Tag: North Carolina

Draft Wire’s 4-round mock gifts Ravens some unique offensive talents

The Baltimore Ravens stack their offense in Draft Wire’s latest four-round mock of the 2020 NFL draft.

The 2019 NFL season is over as well as the Senior Bowl. That means the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine is the next chance for prospects to help or hurt their draft stock. With the combine next week, this is a final opportunity to run a mock of the 2020 NFL Draft with just what prospects put on tape and not the hype that surrounds any outlier measurements or individual drills.

Luke Easterling of Draft Wire did exactly that, creating a four-round mock draft that gives his predictions on how things will shake out. As is usual with all mock drafts at this point, this doesn’t include any compensatory picks (since they haven’t been announced yet) or trades. But it’ll give you a great idea at some players Baltimore could be quite interested in in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Let’s kick this mock draft off with Baltimore’s first pick, at No. 28:

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Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

1st round (No. 28) – RB Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin

“Mark Ingram’s absence was painfully obvious in Baltimore’s playoff meltdown, and the Ravens would do well to seek a young back who can do all things he brings to the table. Taylor is a complete runner who has the vision, patience, power and explosiveness to be a dangerous weapon in the league’s top rushing attack.”

We’ve already talked at length about Taylor in Easterling’s previous mock draft, so I’ll keep it short here. Running back isn’t a terrible idea at some point in this draft simply as more depth and an eventual replacement for Ingram. But getting one in the first round doesn’t really make a ton of sense considering the Ravens have two guys they feel comfortable with starting and a third running back they took last year in Justice Hill. Finding roster space for a fourth running back would be just too much.

Instead, Georgia offensive lineman Solomon Kindley (No. 29), TCU wide receiver Jalen Reagor (No. 30), LSU linebacker Patrick Queen (No. 33), LSU wide receiver (No. 34), Alabama outside linebacker Terrell Lewis (No. 36) or Wisconsin offensive lineman Tyler Biadasz (No. 37) would all make better sense in the first round of this mock draft for Baltimore.

The rest of the Ravens’ selections are better fits, so click on the next pages to see who Easterling mocks to Baltimore in the second, third and fourth rounds.

No. 28 / No. 60 / No. 92 / No. 119 / No. 124

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

Notre Dame/North Carolina: Irish a Home Favorite

For what it’s worth (probably very little), Notre Dame has covered just once in their last eight games played on a Monday.

I know North Carolina is struggling this season and that Roy Williams pretty much told his team earlier this year that they were painful to watch, awful and every other negative adjective you could think.

I also know that that Tar Heels are just 9-15 since their opening night win over the Fighting Irish in November and have struggled mightily even with Cole Anthony (19.3 ppg) returning to the lineup.

But it’s still a rare day, or at least feels like one when Notre Dame is favored over North Carolina in basketball and that’s exactly what we have in the case of Monday night’s game.

Notre Dame is listed as a 2.5 point favorite over the Tar Heels tonight with the total set at 147.5.  A successful North Carolina money-line bet would pay +105.

Odds via BetMGM. Access USATODAY Sports Betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated February 17 at 11:15 a.m. ET

North Carolina defeated Notre Dame 76-65 to open the season on November 6 but has since struggled to a 10-15 overall record and a 3-11 ACC record, good for last place in the conference.

Notre Dame meanwhile enters 15-10 overall, 6-8 in conference and 12-3 on their home court this season.

Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN tonight.

For what it’s worth (probably very little), Notre Dame has covered just once in their last eight games played on a Monday.

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Notre Dame Basketball: Playing Crummy Carolina

After getting blown out at No. 7 Duke on Saturday, Notre Dame will return home for Presidents’ Day and battle the other blue-colored school from the Old North State: North Carolina. The Irish (15-10, 6-8) already battled the Tar Heels (10-15, 3-11) …

After getting blown out at No. 7 Duke on Saturday, Notre Dame will return home for Presidents’ Day and battle the other blue-colored school from the Old North State: North Carolina. The Irish (15-10, 6-8) already battled the Tar Heels (10-15, 3-11) during the season opener and lost, 76-65. Since then, the normally formidable Carolina program has struggled even more than the Irish, so this could be a much-needed reprieve.

