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CHAPEL HILL -- Butch Davis spoke for 17 minutes straight to open his news conference before North Carolina's first football practice, so naturally he covered a wide variety of topics. But it didn't take long to figure out that one was particularly important to him.

"We've got to build depth on this football team," Davis said. "That's what these 29 days (in the preseason) are going to represent."

Davis then pointed out several positions at which the coaching staff is paying close attention to the depth chart: the offensive line, wide receiver, the defensive line, the secondary, running back &ellipses; well, pretty much the entire squad.

At wideout the Tar Heels know what they have in Hakeem Nicks, Brandon Tate and Brooks Foster. Not enough, Davis said.

"We can't go out there and have 75 to 80 plays on offense and expect those three guys to run 4.4, 4.3, 4.4 every time the ball's snapped," he said.

Davis named junior Kenton Thornton and senior Cooter Arnold, a former running back and defensive back, as two players who needed to emerge as solid backups.

At running back, Greg Little emerged at the end of 2007 after the UNC coaches had spent most of the season looking for a No. 1 ball carrier. Davis isn't complaining, but neither is he satisfied.

"There is no way in the world that we will make it through this season with a significant contribution by just one running back," Davis said. "We've got to have Ryan Houston play well. We've got to have Devon Ramsay. We've got to have Jamal Womble."

On the defensive line, UNC must find adequate replacements for defensive tackle Kentwan Balmer and defensive end Hilee Taylor. That's just the start, though.

"I'm a huge proponent of you've got to have eight, maybe nine -- and God bless you if you can come up with 10 -- defensive linemen," Davis said. "We need guys now to step up and emerge. We need new young guys."

Finally, Davis also spoke of how depth issues eventually forced the staff to start taking players off special teams to play on offense and defense last season. That loss of talent had an adverse effect on the kicking game, he said.

"It's the fastest, quickest way to lose games," Davis said.

NOT QUITE READY, NOT QUITE HERE: The Tar Heels only had two players with health concerns going into the first practice. Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Kevin Bryant is recovering from hand surgery, while Linwan Euwell, a redshirt freshman linebacker, is coming back from major knee surgery. Both will practice, but will be held out of certain drills.

Two other incoming players did not report on time. Incoming freshman linebacker Kevin Reddick, from New Bern, has not yet been declared eligible by the NCAA clearinghouse. Joseph Townsend, a defensive tackle, has not finished classes at Los Altos (Calif.) Community College.

"We expect him to be here some time in the next couple of weeks," Davis said of Townsend. "Certainly before the start of the school year."

BULKING UP, SLIMMING DOWN: Now that the versatile Little knows he's going to be a running back, he spent the offseason making sure he looks the part.

"I tried to bulk up a little bit, put on a few more pounds," said Little, who estimated he weighs 225 pounds. "And I worked on my speed tremendously. I know you can never be fast enough."

His fellow sophomore running back, Houston, went in the opposite direction.

Houston, who is listed in the media guide as weighing 250 pounds, is estimated to have shed 25 to 30 pounds since last season.

Contact Jim Young at 373-7016 or jim.young@news-record.com