two football players this summer that were involved in an altercation," UNC coach Butch Davis said. "I think it was a very unfortunate situation. I think both guys -- they're very, very good friends. They were friends before the incident, they're friends now.

"I think it was a great learning experience. ... Sometimes part of going off to college is that you've got to learn what's appropriate. Clearly, we don't ever condone any kind of [violence] -- whether it's player-on-player, a player on someone else or someone on one of our players.

"You've got to be smart enough to learn to walk away from a situation and you've got to be able to diffuse a situation if you're present and not actively involved."

It doesn't sound like either player will miss a game this season.

"We've handled it internally," Davis said.

Moss, a native of Jacksonville, was one of the jewels of UNC's recruiting class and was considered one of the top defensive ends in the country by just about every recruiting service.

Furr is a running back from Lewisville who was the state champion in the 100-meter dash.

A couple of other tidbits from Tuesday's practice, which was the first UNC went through in full pads:

* Freshman Donovan Tate is on campus and participating in meetings and non-contact drills. It is unlikely Tate will go through any contact drills until his contract situation with the San Diego Padres -- Tate was the third overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft -- is resolved by Aug. 17.

* Asked who has impressed him so far during training camp, Davis went with cornerbacks Kendric Burney and Jordan Hemby and linebackers Kevin Reddick, Bruce Carter and Quan Sturdivant on the defensive side of the ball. On offense, wide receiver Greg Little and tight ends Zack Pianalto and Ed Barham were his choices.