It became clear after Mike Paulus dropped to third on the depth chart behind Braden Hansen and a wildly inaccurate T.J. Yates, the handwriting was on the wall. When you toss Bryn Renner into the mix, I am guessing Paulus did not want run the risk of being fourth on the depth chart at QB. By transferring to William & Mary, which is a I-AA school, Paulus will not have to sit one season.
The interesting twist is UNC plays William & Mary next October which might pit Paulus against his former team. Slightly less interesting is that Paulus is transferring to a team that has beaten Virginia more often in the past three years than UNC has.
Thus ends the enigma which has been the career of Mike Paulus. Coming out of high school, Paulus was so highly touted. From the day he committed, the message boards had anointed him the UNC version of NCSU’s Philip Rivers meaning he was destined to be one of the great QBs of the ACC. Even before he stepped foot on campus, Paulus made waves. During the coaching search following the dismissal of TCWSNBN, Paulus made statements to the effect that if he was not placated he might decommit and take others with him. Paulus wanted Butch Davis and ironically he got him which really did not help his career any. Paulus redshirted his freshman year. The primary reason given was his adjustment from the shotgun to under center was a bit slow. On top of that Yates had acquitted himself quite well in the spring and won the starting job over Cam Sexton. It never really got better. By his redshirt freshman season he was #2 on the depth chart but had to ill fated quarters of football which effectively ended his stint as a Tar Heel. When Yates was injured in the 3rd quarter versus Virginia Tech, Paulus came in and was unable to hold the lead as the Heels ended up losing 20-17. Davis started Paulus the next week versus Miami and the results were not much better. Cam Sexton was brought in and rallied the Heels to a win on the road. From that point on, Paulus never really had a chance to see the field again and this season when Braden Hansen came in against The Citadel for mop-up duty it was a safe bet Paulus would be going somewhere else.
The question begs to be asked: Where did it all go wrong with Paulus? Without knowing what goes on in practice or his relationship with the coaches, Davis and John Shoop in particular, that is a tough assessment to make. I do know what I saw on the field both frightened and confused me. If that extended to practice on any level then it is easy to see why he dropped on the depth chart. Interestingly the message boards are in full hand wringing mode blaming the coaching staff for not using Paulus correctly and expressing shock. SHOCK, I SAY, that the recruiting services could be this wrong. Well, it happens and as it turns out, Paulus was simply not that good or it was a poor fit which is a shame but that is how the pizzelle crumbles. In the end Paulus was a recruiting bust, sort of like Shavlik Randolph given the hype surrounding him. The only concern I have is the fact this is the 2nd QB in as many seasons to opt out of Chapel Hill. Cam Sexton did it last season and his relationship with Davis was thought to be the reason why. In Paulus’ case, nothing has come to light about any bad blood between QB and coach. It could very simply be a case where a player just did not pan out. It is not the first and certainly won’t be the last.
Hopefully he has a great run at W&M and I certainly wish him all the best.
And yes, I did notice UNC is down to only two QBs for the bowl game. No, I have no earthly idea what the Heels will do if both Yates and Hansen get injured.
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“And yes, I did notice UNC is down to only two QBs for the bowl game. No, I have no earthly idea what the Heels will do if both Yates and Hansen get injured” Bobby Rome?
Not a shock, and in fact I think I posted on this blog that I thought he was gonna leave last year. Apparently he was led to believe that he had a shot at the job in the wake of Cam Sexton leaving……. The other possibility here is that the Heels have recieved a commit from the JC QB or another big time recruit???
[...] love the tidbit about William & Mary from the Tar Heel Fan, when he says that Mike Paulus is transfering to a squad that has beaten Virginia more times than [...]
Good luck to the young man.
I seem to recall that he helped unc get commitments from a few key recruits during that coaching transition. Really hoped this would work out.
And I guess the Paulus family will stay away from the state of NC for at least a couple of generations.
Moving to a D-II team is always an indication that the athlete is cashing out their NFL hopes and just wants to play in my mind. I know that’s not always the case but moving from a D-1 to D-II means you don’t sit out and play right away. It also means you have less time to figure out what the issues are and what you need to do to improve. It feels like you have some choices – compete for the job or play and if you aren’t wanting to compete then you are saying let’s graduate and move on after I get some playing time.
On another note TOB is angry – BMFD has thrown down the gauntlet and he will not let it stand. I think TOB may be playing to crowd on this Paige-Moss issue and I think he’s going to regret that one day. See Chuck Amato history…live by the sword, die by the sword.
The QB situation is my biggest problem with the Davis years so far. I mean, the situation is a mess. We have now lost two QBs to D-II schools (is Catawba even D-II?), and our starter wouldn’t start for any other ACC school, IMO. And his backup hasn’t shown us anything yet either. And now we are depending on a touted freshman to come in and save the day (sounds like Paulus #2). How did we get ourselves into this mess? If we had a middle of the pack QB, we’d probably be 10-2 this season, and would probably have been 10-2 last season. I’m still amazed that this team managed 8-4 this year.
I’m sorry but we need to start recruiting from the JuCo circuit. Our coaches have proven that they can’t spot real QB talent in the High School ranks…
supposedly, SUPPOSEDLY i say again, Renner is pretty good. all i’m going on is seeing him myself in pre-game drills, and the opinion of others who have seen that, also. his delivery, his accuracy, footwork.
normally, that could mean nothing, and it may mean nothing. but i’ve seen Yates look inaccurate in pre-game, and, he was.
^I’ll keep my fingers crossed…
I’m sure the staff can evaluate good QB talent, however, they haven’t been able to land the right guy. Will it be Renner? Let’s hope so.
Of note, UNC has OFFERS out to 7 QB’s for the 2011 class, I assume in hopes of landing 1 or 2 guys.
Unfortunately UNC has a history of bringing in highly rated guys who just didn’t perform up to the hype. Ronald Curry/Paulus as the most recent examples. I don’t remember how Durant was rated but a few times I said to my buddies, how great it would have been to have Durant under center this year.
You mean the Shavlik Randolph who fouled out against UConn in 2004 and against UNC in Chapel Hill in 2005? The guy who was until recently still in the NBA? Seriously, Shav was giving UNC fits in that game and was giving UConn fits in the national semi’s. I don’t know what Randolph’s issues were, but he definitely had his moments, unlike Mike Paulus, unfortunately. Ronald Curry had some decent moments on the basketball court for UNC and an excellent NFL career until injuries took their toll.
Mike Paulus might better be compared to Curtis Hunter.