2016 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

The 2016 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a member of Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by fifth-year head coach Larry Fedora and played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium. The Tar Heels finished the season 8–5 overall and 5–3 in ACC play to place in a three-way tie for second in the Coastal Division. They were invited to the Sun Bowl, where they lost to Stanford.

2016 North Carolina Tar Heels football
Sun Bowl, L 23–25 vs. Stanford
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Division	Coastal Division
Record	8–5 (5–3 ACC)
Head coach	Larry Fedora (5th season)
Co-offensive coordinators	Gunter Brewer (3rd season) Chris Kapilovic (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Gene Chizik (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Captains	Mack Hollins Nazair Jones Des Lawrence Caleb Peterson Mitchell Trubisky Nick Weiler
Home stadium	Kenan Memorial Stadium
Uniform
Seasons ← 2015 2017 →

2016 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Atlantic Division
No. 1 Clemson xy$#		7	–	1					14	–	1
No. 21 Louisville x		7	–	1					9	–	4
No. 8 Florida State		5	–	3					10	–	3
NC State		3	–	5					7	–	6
Wake Forest		3	–	5					7	–	6
Boston College		2	–	6					7	–	6
Syracuse		2	–	6					4	–	8
Coastal Division
No. 16 Virginia Tech xy		6	–	2					10	–	4
North Carolina		5	–	3					8	–	5
No. 20 Miami (FL)		5	–	3					9	–	4
Pittsburgh		5	–	3					8	–	5
Georgia Tech		4	–	4					9	–	4
Duke		1	–	7					4	–	8
Virginia		1	–	7					2	–	10
Championship: Clemson 42, Virginia Tech 35
# – College Football Playoff champion $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Recruiting

National Signing Day was on February 3, 2016 and was the first chance for high school seniors to officially declare which university or college they will be attending for their college career. North Carolina had 26 high school seniors sign a National Letter of Intent to play football with them. Of the class, 7 athletes enrolled early to UNC.^[1]

College recruiting information (2016)
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	40‡	Commit date
Jordon Brown RB	Durham, NC	Southern Durham HS	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	4.56	Aug 17, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (79)
Logan Byrd QB	Kathleen, GA	Veterans HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	238 lb (108 kg)	4.89	Apr 9, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (80)
Kyree Campbell^ DT	Woodbridge, VA	Woodbridge HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	305 lb (138 kg)	5.44	Aug 5, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (80)
Allen Cater DE	Kennesaw, GA	Mount Paran Christian School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	242 lb (110 kg)	5.32	Feb 3, 2016
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (73)
J.B. Copeland LB	Southlake, TX	Navarro College	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	N/A	Feb 4, 2016
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (74)
Nolan DeFranco DE	Winter Garden, FL	West Orange HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	226 lb (103 kg)	4.89	Jun 17, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (75)
Myles Dorn WR/DB/S	Charlotte, NC	Julius L. Chambers HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	4.58	Dec 5, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (79)
Marlon Dunlap DT	Charlotte, NC	West Charlotte HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	290 lb (130 kg)	5.24	Oct 26, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (75)
Luke Elder OG	LaGrange, GA	LaGrange HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	282 lb (128 kg)	5.55	Jun 21, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (78)
D.J. Ford S	Lineville, AL	Clay Central HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	N/A	Jan 17, 2016
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (73)
Tomon Fox DE	Suwanee, GA	Collins Hill HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	232 lb (105 kg)	4.88	Jun 21, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (82)
Rontavius Groves WR/CB	Nashville, TN	Pearl-Cohn HS	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	4.5	Dec 6, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (76)
Tyrone Hopper LB	Roswell, GA	Roswell HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	202 lb (92 kg)	4.74	Jun 16, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (75)
Roscoe Johnson WR	Union, SC	Union County HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	173 lb (78 kg)	4.5	Jul 15, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (77)
Jay Jay McCargo OT	Arlington, VA	Bishop O'Connell HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	283 lb (128 kg)	5.4	Apr 25, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (79)
James Pierre^ S	Deerfield Beach, FL	Deerfield Beach HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	4.61	May 19, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (76)
Tyler Pritchett OG	Auburn, AL	Auburn HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	290 lb (130 kg)	5.5	Apr 14, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (78)
Patrice Rene CB	Alexandria, VA	Episcopal HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	4.57	Jan 20, 2016
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (80)
Gregory Ross S	Oxon Hill, MD	Potomac HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	4.55	May 23, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (74)
Dominique Ross LB	Jacksonville, FL	Trinity Christian Academy	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	N/A	Jun 16, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (77)
K.J. Sails S	Gibsonton, FL	East Bay HS	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	164 lb (74 kg)	4.5	Feb 3, 2016
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (74)
Jonathan Smith LB	Laurinburg, NC	Scotland HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	229 lb (104 kg)	4.77	Aug 17, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (76)
Chazz Surratt QB	Denver, NC	East Lincoln HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	4.5	Jun 26, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (80)
Noah Turner TE	Mundelein, IL	Carmel Catholic HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	237 lb (108 kg)	4.69	Jul 3, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (75)
Garrett Walston TE	Wilmington, NC	New Hanover HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	N/A	Oct 8, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (79)
Myles Wolfolk CB	Upper Marlboro, MD	Dr. Henry A. Wise, Jr HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	4.5	Nov 29, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (74)
Overall recruit ranking:   Scout: 25    Rivals: 25    247Sports: 36    ESPN: 34
‡ Refers to 40-yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "North Carolina Football Commitment List (19)". Rivals. Retrieved June 10, 2016. "2016 North Carolina Football Recruiting Commits". Scout. Retrieved June 10, 2016. "North Carolina Tar Heels 2016 Player Commits". ESPN. Retrieved June 10, 2016. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout. Retrieved June 10, 2016. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved June 10, 2016. "North Carolina 2016 Football Commits". 247Sports. Retrieved June 10, 2016.