Notre Dame has not defeated North Carolina since 2016. To break the skid, it will have to do so on one day of rest and at the end of a challenging stretch. It not only included the landslide loss to the Blue Devils, but also a close overtime defeat to Virginia that was preceded by a win over Clemson.

Juwan Durham will be the player to watch after scoring a career-high 21 points over Duke. It was the first time he has reached the 20-point mark during his career. He is averaging 11.5 points over his past four games while shooting 74 percent from the field.

Breaking: Carl Tucker Jr. announces transfer to Alabama

On Wednesday evening, Carl Tucker announced via twitter, that he has decided to transfer from North Carolina to Alabama.

On Wednesday evening, Carl Tucker announced via twitter, that he has decided to transfer from North Carolina to Alabama.

Yesterday, I posted an article on how Alabama was a favorite to land Carl Tucker, and also shared what his father said about Tucker Jr’s visit to Alabama.

Tucker was recruited by North Carolina in 2015, and was a three star recruit,  He was granted a sixth season of eligibility by the NCAA. In his 38 career games for the Tar Heels, Tucker caught 36 passes for 549 yards and 4 touchdowns.

As a graduate transfer, he will be eligible to play this season. And with an impressive stat of averaging 15.3 yards per catch in his career, he could be a great addition and threat for the Crimson Tide!

Sep 21, 2019; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels tight end Carl Tucker (86) makes a second half touchdown catch against the Appalachian State Mountaineers at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

REPORT: Alabama is the favorite to land NC transfer TE Carl Tucker

Alabama looks to be the favorite school to land the transfer who added himself to the transfer portal earlier this offseason.

This past weekend, former North Carolina tight end Carl Tucker visited Tuscaloosa, and according to Tucker’s father who spoke to AL.com, Alabama looks to be the favorite school to land the transfer who added himself to the transfer portal earlier this offseason.

Sep 21, 2019; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels tight end Carl Tucker (86) celebrates his second half touchdown catch against the Appalachian State Mountaineers at Kenan Memorial Stadium. The Appalachian State Mountaineers defeats the North Carolina Tar Heels 34-31.  James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Carl Tucker Sr. shared that:

“The visit was awesome. Obviously the stature of Alabama football is so huge that we really didn’t know what to expect, but we knew it would be something that we hadn’t seen before. … But it was really good. They really wanted to figure out what questions and concerns we had for Alabama. And they did a really good of explaining why they wanted Carl, what they saw in Carl and where they felt he would be able to help Bama.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Tennessee or Missouri wants him to visit, but I just don’t know at this point if Carl is going to take anything,” Tucker’s dad said. “I know this week he’s not. Possibly the following week. But then again, I don’t know. He had a really good visit at Alabama. Let’s just say that. He could see himself playing at Alabama. Alabama really filled all of the blanks where Carl was and with his concerns.”

Tucker was recruited by North Carolina in 2015, and was a three star recruit,  He was granted a sixth season of eligibility by the NCAA. In his 38 career games for the Tar Heels, Tucker caught 36 passes for 549 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Carl Tucker Sr. also shared with AL.com about Butch Jones’ roll in his choice:

“There’s definitely a relationship there. And when we got there, the first person I wanted to see was Coach Jones. It was really good to see him. We had several conversations during the weekend about how this could be full circle. I think Carl would have probably gone to Tennessee if he hadn’t gone to Carolina. So we felt that it was full circle that Coach Jones was there and he had something to do with bringing Carl into the conversation of going to Alabama.”

Roll Tide Wire will keep you up to date with the latest with all things Alabama football!

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Notre Dame Football: Another Day, Another 2021 Defensive Line Offer Made

Wednesday brought Notre Dame defensive line coach Mike Elston and head coach Brian Kelly extending another offer for the 2021 class.

Yesterday we saw Notre Dame make four different offers to 2021 prospects, all of which play on the defensive line and who come from the state of Georgia.

Wednesday brought Notre Dame defensive line coach Mike Elston and head coach Brian Kelly extending another offer for the 2021 class.

It just didn’t happen to come from Georgia for a change.

