DE Robert Quinn causing problems ... for UNC

How good is defensive end Robert Quinn? So good the UNC coaching staff essentially had to tell him to “take a knee” in the spring football game, coach Butch Davis said. Quinn was so dominant the Tar Heels couldn’t block him, which meant they couldn’t practice their offense.

Quinn, a junior, ripped off 11.0 sacks in 2009, and if you watched Carolina play at all you couldn’t help but be stunned by his development. He came into the spring even better. “He wanted to dominate every drill,” Davis said with a smile that suggested he had seen something special.

Quinn is an unusual player. He survived brain surgery as a high school senior and you figured it was a cool story that he was in college and playing at all. He also has an almost childish exuberance when you’re around him. Hewore four SillyBandz on his wrist to the ACC Football kickoff this week, and it’s not often you see 270-pound NFL prospects wearing the same bling as elementary school kids.

That gentle off-the-field nature belies a player who could be one of UNC’s best. He doesn’t have the nasty streak of Lawrence Taylor but he has a burst and overall game that reminds you of that former Tar Heel great. Taylor had 16.0 sacks as a senior in 1980, which remains a school record. But it was how he got those sacks that made Taylor so great – he didn’t just come around the edge, he roared around it with an intent to destroy.

Quinn says he wants to get 20 sacks this season, a figure that makes you want to chuckle – at least until you hear Butch Davis talk about him. You can be confident Quinn won’t be taking a knee against Carolina opponents this fall.