GREENSBORO
Quarterback T.J. Yates would love to talk more about all the good things going on at North Carolina: the stout defense, the higher-than-usual expectations, a nationally televised opener against LSU.
Instead, he is answering questions about an NCAA investigation into whether two teammates received improper benefits from an agent.
"As of right now ... we're going into the season as (though) we're going to be full strength," Yates said yesterday. "We can't be thinking any other thing because we just don't want it to affect us. If you put too much focus on the other stuff going on, in and around (you), I think that'll distract us from what our goals are as a team and distract us going into training camp."
Yates and defensive end Robert Quinn fielded questions about the investigation during the Atlantic Coast Conference Football Kickoff preseason event, marking the first time that any Tar Heel player has commented about the inquiry. Coach Butch Davis made his first comments Thursday, saying that the investigation "kind of came out of left field" and that his program is cooperating with the investigation.
The probe is focused on senior defensive tackle Marvin Austin and senior receiver Greg Little. The school has said little, with Athletics Director Dick Baddour confirming only that the NCAA had visited the campus to investigate an unnamed sports program.
Before Yates and Quinn sat down, team spokesman Kevin Best reminded reporters that the players couldn't comment on the specifics of the inquiry.
The questions came anyway -- though Yates didn't sound surprised considering how many questions he said he gets from friends and fans.
"It's kind of annoying a little bit because this team and our fans should be worried about football -- and strictly football -- and how this team is getting prepared for this season," Yates said.
Quinn said that the players can't worry about something that they can't control.
"We're going to prepare every day," Quinn said. "That's all we can do. If something happens, it happens. But as of now, everybody's there and that's it."
The Tar Heels are preparing for their fourth season under Davis. He has guided the program to consecutive eight-win seasons, which includes the program's first back-to-back bowl seasons since the late 1990s when Mack Brown left for Texas.
UNC is expected to contend for the ACC's Coastal Division title behind a defense that returns nine starters from a unit that ranked among the nation's best last year. Austin -- a 6-3, 310-pound tackle -- was projected as a high NFL draft pick before deciding to return to school for his final season.
Little became the team's top receiver last season, with 20 catches for 315 yards and two touchdowns in the final three games. He had 62 catches for 724 yards and five touchdowns.
Losing either -- let alone, both -- would be a blow for the Tar Heels as they prepare for their opener against LSU in Atlanta on Sept. 4.
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