College Football: 5 second and third-year coaches who’ll contend in 2020

Mack Brown is proof you can go home again. There was a lot of doubt as to whether or not he had the stuff to go back to Chapel Hill and rebuild the University of North Carolina football program. Year one is “so far so good”.

Brown kept Sam Howell in state and that was parlayed into a conference freshman of the year award. He brought a player-centered approach — something sorely lacking under Larry Fedora —  last season. Brown began his rebuild of the North Carolina program from the inside out.

He and his staff began closing holes in their recruiting. Twenty-eight players are from North Carolina in his last two recruiting cycles. Suffice it to say, the future looks good for Brown and the Tar Heels.

On the field, the young players took their lumps but played tough in every game last season. No team in the ACC played Clemson tougher last season. They won their fair share of one-possession games last season as well.

What makes them contenders this season? Virginia — last season’s ACC Coastal winner — lost a lot of talent from last season’s roster including “Mr. Do-Everything” Bryce Perkins as well as last season’s leading receivers Joe Reed and Hasise Dubois. Miami won the offseason — again — so we’ll see if that translates to the field.

The Coastal is usually wide open, but the Tar Heels have the best quarterback in the division and that gives them an advantage.