LOL at claiming to know something about THIS years team by talking guys who played 15/20 years ago.
You continue to make broad generalizations about our team with virtually no substance at all.
What qb came in an played well off the bat at South Carolina, well none other than Dylan Thompson in 2012 as a sophomore to boot. He threw a total of 4 passes in 2011 and came in the second game of the season and threw for 330 yards and 3 touchdowns against east carolina. That same year he lit up Clemson at Clemson and almost single handedly beat Michigan in the bowl game. So there ya go.
I'll say it again, the offensive line might be in slightly worse shape than it was last year but its not the landslide drop off that you make it out to be. Injuries....Shell, yes, that is up in the air a little but all reports that he's recovered and ready to play. Matulis, sure, thats 50/50 at best but you cant count that as a loss from last year because he didnt even play. What about all the rest of the guys who played last year, we've been consistently building depth and this years team is likely more experienced overall than last years team with two long time starters anchoring the line.
Brandon Wilds, injury prone? If youre referring to the ankle injury 2 years ago, i agree. If youre referring to last year where he only missed the highly competitive Furman game, then no. You also are completely glossing over a highly coveted, experienced 4 star backup who has looked the part.
I'm sorry that you're wrong about all the huge losses that you want us to have. The only one I can slightly give you is QB, but at this point Mitch is just as likely to be a decent qb as he is a bad one, and neither one of us knows that answer.
As far as the defense goes, I dont know enough about UNC to comment on whether they return good players or not, but if they do return everyone, then yes, I expect them to be better. Better coaching plus a years experience playing together logically equals improvement. This is exactly what I said about SC and I stand by it. On defense, no one is expecting Hoke to work miracles but our defense played well at times last year and just needs to be consistent throughout a game, not to mention being properly prepared with a sound gameplan.