CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina defensive line coach Tim Cross has held that post since Mack Brown returned to UNC following the 2018 season.

So, Cross has been a big part of the program stocking the d-line with a bevy of talent making it one of the deepest units in the ACC, even if it remains a bit on the young side.

Cross met with the media following practice Thursday morning to field questions about his group, which includes 10 scholarship players that could get on the field in certain situations this fall.

Above is the video of Cross’ interview and below are some notes and pulled quotes from what Cross had to say:

*Going back to Cross’ first season at UNC in 2019, the depth then compared to now is, for lack of a better term, off the charts. So, Cross was asked to put then and now into perspective.

“That is a huge difference, it’s a huge difference,” Cross said. “Back then we had two guys that were older guys who could really play and not a lot of experience or depth behind them. Now, you’ve got a room with a bunch of guys that have a chance to be good.”

*Unlike with Aaron Crawford and Jason Strowbridge two seasons ago, when they had to take almost all of the snaps on defense, there are many more options for Cross that will allow players to stay fresher. He has 10 kids that could play, but with that comes the challenge of figuring out how to get players on the field who deserve playing time.

“They’ll get the snaps they earn,” Cross said, before unloading some of his typical sense for humor. “I’ve got 10 kids and four popsicles, K? You’ve got to break them off and make it fair, but it ain’t gonna be equal. So you’ve got to make it work, and sometimes you’ve got to slice it up to where it looks good, everybody gets a taste, but all of them aren’t going to get the same size chunk.”

*One benefit of having so many guys is in some cases they can be used as specialists, more situationally.

“No doubt, and I think that’s really going to help us,” Cross said. “Guys can find a role and embrace that role and get thoroughly immersed in it knowing that when their number (is) called, ‘Okay, we need a closer, it’s your role. We need a grinder, it’s your role.’

“It keeps everybody engaged, keeps everybody fighting for each other and working hard because they know at any moment their number can get called.”

*Does that mean there are snap limits for guys, sort of like how pitchers in baseball have pitch limits? How might Cross divvy up the snaps?

“Definitely, but it’s different for each guy,” Cross said. “And some of it can be based on consecutive plays in a row. You may be able to play 15 (snaps) but you can’t do them 15 straight. It might be in racks of three or racks of five or situationally.

“So that’s part of the challenge of fitting guys into their role, making sure that they’re productive when they’re in there, and making sure that the group is always fresh so that the entire defense can benefit from it.”

*With UNC using plenty of guys up front and all over the defense, it will face some offenses that try to go tempo at a high speed without changing its personnel on the field, thus making it a huge challenge for the defensive coaches to substitute in players. If an offensive player is subbed for, the officials must allow the defense time to counter by subbing in someone as well. That is when fans see a ref standing over the ball at the line of scrimmage giving the defense time to respond.

However, if the offense doesn’t sub, the defense won’t be afforded any time to react, so if it does swap in some players, it will at the risk of the ball being snapped with the defense not set. So, how might Cross counter that if he’s usually so many players situationally, as the down-and-distance and situations between snaps could change.

“I think it’s an evil, villainous, despicable way to run an offense, the no-huddle and hurry-up, making big guys sprint here and there,” Cross said, clearly joking but while also making a point. “When our guys do it, I love it. But what you have to do is our guys have got to be ready.

“What it does is when they’re tempoing you, it forces the guys on the sideline to stay locked in. And the guys on the field, they know that there’s a signal to give to say, ‘Hey, after this play, somebody needs to come get me.”

*Kevin Hester played one year of football in high school, as his focus most of the time was as a basketball player. So, what has Cross seen from Hester as he has developed his body, physicality, mindset for the game, and learned the techniques and nuances of playing in the trenches at this level?

“He’s done a tremendous job,” Criss said. “He’s an outstanding young man. He came in here, only one year of high school football, he probably thought he was closer to Giannis Antetokounmpo than eh was to Aaron Donald, or someone like that; he might still think that sometimes.

“But he works hard at it. He’s humble, he grinds away, he’s unselfish, outstanding young man. He has really put himself in a position to really help us and add value to our team.”

*True freshmen Keeshawn Silver and Jahvaree Ritzie arrived at UNC with plenty of buzz and clearly examples of the program’s elevated success on the recruiting trail. Both played well in the spring, though Silver was hampered by some a nagging injury. Now that Carolina is two weeks away from playing its first game, what are Cross’ thoughts about two of the jewels of UNC’s class of 2021?

“I think they’re doing a great job, especially since they were able to come in in January,” Cross said. “People forget, they came in January after not having played their senior year of football. The learning curve for them has been great, they’re working hard.

“And I’ve got to understand there’s always going to be some growing pains always… They are two outstanding young men and they are progressing great right now.”