CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina defensive coordinator Gene Chizik met with the media Monday at the Kenan Football Center to field questions about his unit, their performance in the win at Wake Forest on Saturday night, and much more.

Chizik discussed the increase in blitzing in the game, his philosophy about blitzing and how it coincides with trust in the secondary, Cam Kelly’s play, Keimon Rucker, Jahvaree Ritzie, and more.

The No. 13 Tar Heels host Georgia Tech on Satuday at Kenan Stadium for a 5:30 PM kick.

Above is the video of Chizik's presser and below are some notes and a few quotes from what he had to say:

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*UNC went into the Wake Forest game having blitzed 50 times on the season, according to PFF, but went after Sam Hartman 21 times. It was an integral part of the game plan after Louisville and NC State had so much success pressuring Hartman into nine turnovers in the two games.

Hartman threw for 320 yards, but the Tar Heels still caused some problems, including blitzing on the play Hartman was intercepted by Cam Kelly late in the contest. It led to UNC’s game-winning field goal.

“That was by design for this game for sure to try and keep them off rhythm,” Chizik said. “When Wake had struggled in the past game, usually it was because people were bringing a lot of pressure. Sam Hartman is a great quarterback, so if you’re not getting that type of pressure, it can be a long night.

“So, that was by design. I felt like we got more pressure, even though if you look at the sack stats, it’s going to say there was one, but that’s because they throw the ball so close to the line of scrimmage where we actually did get some sacks that were probably right at the line of scrimmage.

“So, the pressuring was by design, and we’re going to have to do some more of that. We’ve got to help our coverage in the back end. It will be different by game plan; you just don’t go in and say, ‘this is what we’re going to do all day long.’ But for us in that particular game, in order for us to be able to create some negative plays, get them behind the chains some, that’s what we had to do.”

*There is a delicate balance between wanting to get after a quarterback a lot and knowing when a unit’s personnel is ready to have enough success with it. What is the trust factor Chizik and the defensive coaches must have to bring more often than they had before the Wake game, and possibly do more moving forward?

“It definitely plays a part,” Chizik said. “We do our best to make sure we don’t leave them by themselves a lot, but inevitably that’s the job of a defensive back. Sometimes, you’re on islands by yourself and you have to cover.

“Obviously, you don’t want to do that all day every day to any secondary, but there’s got to be a balance in there between when you’re aggressive, and when they have to hold up in coverage, and sometimes you can be aggressive and not necessarily leave those guys on islands by themselves either…

“But that definitely comes into play as part of the equation in how much you pressure.”

*It isn’t hard to tell that Chizik is a huge fan of junior Kaimon Rucker, and rightfully so. Rucker has the highest PFF grade on the defense on the season at 83.8. He has 26 tackles on the season, six TFLs, 2.5 sacks (PFF says he has four), 19 hurries, 18 STOPs (plays that result in failures by the opposing offense), and has been charged with just one missed tackle on the season in 393 snaps. He has a remarkably low 3.7 missed tackle percent.

“He’s a natural football player, first of all,” Chizik said. “He gets the game. He plays with great leverage and power. His practice habits are outstanding, he is practicing as hard as he can go every single day, and it carries over in the game.

“He’s a powerful guy. And he’s got really, really good suddenness, really good short area of quickness, which makes him be able to take on blocks and be stout and hold the point in the run game.

“And then in the pass game, because he’s not a 6-4 real long guy, he’s a 6-2 guy, maybe a little taller, but just really powerful. He strikes blocks and he gets under people’s pads, and he can use his leverage and his low center of gravity to really work those offensive tackles who are 6-6.”

*Interesting question posed to Chizik, who coached Auburn to a national title in 2011, the same year Cam Newton won the Heisman Trophy, and has been on staffs that have had multiple QBs taken in the first round. So, Chizik was asked his thoughts about Maye and how he compares to some of the other great quarterbacks from teams with which he has been associated.

“I’m going to say I’ve probably had five first-rounders on my teams before, in my career, I’ve had five first-round quarterbacks on the same team that I coached, whether I was an assistant or a head coach…,” Chizik said. “I’ve been around a lot of great college quarterbacks, Drake Maye is special. He is special.

“He’s got that; (OC and QB coach) Phil (Longo) does a great job coaching him, the scheme is great with him, he’s got things that you can’t teach. And I’ve been around ones that are probably considered some of the greatest in college football history, and they had those same things, the thing you cannot teach.

“They had an innate ability to see the field, the innate ability to escape things and extend plays. Great quarterbacks are great decision makers and they have great accuracy… And he’s got all of that. And it’s really amazing as a young guy the skill set and the traits that he has.”