Davis brings Heels back from grave

Zack Pianalto’s commitment to Texas was a done deal.

Nine months later, Butch Davis called.

“I didn’t recognize the number so I didn’t pick up, but when I checked my voicemail I was like, ‘Oh, wow,’ ” Pianalto recalled.

Davis, who led Miami to a 51-20 record before an unsuccessful run with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, had just taken over at North Carolina.

Pianalto visited Chapel Hill a week later and switched to the Tar Heels two weeks after that.

“I thought a lot about what he did at Miami,” said Pianalto, a 6-foot-4, 250-pound tight end from Arkansas. “When he took over the program they were nothing, and within six years he turned them into a national championship team.

“A lot of people told me I was crazy for coming here, but I believed in what Coach Davis could do.”

The program that went 47-71 in 10 seasons following Mack Brown’s exit for Texas enters Saturday’s game against Georgia Tech ranked No. 19 in the BCS, highest of any ACC team. At 6-2, they’re on the verge of their first winning season in seven years. Every home game is sold out.

Remarkably, it’s November and Davis has Tar Heels fans still thinking about football instead of basketball.

“When you look at a complete team —- offense, defense and special teams —- North Carolina might be the best in the league,” Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said. “There is a reason why they are playing as well as they are now. It is certainly going to be a challenge for us on Saturday.”

It all starts with recruiting.

Probably no college will match Miami’s 2001-04 run when 19 Hurricanes were selected in the first round the NFL draft. Davis signed 16 of those players.

He already has changed the thinking at North Carolina.

After taking the job in November 2006, Davis worked quickly to sign a class, including Pianalto, rated 17th nationally by Rivals.com.

The 2008 class ranked 32nd, in part because there were only 19 signees.

Perhaps more important from a strategic standpoint, 12 of Davis’ 18 commitments for 2009 are from North Carolina, including five-star defensive end Donte Moss. Increasingly, Davis is focusing on locking down the state.

“He’s learned from Mack Brown, the last successful coach, that the only way to win consistently is to win that battle,” said Barry Every, a national recruiting analyst for Rivals.com who did recruiting work for Georgia, Florida State and North Carolina under Brown.

North Carolina remains more of a basketball state, but there are plenty of good football players, Every said.

The state produced 46 Division I football players this year, tied for 12th-most in the nation. (By comparison, Georgia produced 147.)

While UNC is one of five D-I schools targeting those players, Davis is grabbing more than his share.

“He took a program from basically just above the death penalty into the national limelight again,” Every said. “He’s the one who recruited all those players from the Miami and South Florida area.

“He’s got that —- and the fact that he coached in the NFL,” Every added. “Kids like to hear that stuff.”

Davis said the Tar Heels can win with local talent.

“You don’t have to go 500 to 1,000 miles. You don’t have to go coast to coast,” Davis said. “We can find many great players in our own backyard, and that’s certainly where we’re going to start.”

Most of the current Tar Heels standouts were recruited by John Bunting, but Davis’ recruits are making an impact. Seven true freshmen have played this season; 11 played last year.

Virginia Tech handed North Carolina its first loss this season, 20-17. The game left Hokies coach Frank Beamer convinced the Tar Heels are on the rise.

“I’ve always thought North Carolina had the ability to be a good program, and certainly they’ve recruited well in the last few years,” Beamer said. “They’ve got some guys who can move. It shows on the field.”

NEXT FOR TECH

> Who: at North Carolina

> When: noon Saturday

> TV; radio: WUPA; 790 AM