If the reports from training camp prove to be accurate once the season begins, North Carolina could have its most potent offense in years.

The Tar Heels appear to possess a strong offensive line, an excellent set of running backs and a proven group of gifted receivers, all to go with quarterback T.J. Yates in his second season as a starter.

Carolina held its first scrimmage on Saturday, and the results went the offense's way.

"They executed the running game very well," Davis said. "T.J. made some good decisions throwing the football. I thought the second group did the exact same thing."

Running back Shaun Draughn and backup quarterback Mike Paulus both had a good scrimmage, Davis said. The same went for the offensive line.

Davis conceded that coaches challenged UNC's defense by making it play its base package for most of the scrimmage, which he said gave the offense a slight advantage.

"This was a scrimmage we wanted the guys to focus on playing the scheme," Davis said. "We didn't want to try to help them make plays. We said that, out of maybe 50 of the 75 plays, we weren't going to do any kind of schematic pressures: blitzes, zone dogs, those things. We were going to keep it to less than 10 percent. We wanted to see guys line up, read, react, get off of blocks and make plays.

"Our defensive team will learn an awful lot from watching this tape. There were some bright spots. Kennedy Tinsley did some very good things. I thought Marvin Austin and E.J. Wilson made some very good plays. Quinton Coples made some good plays. Robert Quinn made some very good plays at defensive end."

Davis was "really pleased" with the way the secondary tackled.

"We're trying to work very hard on our secondary being very aggressive, but also very sure tacklers," Davis said. "When we make contact, we're trying to wrap up, club up, get our fingers in the cloth and get the guy down or get him out of bounds."

The big thing, he said, was to stop receivers from getting extra yards after a catch.

"I think last year, we figured out we had maybe 400 yards in additional offense just after the first guy hit him, they broke a tackle, didn't make a good tackle, missed a tackle."

In other news, Davis said that incoming freshman wide receiver Dwight Jones of Burlington, who was declared eligible last week, and the NCAA ruled he could leave Division II Valdosta State and enroll at Carolina, may have a chance to contribute now that he is at UNC.

Jones had been mistakenly ruled ineligible. An appeal proved otherwise.

After he signed with UNC two years ago, he failed to qualify academically and attended Hargrave Military Academy for a semester. A misunderstanding of the core classes he needed led Jones to believe he couldn't qualify for entry into UNC. The NCAA ruled he could transfer back immediately without having to sit out a year.

"It will be interesting," Davis said. "Dwight is a very gifted athlete. He played some at Hargrave, and he has practiced a couple of days this fall already. There is a learning curve. He has to learn formations, personnel groupings, those kinds of things. The one caveat for any skilled athlete coming in is they have a chance to figure in and play, versus like say, an offensive lineman.

"We'll see when he gets here. I'm know I'm anxious for him to get here. I know our team is anxious for him to be a part of our team."

Yates said that Jones' presence will provide the offense with just one more outstanding tool.

"It's another weapon," Yates said. "We have so many out there. That is just going to add to the great talent we have on this offensive side of the ball. I'm anxious to see what he can do."

Carolina already has one surprise weapon no one expected to have when spring ball ended. Draughn moved from safety to running back after spring practice, and he has been the surprise of camp so far.

"I knew he played running back in high school," Yates said. "I had seen his tape from high school. I knew he had the talent to do it. He's been on defense for two years, and after just one week of coming back to running back, he is doing amazing.

"He's fast; he's quick. He can burst out of those cuts real fast. He's a big, strong kid. A couple of guys on the sideline were comparing him to Reggie Bush" (a former Southern Cal Heisman Trophy winner).

Starting running back Greg Little said that he did not get to carry the ball a lot on Saturday, but he tried to make the most of any opportunity that came his way.

"I didn't get many reps running the ball, but when I did, we talk about what to do when you get that little crumb," Little said. "How do you turn that into a meal? So, every opportunity that we get, we try to make the most of that opportunity."