The defensive side of the ball is looking to be a much improved unit than last year. The secondary needs to stay healthy, but there are some great options there. These guys will challenge the whole “fly the friendly skies of Kenan Stadium” saying. Dre Bly has the “Rude Boyz” going in the right direction. This is a unit that struggled last year and similar to the offense, was very inconsistent. Opposing offenses averaged 29.4 points a game, 5.8 yards per play, 4.3 yards per rush, and 12.9 yards per catch. They also had a 3rd down conversion rate of 38% and converted 4th downs 53% of the time. The defense as a whole had 36 sacks last year. This was a unit that struggled to get pressure at times last year and struggled to contain mobile quarterbacks. No pressure makes the secondary’s job harder and we saw the back end of the defense get burned multiple times. Obviously both the run and pass defense could be better. Missed tackles were also an issue. 8 of the top 10 tacklers are returning though so experience should not be an issue with this year’s unit. Chaz Surratt was the leading tackler but Eugene Asante showed in the Orange Bowl that he is more than capable of stepping up to fill his shoes. The defensive line got some much needed depth and there are a couple of freshmen that could be in the rotation. Jay Bateman plays a 3-4 scheme and has said he wants to play with 3 down lineman a lot more this year. With that being said, let’s start with the big guys up front.
D LINE
Let's start with the 3 down linemen. The line will be anchored by Raymond Vohasek. Vohasek is a senior who was second on the team in tackles for a loss (8.5) last season. He has been named to the preseason Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch list. He always seems to be around the ball and should be in the backfield often. Myles Murphy showed some flashes last year and should see his role increase this year. He will be competing for a starting spot in the interior. Tomari Fox is back after starting all 12 games last season.He finished 5th in tackles last season, but his consistency faded as the year went along. He failed to register a tackle for a loss or a sack in the final six games. Hopefully a normal offseason has allowed him to condition the way he needs to in order to stay fresh the entire season. Redshirt Freshman Kedrick Bingley-Jones missed last year with an Achilles injury. Bingley-Jones will be back at full strength and since Jay Bateman wants the “biggest guys possible” on the line expect him to be in the rotation. Clyde Pinder Jr will most likely be another rotation player in the interior. He played 7 games in his freshman season. He missed the first 4 games. Jahlil Taylor is a Junior who is expected to compete with Pinder Jr in the rotation. He had a reduced role as the season went on last year but had a great spring to put himself in the battle for snaps. Adding to the line depth are true freshmen Jahvaree Ritzie and Keeshawn Silver. There is a lot of hype surrounding both players. Both guys are big and have the skillset to factor into the rotation. Silver is supposed to be just a freak of nature. Expect both of these guys to get snaps. Sophomore Kevin Hester Jr and Kristian Varner are also in the mix. Hester Jr thrived in some garbage time last year and Varner added some weight to his frame.
DEPTH CHART
END:
#56 Tomari Fox, JR
#41 Kedrick Bingley-Jones, RFR
#5 Jahvaree Ritzie, FR
NOSE:
#51 Raymond Vohasek, SR
#55 Clyde Pindre Jr, SO
#52 Jahlil Taylor, JR
#93 Kristian Varner, SO
TACKLE:
#8 Myles Murphy, SO
#6 Keeshawn Silver, FR
#98 Kevin Hester Jr, SO
LBS
Chaz Surrat is off to the NFL after a tremendous Carolina career that say him switch from the offensive side of the ball to the defensive side of the ball. Carolina is sure grateful that he did. Surratt led the team in tackles last season and left some big shoes to fill, but before we discuss the ILB position let’s start outside. THE OLB position will be led by super senior Tomon Fox. The Heels are glad to have him back as he provides experience to a healthy combo on young talent. He is currently tied for 5th in program history in sacks and 7th in tackles for loss. Look for him to move up this list this year. Like the entire unit, Fox was inconsistent last year. With 4 years under his belt, expect Fox to be one of the top pass rushers in the ACC if he can find some consistency. Fellow Super Senior Tyrone Hopper joins Fox for their 5th season in Carolina blue. Hopper started 10 games a year ago. Shockingly, he was inconsistent as well. Hopper only ranked 11th on the team in tackles and very well could find himself in a rotational role this year. There is a lot of talk surrounding sophomore Des Evans. He is poised to have a breakout season this year with players like Hopper leaving the door open for a starting spot. He started 3 games late in the season this year and Mack Brown has mentioned him as one of the guys that could win some battles in the trenches. I would expect him to start opposite Tomon Fox come in the opener at Virginia Tech. Junior Chris Collins started 4 games a year ago, but guess what? He was also inconsistent. Collins’ showed flashes in pass rushing situations and could find himself on the field in those types of situations. He isn’t great in run defense so I would expect Collins' role to be rotational this year. Sophomore Kaimon Rucker is in the mix for a starting role after being a bit of a surprise as a true freshman. With one year of experience under his belt, I would expect him to be a major part of the rotation this year.
Lets jump inside now. No surprise here but Jeremiah Gemmel is the leader of this group and the defense as a whole. He has been named to the preseason Butkus Award watch list. Gemmel has been alongside Surratt for the past 2 seasons, and he looks ready to take over as the main man on defense. His teammates rave about his work ethic and how much time he spends studying film. He was second on the team in tackles last season (behind only Surratt). Gemmel is a smart player, but has rotationally gotten beat in pass coverage. Gemmel may have been a victim of who he was playing with in the role he got put in to be in those situations. Expect him to play more “downhill” this season. Replacing Surratt will be no easy task, but Eugene Asante looks up to it. He started in the Orange Bowl game and held his own. Asante is fast and athletic with a great skill set. He finished 12th on the team in tackles last year. I would expect him to be competing for the most tackles on the team this season. Unless something weird happens, he will start alongside Gemmel. There isn’t a ton of depth at the inside linebacker position. Sophomore Cedric Gray will most likely be a rotational player at this position behind Gemmel and Asante. He only took 6 snaps last year, but had a good spring. With the departure of Khadry Jackson, RaRa Dillworth will most likely see a ton of snaps this season. He was highly talked about coming into the spring and backed that up with a strong performance. He has speed and can get from sideline to sideline. Fellow true freshmen Power Echols (what a name right?) was also raved about. Echols had a great spring game and was all over the field. The guy has a knack for finding the football. If Gray can’t distance himself from the 2 true freshmen then he can see himself fall in the depth chart.
