CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina defensive coordinator Jay Bateman met with the media Monday for his weekly press conference, and among the topics discussed were the play of the defensive backs, the emergence of Kevin Hester and Myles Murphy, Trey Morrison's leadership, and much more.
The Tar Heels had their best defensive performance of the year so far in the 38-7 victory, holding Duke to 314 total yards, 2-for-15 on third down, and not allowing the Blue Devils to run a play inside the red zone.
Above is the video of Bateman's presser, and below are pulled quotes and notes:
*Sophomore safety Ja'Qurious Conley played 292 snaps last season, primarily at nickel. `This year the Jacksonville, NC, native switched back to his natural position of safety. However, Saturday, the 6-foot, 210-pound defensive-back logged 45 snaps at nickel versus the Blue Devils. Why was the move made, and is it permanent?
"Number one, I think Cam Kelly was playing really well, and I wasn't playing him enough," Bateman said. "After the Georgia Tech game, I said, 'I have to play him, he deserves to play. He's one of our best players.' It was just hard because him and Conley were primarily playing the same position. The other part of it was against Duke, we knew the nickel was going to need to be involved in the run fit some, and that's a strength of JQ's.
“We actually thought pressure would be a part of it, too, and we kind of got away from that a little bit. With Don (Chapman), he's really the unsung hero of that whole thing because we moved him out to play corner. With Storm (Duck) not going, we just felt like we needed a more veteran guy as the third option out there, and I thought Don played really well.
“Don Chapman played four positions Saturday. He played both corners, nickel, and he played will linebacker in one of our six DB deals. I was really proud of those guys, I thought they played well.”
*Inconsistencies have plagued the Tar Heels this season, including on defense. For example, against Georgia Tech, eight of 14 possessions ended with the Yellow Jackets getting points. But, the Blue Devils only had one drive of their 14 possessions end in points. So, does Bateman have a good grasp on how good this defense is?
"We talk to our guys all the time about not being results-driven," Bateman said. "How you play and how you do your job is more important than the result. If I play corner and I'm in pressman, and I do a really good job, and they run it and get twelve (yards), that doesn't mean that was a bad snap for me.
“I think the thing we did against Duke is I thought we tackled on the perimeter better, and I thought we were way better on third downs. And when you're really good on third downs, and you tackle on the perimeter, you eliminate the chances they get to get explosive plays. The first play of the first half and the first play of the second half were awful. But other than those two plays, we were in the right fit, we tackled well, and we didn't make as many mistakes.
“In the Georgia Tech game, I didn't do a very good job. And so like I think everybody should do when somethings not successful, you start with yourself. So I said, These are things we do better, these are things I think structurally we execute better, and I need to do those more. And I think that showed up Saturday.”
*In Mack Brown's first year of his second stint at UNC, the team lacked depth along the defensive line, forcing Jason Strowbridge and Aaron Crawford to play more snaps than the staff preferred. However, capable bodies up front are no longer an issue. The growth in how Kevin Hester and Myles Murphy are playing are boons to the defensive line and bode well for the future.
"I think Myles is playing at a really high level. He's disruptive,” Bateman said. “He's really hard to block on one. It affects the rest of the defense. And then I think Kevin Hester, I was talking to Brick Haley, who's working with us helping with us, and I was like, 'Hester only played one year of high school football.'
“I think there's still a lot of room for growth with him. They're big kids that can run and are athletic. They're starting to play like we think they're really capable of, and I think they have a really bright future."
*Cam Kelly played a season-high 46 snaps against Duke, recording seven tackles and had his first career interception. So, when did Bateman see things click for Kelly?
"I thought he was a little bit up and down a year ago," Bateman said. "When he played really well, he played really well, and then when he didn't obviously was it was the opposite. I thought he had a good spring. I thought some other guys had better springs (and) we talked about it. Then I thought really in this summer he had a great summer. I thought he was playing really well.
“I wasn't playing him enough. It was hard to take some of the guys off, and so after Georgia Tech, I said he deserves to play more. We need him to play more, and the thing Cam does is, obviously, he played great Saturday; I think you know interception was a great play. He tackled really well.
“The other thing about Cam is he is really, really bright. So he can organize us, and get us into the right calls, and help get everything ironed out there. I think that really helped us Saturday too, so I'm really proud of him."
*Senior Trey Morrison is responsible for the past two non-offensive scores dating back to last year when he returned an attempted two-point conversion by Boston College for a score himself, giving the Tar Heels two crucial points in that victory. Saturday, Morrison returned a fumble for 63 yards into the end zone, a play that served as a turning point for the rest of the game.
Following that play, Duke had four consecutive drives end in punts. So, what does Bateman think about Morrison’s performance and all that he provides?
"Yeah, I've been really proud of him," Bateman said. "A year ago, we had to move him from nickel to safety, and he was fine, but he didn't do a great job at running the show back there, being the communicator being the leader that I expected from him. We had some hard talks in the offseason.
“Athletically, Trey Morrison is an athletic kid, he's physical, he can play man coverage he's really good. I said, 'You need to take the next step forward as a leader and as a guy who communicates and runs the show back there.' I feel like he's done a really good job. I thought Saturday he did a really good job. They gave us some stuff earlier he ironed out for us. The fumble, we tell our kids to scoop and score every fumble. Make them blow it dead, and I think if he hadn't of scooped it, they probably would have blown it dead.
“So, I think this is another example of Trey being a veteran and being a leader. And you're right; he plays the most, I think. And there's a reason for that. He's a guy we trust and can play a lot of snaps. He plays at a high velocity most snaps, and we look at all the stuff he gives us. Trey is in good shape. He can play a lot. I'm really, really impressed with how he's taking on a leadership role because he's really the only older kid we got back here."
