I must say there are some reasons to be optimistic going into the season.
Positives:
Bringing in more coaches like the D-line and O-line. Those areas were the biggest trouble spots last season. No protection for Lobato and no pressure on the QB. Also, bringing in Kay Dalton will help. And then there's the decision to make Boyer the co-offensive coordinator. That means a change in the offense, which was pretty bad last year. I also like what I'm hearing about Dinky Williams, the new strength coach.
Areas of concern
The number of transfers going out of the program is of concern. I know that will happen with every change of coach, but there's a couple of examples of Collins' recruits leaving. One is Taylor Young who started a couple of games as a true freshman Lb, quit mid-season (which might tell you about the kid as well) He's now at CSU-P. Also, Brandon Boyle a Collins recruit is at a JC. I think that may be because of the LB coach who, I've been told by a parent is really bad. He doesn't have a clue. So...Collins should be cognizant of the bad coaches he's brought in and he needs to get rid of them.
While I've never personally heard anything bad about Collins from people I've talked to, it's more or less about some of his coaches that he's brought in, such as the LB coach.
Collins has issues himself that I don't like and I hope he's changed some things. He needs to stop berating the players. It's difficult to teach a player to do something that you want when they've been taught to do something the opposite way. Collins has mentioned this several times during the coaches show. I've coached and I know how easy it is and frustrating it is. However, the yelling shouldn't always be the way you communicate. Yelling can happen, on occasion but when you're constantly doing it, it shows you've lost control. You should always have control of your football team.
That being said there's things I like about Collins. His dedication to UNC and his passion for the game. I also like that he has recognized the areas of weakness and he's acted upon them. Over all I still like the guy. We just need to give him the resources (meaning money) for him to bring in better assistant coaches.
I'm excited for the season. I wish I can be out there for practice but business won't allow me for a while. I think this team has the talent to win 4-5 games. Anything less and I'll be disappointed.