More questions for UNC football as probe widens

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08/27/2010 -

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -The probe into North Carolina's football program added another prong. Along with it came another batch of question marks to cloud a promising season.

The school's announcement that the investigation of the Tar Heels' program has expanded into possible academic misconduct - one involving players and a woman who coach Butch Davis previously hired to tutor his son - seemed to raise as many questions as it attempted to answer.

How many players may have been involved? Which ones? What were the possible acts of misconduct? And what effect will this uncertainty have on a team expected to challenge for Atlantic Coast Conference supremacy?

``We are looking into improprieties that existed outside the classroom,'' athletic director Dick Baddour said Thursday night when asked about the specific actions that led to the probe. ``That's about as close to that as I can get.''

Baddour would not identify the players or even estimate any numbers, saying ``to put a bracket around it could be misleading.'' He declined to get into many specifics, saying only that they involved ``a student tutor and student-athletes on the football team.''

The announcement came nine days before the 18th-ranked Tar Heels' opener against No. 21 LSU in Atlanta, and roughly two months after the NCAA began an investigation into whether two key players - defensive tackle Marvin Austin and receiver Greg Little - received improper benefits from agents.

Defensive line coach John Blake's longtime friendship with California-based agent Gary Wichard also has drawn the NCAA's interest.

Joint interviews conducted by NCAA and school investigators during that probe led them to a player who ``raised an issue that we felt like deserved further consideration on our part.

``It led us down a road that brought us to what we're talking about,'' Baddour said.

While the investigation is centered on the football program, Baddour said that ``we will certainly use the opportunity to take a complete look at everything that we're doing in the academic support program.''

Davis declined to identify the tutor in question except to say she was one of the handful his family had hired since their 2007 arrival in Chapel Hill to serve as an academic coach and adviser for his teenage son.

``This is someone that obviously worked with our son,'' Davis said. ``To be honest with you, I think we're really surprised and possibly disappointed, but there's been no revelation as to exactly the extent or what has actually transpired.''

Baddour declined to provide additional details about the tutor, except to say that ``the person was in (the university's) employ. When we found out about the issues, the tutor was not in our employ.''

Baddour said the university has assembled a team to investigate the academic questions. While there is no timetable to resolve that aspect of the probe, ``it is likely that the review would extend beyond the start of the season,'' he said.

If that happens, he said the school will decide if those players will play against LSU, and Baddour said that decision could come as late as gameday.

``The investigation now has two prongs, so I want to caution you against making assumptions if student-athletes don't play,'' Baddour said.

Davis did acknowledge that starting on Monday, he moved some players around the depth chart as part of a contingency plan in case they aren't permitted to play. He did not specify which players have risen or fallen.

Chancellor Holden Thorp began the news conference by saying ``to everyone who loves this university, I'm sorry about what I have to tell you,'' then vowed that administrators are taking the probe seriously but expressed hope that its scope ultimately would be limited.

``We will find out what happened. We will do everything we can to keep it from happening again,'' he said. ``And we will not let these mistakes define our university and what we stand for.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

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