^These signees will not be enrolling at UNC in 2016 due to not being admitted into the school.^[2][3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	5:30 p.m.	vs. No. 18 Georgia*	No. 22	Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA (Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game)	ESPN	L 24–33	75,405[4]
September 10	7:30 p.m.	at Illinois*		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	BTN	W 48–23	60,670[4]
September 17	3:30 p.m.	11 (FCS) James Madison*		Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	ACCRSN	W 56–28	56,000[4]
September 24	3:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh		Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	ESPNU	W 37–36	54,500[4]
October 1	3:30 p.m.	at No. 12 Florida State		Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPN	W 37–35	77,584[4]
October 8	3:30 p.m.	No. 25 Virginia Tech	No. 17	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	ABC/ESPN2	L 3–34	33,000[4]
October 15	3:30 p.m.	at No. 16 Miami (FL)		Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, FL	ABC/ESPN2	W 20–13	58,731[4]
October 22	3:00 p.m.	at Virginia	No. 22	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA (South's Oldest Rivalry)	ACCRSN	W 35–14	40,882[4]
November 5	12:30 p.m.	Georgia Tech	No. 21	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	ACCN	W 48–20	58,000[4]
November 10	7:30 p.m.	at Duke	No. 17	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC (Victory Bell)	ESPN	L 27–28	39,212[4]
November 19	3:30 p.m.	No. 5 (FCS) The Citadel*		Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	ACCN+	W 41–7	41,000[4]
November 25	12:00 p.m.	NC State		Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry)	ESPN	L 21–28	59,000[4]
December 30	2:00 p.m.	vs. No. 18 Stanford*		Sun Bowl El Paso, TX (Sun Bowl)	CBS	L 23–25	42,166[4]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 1 released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

^[5]

Personnel

North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora enters his fifth year as the North Carolina's head coach for the 2016 season. At the end of the 2015 season, assistant head coach, Seth Littrell, was hired as the head coach at North Texas.^[6] As a result, co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, Chris Kapilovic, was promoted to offensive coordinator, and will retain his role as offensive line coach.^[7] Former Tar Heel player, Chad Scott, was hired to replace Littrell as the tight ends/hybrids coach.^[8]

