One can tell quite a bit about the assistants, and the head coach for that matter, in how they recognize and utilize the talent at their disposal.

There is no better example than Brandon Tate, a senior wide receiver and return specialist for Carolina.

John Bunting and his staff had the good sense to sign Tate, a kid from nearby Burlington, when the young man nearly got lost in the recruiting shuffle. And they saw from the outset that he could put the special in special teams with his ability to return kickoffs and punts.

In his first three seasons, Tate has three touchdowns on kickoff returns and two on punt returns. He is quite simply an electrifying player.

Which begs the question: Why not get him the ball on offense?

Tate did not catch a pass his freshman year or run the ball from scrimmage once. His sophomore season, he had five catches and ran the ball three times, but didn't score a touchdown either way.

For whatever reason (and those reasons may have been legitimate, given how players grow and develop), Bunting's staff never incorporated Tate into the basic offense; they never fully explored his skills or how to turn them into even more touchdowns.

John Shoop, offense coordinator under Butch Davis, obviously viewed Tate's role differently. He saw an electrifying, touchdown-scoring machine, someone who could blow by defenses as a receiver and drive the opposition nuts as a runner from scrimmage.

The result: Tate caught 25 passes last season and scored five touchdowns receiving. He ran the ball 15 times as a wideout and scored a touchdown that way. He also scored once as a return man on a punt. In all, he produced seven trips to the end zone.

Tate scored one-quarter of the Tar Heels' TDs, the most of anyone on the team.

There were times when Tate simply became a streak and exploded past entire defenses as quarterback T.J. Yates threw the ball 40 or 50 yards over Tate's shoulder and into his waiting hands for a touchdown.

Other times, Shoop would just line Tate up in the backfield and have Yates hand him the ball.

Look for Shoop to find new ways to isolate Tate on linebackers and defensive backs this season because the experience of a year ago has only given Tate the incentive to improve himself in every way. In addition, Shoop's mind never stops churning as he thinks of ways to use the weapons at his disposal.

"He'll shoot me a text message at 10 o'clock at night," Yates said, laughing. "'I'm thinking about this new blah, blah, blah. What do you think about it?'

"He has the most energy of any coach I've ever been around. He never stops. He is always on the move. He is always brewing something up. He's like a mad scientist."

Tate's understanding of the game as a senior should only help Shoop brew up an even greater role for this exciting young man, helping him to make a greater impact for the 2008 team.

"It's real important in this offense to make a big play, and I think I play a huge role in that," Tate said. "I want to repeat what I did last year but only better."

Tate said he has refined his techniques as he has matured, and that includes doing some of the dirty work he may have not have embraced before.

"My route running and my blocking in the running game have improved," Tate said. "My blocking has come a long ways. Blocking is real important if you want to go to the next level. It's my senior year, so I have to go out and go hard every play."

For anyone who watched Tate return kicks last season, it was obvious he had matured as a return man. Even though opposing teams would prefer not to give Tate a chance, he still got the ball. When he did return a kick, especially kickoffs, it was apparent he slowed down to speed up, choosing his moment rather than plunging ahead pell-mell.

In other words, he learned to trust his ability to explode and to temper his speed with patience. He vastly improved vision of the field and his ability to pick his way through the coverage initially before turning on the jets.

"At first, I used to just run," Tate said. "But the coaches told me to be patient and wait on my blocks and then burst through the hole.

"Now that I've been doing it for four years, I feel more relaxed back there. I trust my teammates."

One thing has not changed about Tate. It's utter conviction that he can turn any opportunity with the ball in his hands into something exciting for the Tar Heels.

"I see it as a chance to score," Tate said. "Every time I go out there, I'm trying to score -- every time."

He has proven that is not an unrealistic expectation.