CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina defensive coordinator Geoff Collins met with the media Monday at the Kenan Football Center for his weekly press conference in advance of the Tar Heels’ game at Virginia on Saturday.
The Tar Heels were open this past weekend and have not played since falling, 41-34, at home to Georgia Tech on October 12. UNC has lost four consecutive games and stands at 3-4 overall and 0-3 in the ACC.
Above is video from Collins’ Q&A session and below are some notes from what he had to say:
*The Tar Heels have allowed 918 rushing yards on 163 attempts during the four-game skid, which is an average of 5.63 yards per attempt. Collins was asked what the primary cause for the run-stopping issues.
“Early in the season and in stretches the defense looks the way it’s supposed to look. Fitting gaps, playing really hard, which they do all the time. But I think at times the journey that we’ve been on… is sometimes trying to do too much, hopping in and out of gaps. Saturday (against GT), it was a lack of communication at times, whether it be a check or the base call or whatever the case may be.
“Just making sure the consistency, and it starts with me, the consistency of the communication and the consistency of the application of the techniques to be used, has to be there all the time. Because when it is, I mean it’s a beautiful thing to watch.
“Then at other times, just things happen that as coaches, we’ve got to make sure that there are no ways the communication or the technique can be at all in the gray.”
*The game-winning 68-yard TD run by Georgia Tech last week looked like a complete breakdown on UNC’s part. Collins was asked to explain what happened there.
“That was more a thing of communication. Just one of the checks that we’ve been doing the entirety of the second half, didn’t get put on and then. And another flaw in the communication happened on the edge of the defense. And when you do that at two critical spots, things like that should never happen happened.”
*Collins said they used the open week of practice to do somewhat of a basic install from the start. It’s not uncommon coaches do this during open dates. It’s a refresher course, but also was needed given how the defense has played the last month. He called it a “day one install.”
*In addition, Collins discussed Kaimon Rucker and if he’s being asked to do too much given that it appears he’s not 100% yet; Marcus Allen on the 68-yard play; more about what was worked on in the open week; and Virginia’s offense.
