news-record.com

CHAPEL HILL -- If you're known as Superman, among other things, don't you have to be in the middle of the action?

Kennedy Tinsley has arrived, all right. He just had to cross a line and move over a few steps to get there.

The Dudley High School graduate and current North Carolina Tar Heel began his college football career as a fullback, accepted a move to outside linebacker in the name of helping the team and admitted to curiosity when informed he'd be shifting to middle linebacker. Welcome to the captain's chair on the defense. Be sure to bring along that Superman-logoed bookbag and the playbook within. And don't forget they call you Preacher Boy, too.

"Right before camp, they moved me from outside to middle, and that was a surprise," the redshirt junior said as the Heels prepared for tonight's opener against McNeese State at Kenan Stadium. "But it worked out really well. I had a great camp. Best camp since I've been here."

The result, coach Butch Davis said, is a player whose flexibility -- literal and figurative -- will make him an important part of an interesting team as senior Mark Paschal's backup.

Aside from kickers, nearly every college football player is a candidate for reassignment at some point. Offensive tackles can't morph into cornerbacks, but tight ends become fullbacks, and fullbacks become linebackers, and wide receivers become safeties. Some never adapt to the new role, and they quietly drift like protected federal witnesses relocated from Brooklyn to Boise.

Two years ago, under then-coach John Bunting's administration, Tinsley made his first foray into defense. In theory, it could have been traumatic. After all, he did average seven yards a carry as a Panther.

"They had talked about that when I was recruited," Tinsley said. "They told me it would be best for the team because I was a natural fit. I was cool with that."

Nobody, Davis said, has a better attitude than Tinsley, who remained upbeat while getting most of his playing time on special teams in 2007. His role on the 2008 club was hazy as spring practice began, but Tinsley began to clarify everything.

"The thing that made the difference for Kennedy Tinsley," Davis said, "is that there wasn't one single day over the summer that he didn't come in, watch film or talk to a coach. His understanding of the playbook, the schemes and the responsibilities, has allowed him to become a very good player."

Tinsley assumed studying would make him a better outside linebacker. He had no grander plan in mind. But coaches realized he could handle a more demanding job: the middle.

"If you're going to be really good at that position, you've got to master it," linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen said. "And Kennedy has taken to that role. He takes pen and paper and writes down his mistakes. He goes to the board and draws up his mistakes. He's starting to understand what his job is: to get everybody lined up and set to go."

The timing was outstanding. This year, the Heels were short in the middle when Paschal suffered a concussion and missed a week of practice. Rather than expose a true freshman, Thigpen looked to Tinsley, who has a fondness for celluloid superheroes and takes appropriate ribbing for it. The redshirt junior was ready to leap hulking linemen in a single bound.

"You call the play," he said. "You check the audibles. My reads have to be a lot faster. And it's a lot more physical because you're dealing with offensive linemen more. But because I'm a physical player, it ended up being a good move."

The next part of the process is for Tinsley to become more vocal in exhorting and instructing his comrades, a role that should come with the increased confidence brought by playing time. He has those skills away from the field, having been recognized as a team leader in community-service missions. His religious convictions have earned him the "Preacher Boy" label.

"With great power comes great responsibility," Tinsley said, quoting from the movie "Spiderman." "I have to be a good example and represent well for other people who look up to me."

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