North Carolina’s offensive line has found a starting five, but the Tar Heels are still searching for the rest of the room.
Through the early part of the season, four of UNC’s five starters have logged 169 or 170 snaps. The other has played 123.
That kind of continuity can be a good sign - the group is getting every rep together, building the kind of chemistry offensive lines live on. But it also leaves very little margin if injuries or other attrition start to hit.
So far, the Tar Heels have used only six offensive linemen in the thick of real game action. Outside of the 35-3 win over East Tennessee State, when the starters came out after UNC pushed the lead to five touchdowns, only one reserve has been part of the regular mix up front.
That’s the reality Will Friend is trying to manage.
"It'll be different in a month from now than it is right now," UNC offensive line coach Will Friend said earlier this week, when addressing the probability of an injury or two hitting his unit. "After 28 years, it always is. There will be somebody else that starts to step up."
For now, the one reserve who has broken through is true freshman Cristian Alvarez. The 6-foot-4, 300-pound lineman from Woodcliff Lake, NJ, was a 3-star recruit in high school and ranked by 247Sports as the No. 255 interior offensive lineman in the country.
Alvarez did not take an offensive snap in the opener against TCU, but he played 39 snaps in the win over ETSU and added 21 in the loss at Clemson. That has been enough to earn real trust from Friend.
"He's gotten better through camp, and as the season has progressed, so he's earned the right to play because of the way he's practiced," Friend said. "Cristian's a tough kid and plays hard. So, we're excited about his progress… He's kind of progressed to the point where he deserves to play."
Beyond Alvarez, the depth chart is still pretty thin. Jordan Hall has held down left tackle, Andrew Threatt left guard, Christo Kelly center and Shaq McRoy right guard, while Aidan Banfield is the one starter sharing time.
Banfield came into the season viewed as one of UNC’s better prospects for the next level, but he had a rough outing against TCU. After the open week, he split work with Alvarez at right guard.
Friend said Banfield is back where the staff wants him.
"He's a hard worker," he said. "In the time that I've been here, he got hurt early in the year last year, and kind of worked his way back. Really, Cristian's deal has been the fact that he's performed well at practice.
"And this is a long season, and something's going to happen throughout the course of the year. You've got to be able to be a next-man-up guy. Cristian has worked himself into being the sixth guy, so to speak."
If the Tar Heels need another body, Friend pointed to Eidan Buchanan as the next tackle in line.
" Eidan Buchanan is kind of the next guy at tackle, so he's worked there," Friend said. "He played some last year early. So, he's kind of working into that role for us."
Buchanan, a 6-foot-9, 330-pound sophomore from Montgomery Village, MD, started last season’s opener against TCU as a true freshman. But his year quickly faded after a difficult start.
He played the first 24 offensive snaps in that game and then logged just 38 more the rest of the season. Three of those came in a win at Charlotte, and 35 came in a win over FCS member Richmond.
Buchanan is a tackle, Friend said, while Alvarez is a guard. Buchanan can handle both tackle spots, and Alvarez likely can play both guard positions, though he has only lined up on the right side so far.
After those two, the picture gets murky fast. Alvarez and Buchanan have combined for 136 career snaps, and UNC is still in the middle of trying to build enough trust and depth to survive the long haul.
Friend says the formula is simple: practice well, improve, and earn more chances.
"You earn the right to play by how you practice and how you improve with practice," Friend said. "They know that, and that's kind of a big part.
If guys are performing in practice, they'll get opportunities. And sometimes as a player, it may not be as much as you want and you are practicing well, because somebody else is playing pretty good."
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