DEPTH CHART:
OLB:
#12 Tomon Fox, SR
#42 Tyrone Hopper, SR
#17 Chris Collins, JR
OLB:
#10 Des Evans, SO
#25 Kaimon Rucker, SO
ILB:
#44 Jermiah Gemmel, SR
#11 RaRa Dillworth, FR
ILB:
#7 Eugene Asante, JR
#33 Power Echols FR
#33 Cedric Gray, SO
SECONDARY
CBS
The “Rude Boyz” have the potential to be an exciting group this year. Dre Bly has this group trending in the right direction with some big pick-ups in recent years. This group has a lot of experience. These guys should challenge the “fly the friendly skies of Kenan Stadium” saying as we may just have the best cornerback trio in the nation.
Let’s start that off with arguably the best cornerback in the ACC and one of the best in the country, Tony Grimes. Grimes has been named preseason All-ACC. Grimes started the final 4 games of his freshman season. He played lights out against Miami and Texas A&M and now that he has his feet wet in the college game, this guy is poised for a monster year. He has the potential to be one of the toughest players to tough against. Look for a “no fly zone” around Grimes this season. The question is who will be opposite of him to start the year. Storm Duck is probably the best option on skills alone, but he missed all but 2 games last year. He needs to be fully healthy this season. Junior Kyler McMichael started 8 out of the 9 games he saw action in last season. McMichael had a stellar year and will compete with Duck for the starting spot. If he doesn’t win it then he may be one of the best rotational corners in the country. Junior DeAndre Hollins will be another great rotational piece at corner. He has started 5 games in 2 seasons and provides more experience. He has the ability to play both corner and nickel. Obi Egbuna provides some good experience if we need him. His numbers are similar to Collins. Dontae Balfour is a true freshman and someone that the coaching staff went after hard late in the 2021 recruiting cycle. He will most likely be the freshman that you will want to keep your eye on. We are deep at corner though so I don’t see him getting a ton of snaps unless those in front of him can’t stay healthy.
DEPTH CHART
CB:
#20 Tony Grimes, SO
#15 Deandre Hollins, JR
#13 Obi Egbuna, JR
CB:
#29 Storm Duck, SO
#1 Kyler McMichael, JR
#14 Dontae Balfour, FR
FS/SS/NB
There are a few more question marks in the middle of the secondary though. This was an area that was really plagued by inconsistencies, but a lot of experience is returning at these positions. Hopefully a normal off season will lead to a more consistent season for this group. Trey Morrison is undoubtedly the leader of the group. Morrison is a senior and was the most consistent safety last year. He was the best coverage safety and was a good help in the run game. Morrison will again see a significant role this season and has the ability to play other positions in a pinch. Who will start alongside Morrison is still a big question mark. Junior Don Chapman started all 11 games that he played in, but was wildly inconsistent. You either got really good or really bad from Chapman last year. He got beat in coverage a lot and seemed to disappear in run defense. Chapman played a lot of nickel during the spring. I would expect to see him in that position this season. Fellow junior Cam’Ron Kelly started 4 games last year, but like his counterpart was inconsistent. He was really good in the run game last year, so if he improves in coverage then he could be the starter for the opener. Ja’Qurious Conley is someone else that could see some time at safety. The sophomore had a good finish to the season at the nickel position. He was great in run defense against Miami and Texas A&M. Giovanni Biggers has a chance to factor into the rep battle as a junior. Biggers started the spring game. The defense only created 11 turnovers ( 8 interceptions, 3 fumbles) last season. There is an emphasis on creating turnovers going into this season. If biggers can do that then he will see his reps increase. Redshirt Freshman Cameron Roseman-Sinclair is another guy to keep your eye on. He is a good in-the-box defender and is adequate in coverage. Again if he can create turnovers then he can put himself in a better spot to compete for snaps. A true freshmen that has a legitimate chance to see some snaps is DeAndre Boykins. Boykinds played nickel most of his high school career so expect his snaps to be at this position. I still see him being behind Conley and Chapman at that position though.
DEPTH CHART
FS:
#4 Trey Morrison, SR
#27 Giovanni Biggers, JR
SS:
#9 Cam’Ron Kelly, JR
#3 Cameron Roseman-Sinclair, RFR
NB
#0 Ja”Qurious Conley, SO
#2 Don Chapman, JR
#24 DeAndre Boykins, FR
The bottom line is that this unit should be much improved from last season. There is plenty of depth, experience and talent. The corners have a chance to be the best cornerback group in the country. This unit needs to find some consistency though. Turnovers have come at a premium the past couple of years and there is a ton of room for guys to step up and make plays in that regard. Our defensive line needs to improve on getting pressure and keeping contain. The unit as a whole needs to get better on not missing tackles. Surratt is the only major player that departed, so this unit has plenty of players with game experience. If this unit lives up to expectations then they could be very fun to watch.
*depth charts represent guys that i think have a legitimate chance to compete for playing time and don’t represent every player listed at every position
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