bgorman@heraldsun.com; 419-6668
CHAPEL HILL -- North Carolina left tackle Kyle Jolly has started 30 games in his career and is one of just four senior starters this season.
He is an unquestioned leader and seasoned veteran, but he doesn't know what else he can do to help a struggling offensive line.
"It's one of those things where it's like, 'OK, I've done this, done that; what else can I do to help the other guys and myself to help the offense get that much better,' " Jolly said. "It is very frustrating. It's really hard to explain."
It should help the offensive line that Coach Butch Davis announced Monday that the Tar Heels are going back to the basics. For the offensive line, that means returning to simple running schemes that have worked in the past and making the plays less complicated.
"We started to think too much and tried to scheme too much towards the defense," said Jolly, who said he plans to play Saturday despite spraining his ankle against Virginia. "We started thinking too much about them rather than about ourselves and what we need to do."
Jolly said in the loss to Virginia some of the younger linemen got confused about who they were blocking because the Cavaliers had a lot of defenders standing up. But instead of the Tar Heels following their assignment rules, they didn't know who they were blocking and, by the time the ball was snapped, it was too late.
"We hadn't talked about guys standing up like that, so it's just talking to them and saying, 'OK, well if you play by your rules and you see where he's located, then you're going to know most likely where he's going to be,' " Jolly said. "It's just talking to them about it ... because after one time they did it, the next time the young guys knew how they were going to fit it."
Jolly said he's mostly patient and encouraging with the players on an inexperienced line that has been decimated by injuries and players leaving the program, but sometimes he has to give them tough love. The Tar Heels are ranked last in the ACC in points and 11th in total offense and rushing offense.
"You can't get too mad at them for certain plays," Jolly said. "But then some plays [that] they've run a bunch of times, you kind of need to get up in their faces a little bit, say, 'OK, you've ran it this many times, you know what to do, so why are you messing up? Go do it.' "
Running back Ryan Houston doesn't think the offensive woes should be blamed solely on the line. He said the tailbacks and quarterback T.J. Yates could be doing a better job of getting first downs and taking some pressure off the linemen.
"We've got to get the offense rolling,' Houston said. "Like we get three-and-out or something and the offensive linemen dip their heads like, 'Aw man, we aren't doing our job.' They're taking all the blame, but I think it's really not their fault."
Jolly said he already could see benefits of the slimmer playbook in practice, and he said the line's goal for Saturday's game against Georgia Southern is pretty clear.
"We just need to go out there and get after it and get the offense moving, period," Jolly said. "If we have to stay out there the entire time, I don't care. We just need to get the offense going. We just need to get the yardage and get the confidence back."
NOTES -- Sophomore quarterback Mike Paulus was absent from Wednesday's practice, as he was having a sore shoulder examined. ... Junior tight end Zack Pianalto, who has been out with a dislocated subtalar joint in his right foot, was running on the sidelines during Wednesday's workout.
