Exploring the Torbush Legacy: A Deep Dive into Extra Points

Remembering a North Carolina Football Legend: Carl Torbush

Looking back almost three decades, the statistics from the 1996 and 1997 seasons of North Carolina football are still impressive. With an average of only 11.5 points and 218 yards per game allowed, eight Tar Heel defensive players were drafted into the NFL over two cycles. This period marked a notable era in Carolina football history with Carl Torbush at the helm as the Tar Heels’ defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

Despite these impressive feats, Torbush always remained humble. In a spring 1997 interview, Torbush modestly said, “Everything relates to athletic ability. We’re asking them to do more than before. A lot of people think we’re sprinkling magic dust around. Then these visiting coaches get in here and see these 4.5, 4.6 forties moving around and say, ‘Hey, maybe I could coach these guys.'”

Torbush passed away at the age of 72, leaving the Carolina community and Coach Mack Brown to reflect on his immense contribution to North Carolina football.

A Legacy in College Football

“We lost Carl Torbush way too soon,” Brown remarked. “He was a great man who cared deeply not only about Carolina football but people. He loved to coach, he loved defensive football and was a guy who could rally the players around him. His toughness definitely bled through to the rest of the team.”

“He was the architect of one of the best defenses ever in college football. That will be his legacy. Recruiting those players, developing them, teaching them, putting them in the right places—he touched every piece of that.”

A Coach who Inspired

Brandon Spoon, a linebacker from Burlington, who was recruited by Torbush and then coached by him during his career from 1996-2000, recalls, “We were loaded with talent and it was Coach Torbush’s brainchild. He maximized the ability we had and put us in situations to be great. We were so prepared when we took the field. Practices were intense and focused. We had such good depth and created great competition. We were able to make good players superstars because you could never rest.”

“Without Coach Torbush, no telling what would have happened to me. He was a big influence,” Spoon added.

Remembering Carl Torbush

Torbush was known for his strong faith. He was also admired for his sunglasses and salt-and-pepper mustache. His love for Southern cooking, his favorite being Pinto beans and cornbread, was well known.

Torbush’s first love was baseball. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals and spent the summer of 1975 in the Rookie League before realizing his future was in coaching.

Torbush dedicated the latter part of his career to running defenses at Alabama, Texas A&M, Carson-Newman and Mississippi State. In 2013, he took a call from Philip Fulmer and decided to lead the resurrection of East Tennessee State University’s football program.

Reflecting on Torbush’s contribution to football, Fulmer stated, “He’s a genuine person. If you had a kid that was going to play college football, you’d hope he’d play for somebody like Carl Torbush.”