Defensive tackle looks to be position of strength for Heels

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Defensive tackle looks to be position of strength for Heels

By Greg Barnes, InsideCarolina.com

Aug 7, 2008

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina’s defensive tackles undoubtedly have the highest expectations out of any position unit heading into the 2008 season. One man stands out in that group, literally – Cam Thomas represents the resident run-stopper at tackle, standing 6-foot-3 and weighing in at 330 pounds.

“We’re trying to be the No. 1 defensive line in the nation, and the No. 1 defense,” Thomas said on Wednesday. “You can tell there’s a difference in the atmosphere out there [at practice]. When you step on that field, when you walk through that gate, you just feel electric.”

The red-shirt junior joins sophomore sensation Marvin Austin, red-shirt freshman Tydreke Powell and juniors Aleric Mullins and Tavares Brown in the battle for playing time in the middle of the defensive line. Thomas and Austin have been working with the first unit in the early part of training camp, but the Eagle Springs, N.C. product claims that the depth chart is irrelevant for his unit.

“It really doesn’t matter,” said Thomas, who tallied 8 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack in 2007. “We’re all competing every day. Everybody wants it… All meals must be finished.”

Thomas had earned a starting position at the nose tackle spot heading into the 2007 campaign, but a high right ankle sprain in the season opener disrupted his plans for a dominant season, forcing him to miss five games.

“It affected me a lot,” Thomas said. “I got hurt against James Madison, and then I was hurt for a couple of games. Basically, I’m a big boy and I love to eat, so I was gaining weight. And then when [the ankle] started to heal, it wasn’t healing the way it was supposed to be because I was pounding on it and gaining weight, too. It was bad.”

So how much weight did the 330-pounder gain?

“We’re going to keep that under wraps,” Thomas said, smiling.

You would expect a man of Cam’s size to have incredible strength, and the red-shirt junior meets that description perfectly. Thomas power cleans 379 pounds, and is hoping to break former offensive lineman Jason Brown’s school record of 416 pounds before he leaves Chapel Hill.

Thomas squats 711 pounds – three more than former defensive lineman Ryan Sims’ DL record of 708 – but Brown’s 760-pound mark is a stout task to overcome. Thomas described that number as “ridiculous, something that only a man child can do.”

But having strength means little if you cannot maximize those abilities with a full workout regimen.

“Anybody can be strong,” Thomas said. “You can be strong on the field, but if you don’t have conditioning with it, then it’s basically useless. With all that power and no conditioning, after two or three plays, you’re done. So I really try to work on conditioning – I think I’m better conditioned this year than I have been in past years.”

A common thread among the Tar Heels this preseason is that personal goals have been pushed to the side, and talk of team goals is more prevalent in post-practice interviews.

“I just want to do better than my past years,” Thomas said. “I played and stuff, but I didn’t come off like the player that I know I can be – the dominant ‘Hulk’ that I can be. If we come out like one big fist, then nobody can stop us.”

And what about the hype surrounding this program, culminating in the ACC media voting North Carolina to finish second in the conference’s Coastal Division?

“It’s not hype,” Thomas said. “It’s about to come true. That’s not talk, it’s about to be real. We’re ready. We’re practicing every day like we’re ready. We’re focused, and it’s about to be the real deal.”

Thomas is back to full health, and he’s ready for his chance to get back on the field this fall and show the Tar Heel fan base what he had hoped to show them last season.

“I could do a backflip right now,” Thomas said. “I’m not going to show you – I’ll keep that under wraps, but I could do a backflip right now. I can’t wait.”

Most Recent Comments

Better than Mediocrity has changed his name again...now it's Heels Heaven. He will continue this pathetic charade because he is too ashamed to talk up his own team.

You'd think that these fans in disguise (like "Better Than Mediocrity") would realize that they look obsessed but I guess they don't see that side of it.

Or maybe they do see that side of it but think that's the only way they can "score points" against their rival? Pathetic either way.

Better Than Mediocrity is an IDIOT!!!

Better Than Mediocrity = Not a Carolina Fan

Better Than Mediocrity = Troll

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