He was standing on the sideline in street clothes, watching the screaming and banging of spring practice, when a defensive assistant spotted him.

"Hey Ronald," defensive ends coach James Webster yelled over at Ronald Curry. "You sure you don't want some of this?"

A slow smile broke over Curry's face as he shook his head. No, he didn't want any of this. Not this soon. A few days earlier, Curry had finished up the basketball season as the starting point guard for the Tar Heels, who lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Before that, Curry had carried the bulk of the offensive load in the Tar Heels' 2000 football season, an emotionally draining 6-5 year capped by the firing of coach Carl Torbush.

Curry took a break in the spring, resting up for what will be his last season as the UNC quarterback. He enters the season as the school's single-season record holder for total offense with 2,676 yards in 2000, yet he knows he has not met most expectations.

Before defensive end/power forward Julius Peppers became a local and ultimately national media darling for his two-sport prowess, Curry had that role. He was the national high school player of the year in football and basketball out of Hampton, Va.

His numbers at North Carolina have been solid, if not what people expected: 283 of 561 passes for 3,982 passing yards and 20 touchdown passes; 996 rushing yards and 10 more touchdowns.

And Curry knows it.

"People can think what they want to think," he said. "I know how hard I've worked, and some of the odds that were against me. I'm proud of what I've accomplished so far."

New UNC coach John Bunting hired Gary Tranquill -- the former offensive coordinator at Virginia -- to be Curry's third offensive coordinator in three years. Bunting knows their relationship could be the key to the season.

"We've got to get Ronald and Gary on the same page as fast as possible," Bunting said. "I want Ronald's senior year to be everything it can be."

Lindy's Football Annuals (National, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, ACC, plus Pro) are available at newsstands regionally, or can be ordered as a set at www.lindyssports.com, or by calling 1-205-871-1182.