April 17 Open Practice Observations: Offense

*Note: This is a FREE trial of what is usually premum content at THI. Both practice observation reports from Saturday are FREE so you can get a sample of our work that is usually only available to subscribers.

CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina held its 11th practice of the spring Saturday, and for the third Saturday over the last four weeks, it was held inside Kenan Stadium.

Media and a handful of parents were allowed in, so THI had five staffers on hand, and most of what we saw from the Tar Heels was a scrimmage that lasted about an hour and 15 minutes.

The Heels did drills for about 25-30 minutes before scrimmaging, but it was interesting the reaction from the team Mack Brown generated when he said, speaking into a microphone blaring his words around the stadium, “You have seven minutes to create your edge.” It was as if those few words shot a spark through the guys and intensity picked up. It was already pretty high as it was.

It should also be noted that quite a few former players were on hand, most of whom are currently in the NFL or have played in the league. They were Mitch Trubisky, Cole Holcomb, Landon Turner, Jake Bargas, Austin Proehl, and Nathan Elliott.

Here are our observations about UNC’s offense. The defense will come later:

*The first thing I watched were the running backs. As I’ve said before, don’t put a ton of stock in the order players went in drills, but this late in the spring, I do believe it’s somewhat indicative of what the depth chart looks like.

D.J. Jones went first in the drills I watched, most of which involved short receiving routes with Jefferson Boaz throwing them the ball. Ty Chandler went second, followed by Caleb Hood, British Brooks Elijah Green, and Josh Henderson. Each player looked good catching the ball with Green getting some nice praise from running backs coach Larry Porter. Remember, Green played in an offense in high school (won three straight 4A titles in Georgia) for a team that almost exclusively ran the ball. So, he has worked hard over the last year learning how to catch the ball out of the backfield. He looked good today.

In the scrimmage, we saw more of that turn-the-corner speed from Chandler, and he certainly has it. There was an explosiveness after turning his nose up field we saw today. Jeremiah Gemmel said earlier this week that Chandler is an “every-down” kind of back, and now having watched three practices, that appears to be the case. On one play, he bounced off a couple of would-be tacklers and got into the end zone from about five yards out.

Caleb Hood is faster than I thought he’d be. We didn’t see him get into the next gear in the last two open practices, but we sure did today and there’s a lot to like. On consecutive plays, he darted for about 40 yards sprinting past a couple of defenders before being pushed out of bounds. And on the next snap (the offense wasn’t entirely in tempo there, but it was close), he ran it in from around 18-20 yards.

Jones and Chandler split time with the ones in the scrimmage. Henderson started with the twos and Green got a few reps with the twos and a lot with the threes. Jones, by the way, appears to have really good vision and uses it well. He had a 15-yarder today in which he started to dart through a hole, but saw a defender coming and bounced outside before the defender could close. It was quick and decisive and got him probably an extra five-seven yards.

*The quarterbacks continue to impress. There is so much to like. Sam Howell was outstanding today. He had an amazing throw down the middle of the field to Emery Simmons who caught it in the end zone falling toward the goal posts, and just as he was about to spring upward, his leg hit the goalpost. No worries, he still popped up and was fine. Heck of a throw and heck of a catch. Howell was on the money a lot today.

So was Jacolby Criswell. He completed a beautiful pass to J.J. Jones that went about 45 yards to the left side of the end zone. It was a great throw by Criswell, one of several for him today. He is really starting to look the part. He is clearly ahead of Drake Maye, which is understandable because Maye is still very much learning the offense and it does take time.

Maye is fast, as we noted last week, and he looks like someone who will be able to escape pass rushes when his time comes. He also had a nice throw toward the sideline to a back who was in pass protection but released. Maye’s ability to quickly find him and get him the ball for a gain of several yards instead of being sacked was a glimpse into the future.

*One of the best things about today was getting a good look at J.J. Jones, and he did some really nice things. He had a TD reception from Criswell that is noted above, and it was a heck of a play on his part. Not a huge sample size, but he was physical with the DBs on a few plays, including that one, as it was fairly well defended. He didn’t come down with another ball at the back of the end zone, but he sure fought for it. Jones is long and could be the fade guy in a couple of years, but who knows, his reps with the twos today could indicate some movement up the depth chart and that he’s starting to get it.

Also working with the twos at receiver were Stephen Gosnell and Simmons. I don’t recall anything going toward Gosnell, but Simmons also had another tough catch when well defended.

The Ones were Josh Downs, Antoine Green, and a rotation of guys, it appeared. Down, by the way, had a really tough catch over the middle in a crowd of much larger defenders, but he showed a fearlessness in catching the ball and popping up in his usual moxie way. UNC fans are going to love watching Downs this coming season.

*The tight ends are also another impressive group, though they are inexperienced aside from Garrett Walston, who didn’t play much in the scrimmage. Kamari Morales and John Copenhaver did some really nice things, and for Copenhaver, that’s each of the three practices we’ve seen where he did something that stood out.

*I watched the offensive line for a while today, and for most of a really cool competitive drill versus the defensive line. The focus here is more the OL, and one player who really stood out was true freshman Diego Pounds. Honestly, he ate up a couple of guys, and in a one-on-one matchup with Jahvaree Ritzie, Pounds got the best of him. He is enormous, but what I saw today was good balance, quick feet, extension and use of his hands. He’s not polished by any means, but he sure does look the part. In time, it’s easy to see him starting at one of the tackle spots. And, as William Barnes noted earlier in the week, he’s rotating with him with the twos.

Jonathan Adorno also bettered Ritzie in a rep, and I note Ritzie because he has been so impressive each time we’ve been out. And, the Ones only went a few times when I was watching.

In the scrimmage, the OL opened some nice holes and protected the QBs fairly well, though it might appear run blocking is still ahead of pass protection. The starters were the same group: Asim Richards LT, Ed Montilus LG, Brian Anderson C, Marcus McKethan RG, and Jordan Tucker RT.

The second unit was Cayden Baker LT (he made a couple of really good blocks), Wyatt Tunall at LG, Chance Carroll (walk-on) at C, Adorno at RG, and William Barnes at RT. As noted, Pounds subbed in some for Barnes, and Malik McGowen got in some work with both the ones and twos.

Remember, Joshua Ezeudu is out this spring and is expected to resume his starting role at LG when he returns.