Roster

2016 North Carolina Tar Heels football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 10 Mitchell Trubisky Jr QB 11 Nathan Elliott  Fr QB 12 Chazz Surratt Fr QB 14 Logan Byrd Fr QB 16 Manny Miles  Fr RB 1 Khris Francis Sr RB 2 Jordon Brown Fr RB 8 T. J. Logan Sr RB 27 Darius Graves So RB 32 Jacob Schmidt So RB 33 Antonio James So RB 34 Elijah Hood Jr RB 38 David Smith Jr. So FB 47 Don Mastromatteo Sr WR 3 Ryan Switzer Sr WR 4 Rontavius Groves Fr WR 5 Juval Mollette  Fr WR 7 Austin Proehl Jr WR 9 Roscoe Johnson Fr WR 13 Mack Hollins Sr WR 15 Jordan Cunningham Jr WR 17 Anthony Ratliff-Williams  Fr WR 18 Josh Cabrera So WR 21 Devin Perry So WR 28 Dante DiMaggio So WR 48 Thomas Jackson Jr WR 81 Hunter Smith So WR 84 Bug Howard Sr TE 80 Jake Bargas  Fr TE 82 Brandon Fritts So TE 83 Garrett Walston Fr TE 86 Carl Tucker  Fr TE 87 Noah Turner Fr TE 89 Jared Worley  Fr OT 51 William Sweet  Fr OT 67 Charlie Heck  Fr OT 71 Jon Heck Sr OT 75 Bentley Spain Jr OT 76 R. J. Prince Jr OT 77 John Ferranto Sr G 70 Caleb Peterson Sr G 72 Mason Veal  Fr G 73 Brad Henson Jr C 52 Tommy Hatton  Fr OL 55 Jay-Jay McCargo Fr OL 57 Tyler Pritchett Fr OL 58 Nick Polino  Fr OL 62 Mark Uptegraff Jr OL 69 Jonathan Trull Jr OL 78 Layton Barber Fr OL 79 Luke Elder Fr C 68 Lucas Crowley Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 2 Des Lawrence Sr CB 6 M. J. Stewart Jr CB 18 Corey Bell Jr. So S 15 Donnie Miles Jr S 16 Stephen Albright  Fr S 26 Dominquie Green Sr S 27 Jaye Stackhouse  Fr S 29 J. K. Britt So S 31 Cameron Albright So DB 5 Patrice Rene Fr DB 8 Greg Ross Fr DB 9 K. J. Sails Fr DB 11 Myles Wolfolk Fr DB 13 Jesse Cuccia So DB 16 D. J. Ford Fr DB 19 Robert Morgan Jr DB 20 Thomas Brown So DB 21 Myles Dorn Fr DB 24 Zach Goins So DB 28 Simeon Gatling Fr DB 35 Chris Ripberger Jr DB 48 Robert James So LB 4 Allen Artis Jr LB 7 Jonathan Smith Fr LB 10 Andre Smith So LB 20 Dominique Ross Fr LB 23 Cayson Collins Jr LB 25 Ayden Bonilla So LB 30 Hunter Crafford Jr LB 36 Cole Holcomb So LB 38 Keith Beasley Jr. So LB 41 J. B. Copeland Jr LB 42 Tyrone Hopper Fr LB 44 Sam Blobe So LB 52 Kemmi Pettway Jr LB 54 Johnathon Sutton  Fr LB 57 Marlon Petty Jr DE 12 Tomon Fox Fr DE 17 Dajuan Drennon Jr DE 33 Allen Cater Fr DE 45 Mikey Bart Sr DE 53 Malik Carney So DE 55 Jason Strowbridge  Fr DE 58 Josh Strickland So DE 91 Nolan DeFranco Fr DE 96 Matt Gampe So DE 98 Connor Barringer Jr DT 49 Jeremiah Clarke So DT 90 Nazair Jones Jr DT 92 Aaron Crawford  Fr DT 93 Robert Dinkins So DT 94 Marlon Dunlap Fr DT 97 Jalen Dalton So DL 95 Tyler Powell Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 24 Nick Weiler Sr K 90 Connor Albrecht So K 95 Tolson Jeffrey So K 98 Freeman Jones So P 14 Joey Mangili Sr P 39 Tom Shelton Fr P 91 Hunter Lent So LS 41 Kyle Murphy Jr LS 61 Tommy Bancroft So	Head coach Larry Fedora Coordinators/assistant coaches Gunter Brewer (OC/WR) Gene Chizik (DC) Keith Heckendorf (QB) Lou Hernandez (Str+Cond) Chris Kapilovic (OC/OL) John Papuchis (LB) Chad Scott (TE) Tray Scott (DL) Charlton Warren (DB) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Game summaries

Vs. Georgia

	1	2	3	4	Total
#22 Tar Heels	0	10	14	0	24
#18 Bulldogs	7	7	9	10	33

See also: 2016 Georgia Bulldogs football team

At Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tar Heels	17	7	7	17	48
Fighting Illini	14	2	0	7	23

See also: 2016 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

James Madison

	1	2	3	4	Total
#11 (FCS) Dukes	21	0	7	0	28
Tar Heels	14	21	14	7	56

See also: 2016 James Madison Dukes football team

Pittsburgh

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	5	14	14	3	36
Tar Heels	0	16	7	14	37

See also: 2016 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

At Florida State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tar Heels	7	14	7	9	37
#12 Seminoles	0	7	7	21	35

See also: 2016 Florida State Seminoles football team

Virginia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
#25 Hokies	6	7	14	7	34
#17 Tar Heels	0	3	0	0	3

See also: 2016 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

At Miami (FL)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tar Heels	10	10	0	0	20
#16 Hurricanes	0	3	7	3	13

See also: 2016 Miami Hurricanes football team

At Virginia

	1	2	3	4	Total
#22 Tar Heels	7	7	14	7	35
Cavaliers	0	7	0	7	14

See also: 2016 Virginia Cavaliers football team and South's Oldest Rivalry

Georgia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Yellow Jackets	7	10	3	0	20
#18 Tar Heels	17	10	14	7	48

See also: 2016 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team

At Duke

	1	2	3	4	Total
#15 Tar Heels	14	7	6	0	27
Blue Devils	0	21	7	0	28

See also: 2016 Duke Blue Devils football team and Victory Bell (Duke–North Carolina)

The Citadel

	1	2	3	4	Total
#5 (FCS) Bulldogs	0	0	0	7	7
Tar Heels	14	17	10	0	41

See also: 2016 The Citadel Bulldogs football team

NC State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wolfpack	14	7	7	0	28
Tar Heels	0	7	0	14	21

See also: 2016 NC State Wolfpack football team and North Carolina–NC State football rivalry

Stanford–Sun Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
#16 Cardinal	7	6	3	9	25
Tar Heels	7	0	10	6	23

See also: 2016 Stanford Cardinal football team and 2016 Sun Bowl

Rankings

Further information: 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	22	RV	RV	RV	RV	17	RV	22	21	18	15	RV	RV	—	—	RV
Coaches	20	RV	RV	RV	23	16	RV	21	20	17	13	24	25	RV	RV	—
CFP	Not released									21	17	—	—	—	—	Not released