Butch Davis announced today the promotion of Sam Pittman to associate head coach. Pittman came to Carolina as part of Davis' original coaching staff in 2007 and has served the last four years as the offensive line coach, a position he will continue to mentor.
"Sam has done a terrific job building our offensive line over the last four seasons," said Davis. "One of Sam's strengths is his ability to build relationships with people and motivate them to perform at the highest level. Sam also has been one of our top recruiters. He is man of great integrity and is a tremendous representative for the University of North Carolina."
Named one of the nation's top 25 recruiters in 2011 by ESPN.com, Pittman has signed the nation's No. 2 rated tackle in each of the last two years - Hurst in 2010 and Kiaro Holts in 2011. He also was instrumental in signing several players in the Tar Heels' recruiting class in 2011, which was ranked as high as 15th nationally.
This is the spot John Blake held until his departure September amid the early days of the NCAA investigation. Like Blake, Sam Pittman is an effective recruiter except he doesn't have the reputation of being shady. By all accounts this is a well deserved promotion and if the offensive line is as good as people think it will be this season, it will be to Pittman's credit for rebuilding it.