Three-star defensive end Keeshawn Silver announced on Twitter that the Fighting Irish offered him a scholarship Wednesday, becoming the 22nd program to do so.

Silver hails from Rocky Mount, North Carolina and plays strong side defensive end.  Notre Dame joins several big-time programs in offering a scholarship including but not limited to: Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Silver has announced on his personal Twitter page that he will announce his top schools on February 21.  He is also listed on 247Sports as having made unofficial visits to North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Florida, Charlotte and Duke.

North Carolina man charged with simple assault after tackling high school wrestler

A North Carolina man was arrested and charged with simple assault over the weekend after making himself the third athlete in a high school wrestling match.

A North Carolina man was arrested and charged with simple assault over the weekend after making himself the third athlete in a high school wrestling match.

Notre Dame Football: Another Visit Planned for Top Running Back Target

Taylor was only a hired last January but already made an impact, perhaps the biggest way being in bringing in talent to the running back position that hasn’t been seen in the Brian Kelly era.

The less-discussed news of Tuesday’s coaching moves at Notre Dame was that running backs coach Lance Taylor had been promoted to run game coordinator.

Taylor was only a hired last January but already made an impact, perhaps the biggest way being in bringing in talent to the running back position that hasn’t been seen in the Brian Kelly era.

Chris Tyree signed his letter of intent in December and was immediately the highest ranked running back to choose Notre Dame in Kelly’s now decade on the job.  Fast-forward a month and the Irish and Taylor specifically, appear set on getting a commitment from another highly-couveted all purpose back.

According to a Mike Singer report at Blue Gold Illustrated, Taylor will be in North Carolina on Friday when the recruiting dead period is lifted and is expected to make a visit to see Will Shipley, the nation’s number-one all purpose back in 2021.

Taylor has already met face-to-face with Shipley five times according to the same report, most of those meetings coming in North Carolina.

Shipley is listed at 6-1, 220 pounds and was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in North Carolina after a junior season that saw him rush for more than 2000 yards and 30 touchdowns while hauling in 582 receiving yards and eight more scores by reception.  It all led to Weddington’s second-straight state championship.

Will Shipley may not choose Notre Dame ultimately but it won’t be because of a lack of an effort by Lance Taylor.

WATCH: Roy Williams gives matter-of-fact assessment about team’s struggles

The Tar Heels are 8-6 coming off a home loss to Georgia Tech, in which UNC had the largest halftime deficit in the history of the Dean E. Smith Center.

It’s a wild season in college basketball, with numerous No. 1 teams toppling to prove it.

Roy William’s North Carolina squad, though, might be the blue blood team having the toughest go of it. The Tar Heels are 8-6 coming off a home loss to Georgia Tech, in which UNC had the largest halftime deficit in the history of the Dean E. Smith Center.

Williams’ assessment of where his program is right now isn’t sugar coating anything.

“We stunk, ok. We were not very good,” Williams said Monday on Roy Williams live!. “The crazy thing about it is, our team, and we’ve had some very gifted teams, this is not a very gifted team. It’s just not.”

UNC has been dismantled with injury, beginning with the preseason. But a knee injury taking star freshman Cole Anthony out of the lineup in December was the toughest blow as it cost the team its leading scorer.

The Tar Heels were 6-3 then and have gone 2-3 since, leaving Williams frustrated. After Saturday’s loss, the coach said he was the “…Most upset, most disappointed I’ve ever been in my life coaching a basketball game.”

Williams has coached and won a lot… His 879th career win Dec. 30 moved him to fourth all-time in NCAA wins as a head coach and tied him with his mentor, Dean Smith, but edging Smith in the records seems to be the furthest thing from Williams’ mind as his team hits uninterrupted ACC play.

On cusp of career milestone, Roy Williams gives matter-of-fact assessment about team’s struggles and

The Tar Heels are 8-6 coming off a home loss to Georgia Tech, in which UNC had the largest halftime deficit in the history of the Dean E. Smith Center.

The Tar Heels are 8-6 coming off a home loss to Georgia Tech, in which UNC had the largest halftime deficit in the history of the Dean E. Smith Center.