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CHAPEL HILL - When it comes to place-kickers, North Carolina coach Butch Davis is punting on specifics.

 
As the Tar Heels continue preparations for Saturday's season-opener against McNeese State, Davis indicated today that both Jay Wooten and Casey Barth will play against the Cowboys. He declined to declare a breakdown of responsibilities between kickoffs, extra points, short field goals and long field goals.

"We will use the guy who gives us the best chance to execute that particular kick," he said. "If one guy emerges over the season as the one who can handle all of it, so be it. If it's kicking by committee, that's OK, too."

Wooten is a redshirt freshman from Laurinburg and Barth, a walk-on, is seeking to fill the job and cleats of his older brother. Connor Barth, who set the UNC career record for field goals from 2004-07, is giving a serious challenge to former Maryland Terrapin Nick Novak in Kansas City Chiefs camp these days. Novak holds the ACC's career scoring record.

Senior Terrence Brown, the incumbent punter, said it's hard to discern a difference between the candidates.

"They've both been kicking really well," Brown said. "Casey has lived up to the Barth name so far."

Davis said Casey Barth is one of "six or seven" true freshmen who could play on Saturday. Barth and linebacker Zach Brown, whom rivals.com listed as the 12th-best prep player in the country a year ago, are the only members of their class listed on the depth chart, but that doesn't rule anybody out by itself. Davis doesn't mind using rookies on special teams if he believes they can make a difference.

In other matters:

• Greg Little will start at tailback and will be backed up by two other sophomores, Ryan Houston and Shaun Draughn. Davis said it's unlikely that any other tailbacks will be used.

• McNeese State, an FCS school in Lake Charles, La., ripped through the regular season undefeated last year before falling in the first round of the NCAA playoffs to Eastern Washington. The Cowboys return their quarterback and their top two receivers and are expected to make another run at the Southland Conference title.

• Matt Viator is 17-3 as head coach, a job to which he was promoted four games into the 2006 season. The university's president fired coach Bobby Tate, who had been the boss since 2000 and on the staff since 1979, after the Cowboys lost to South Dakota State and fell to 1-3 that season.

• The game will not be televised.

• Carolina, which opened the Davis era with a victory over FCS foe James Madison a year ago, is seeking to win consecutive season-openers for the first time since 1996 and '97. The Tar Heels defeated Clemson and Indiana back then.

Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rob.daniels@news-record.com