With all new receivers and questionable depth along the offensive line, the University of North Carolina's defense may very well have to carry a large load early in this football season.

That side of the ball should be up to the task, too. There are plenty of talented players who have experience.

"Our defense is so much better than they were last year," said quarterback T.J. Yates, who saw a lot of the Tar Heels' defense in spring ball. "We have so much team speed. Our defensive line, they have like three starting lines. It's definitely a challenge each day to go against them."

This should be the fastest Carolina defense since Mack Brown's great teams of 1996 and '97. All three starting linebackers are fast. Quan Sturdivant and Bruce Carter should be able to use their speed better than at any point in their careers, because they know where to be, and playing instinctively increases any athlete's movement.

"I haven't seen a group of linebacker this fast since I've been following college football," said defensive end E.J. Wilson, noting that UNC's starting linebackers have been clocked at 4.4 seconds over 40 yards. "And one of them runs 4.2. That's unheard-of."

Then there is the depth factor. Carolina is two and three deep across the defensive line.

"The defense has grown a lot," Wilson said. "A lot of us have been here for three years. We got a chance to know each other on and off the field. We built a strong relationship on and off the field.

"A lot people don't realize, but the off-the-field relationship has a lot to do with how you play. If you build a strong relationship with a person and you let them down by not doing your job, then it hurts you more."

The combination of experience and speed should mean a better pass rush, Wilson said.

"This year we can pressure more because we have a secondary and linebackers who understand coverage more," he said. "They understand a quarterback's hot routes, where they are going to look. ... [Experience] will cause a lot more turnovers, because it will allow us to bring more pressure."

Of course, all this talk involves the word "potential," and that has been hung around the neck of North Carolina's defense for a couple of years.

For their part, Wilson said, the defensive linemen have stressed getting a stronger jump off the ball so they can get more sacks and give up fewer big plays.

"We have been working a lot more on getting out of our stance and our get-offs," Wilson said. "Most of the time, guys are trying to read our keys and look at the ball, so we're not getting off the ball that well. We've been working more on seeing the ball out of our side eye."

As for the offense, Yates expects it to come along quicker than people may anticipate.

Coach Butch Davis agreed. He said that junior receiver Greg Little of Durham will be a person the offense looks to for a jump-start.

"We are not going to be without talent," Davis said. "We're not going to be without guys that we expect to play well. They're younger and inexperienced. There are a lot of things they have to learn to handle.

"Greg Little is the most experienced player that we've got. He's started at running back and at wide receiver. This [receiver] is clearly the position he was recruited to play. The experience at running back could be a blessing in disguise. He learned to be physical with the football."

Players with experience at different spots allow UNC to be flexible.

Davis said: "You'll probably see us being creative about certain packages for certain kids."

- chn -