North Carolina took a slightly different approach on special teams at its weekend football scrimmage.

The team ran through multiple scenarios Saturday at Kenan Stadium in preparation of its Aug. 30 opening game against McNeese State at 6 p.m.

"We spent a significant amount of time, the first 30 minutes, exclusively on special teams," Davis said after Saturday's event in Kenan Stadium. "This time was a little different than the first scrimmage.

"We spent some time on some of the nuances, the unusual things that come up: onside kicks, how to defend them and also how to execute them if you're ever put in those kinds of situations; backed up punts inside your own 5-yard line and you've got to get the ball off; how to maybe take a safety at the end of the ball game."

Davis remembered coaching a game at the University of Miami, where the outcome came down to a final punt by West Virginia.

"If they get the punt off, we lose the game. Fortunately for us, there was less than 30 seconds left. We blocked a punt and actually picked it up and scored to win the game.

"If they just knew how to take a safety at that particular time, we lose the ball game. We have no chance to win."

Coaches try their best to cover all possible scenarios in training camp, while at the same time focusing on running plays properly, making sure that blocking, tackling and all the other fundamentals are executed properly.

Most people don't know how much time is spent on just getting lined up in the right spots on defense.

For the average fan, a month's worth of training camp, which includes some two-a-day practices, probably seems like plenty of time to get prepared, but football is a physical, bitterly fought game that features more potential scenarios than any coach can cover completely in 30 days.

And don't forget this is just the second season for the Tar Heels under Davis and his staff, and on top of that, the defense has a new coordinator in Everett Withers.

The one area that seems to be going well, perhaps better than it has in years, is the running game. The offensive line is big, strong and experienced. Greg Little is a gifted running back. Shaun Draughn, a runner in high school who spent his first two seasons at safety at UNC, is the find of the summer; now that he has moved to running back, he is making an enormous impact each day.

Draughn scored a touchdown on Saturday. He also showed his strength by knocking a cornerback to the ground with a stiff-arm maneuver.

Defensively, the strong and consistent execution of the running game has been pushing the defense to get better at stopping the run. And stopping the run is the No. 1 goal for a defense that needs to continue the improvement it showed at times a year ago.

"We have to give our offense a great deal of kudos because they are really running the ball well," safety Deunta Williams said. "We have talented backs. We have a great offensive line that came back, everybody except one guy from last year. They are really making us be tough. It's really physical every day in practice.

"We're trying to stop the run. At times we do good things. During the scrimmages we play a lot of base defense, so it's hard to simulate what we'll do in the game. But I think we're doing pretty good against the run. Our defensive linemen help out a lot."

One of the biggest keys to stopping the run is for the defensive tackles to win the battle for the territory along the line of scrimmage and keep the offensive linemen off Carolina's linebackers.

Senior middle linebacker Mark Paschal says that he's excited about the big tackles playing in front of him.

"I think we have some of the best defensive tackles in the country," Paschal said. "They do a great job of securing their gap and keeping guys off me, and without them my job is nearly impossible.

"Marvin (Austin) is obvious, but who has really surprised me is big Cam (Thomas). He has done a phenomenal job. He is going to be a force to be reckoned with. He is so powerful. He'll be one to really look for."