Defensive Players Tuesday: Kelly, Hester & Vohasek

Subscribe to THI for one year at just $8.33 per month and get access to everything we do. We are all over football & basketball recruiting & we go where the Tar Heels go.

CHAPEL HILL – Tuesday evening means North Carolina’s players are available for their mid-week interviews in advance of the upcoming game, which in the Tar Heels’ case is at home Saturday versus Florida State.

With six players available this week, we are splitting the interviews into offensive and defensive players. Here are videos of full interviews with

*Kelly has had an interesting time since leaving Auburn before his freshman season started. He wasn’t cleared to play by the NCAA in 2019 until just a few days before the opener versus South Carolina, and then suffered a season-ending knee injury versus Clemson, which was his first career start.

He has been a bit inconsistent since returning from the injury but had the best game of his career in the win over Duke on Saturday registering seven tackles and intercepting a pass. Feeling more comfortable in the defense was the turning point for Kelly.

"That was a big point of emphasis for me after last season,” he said. “Definitely being more consistent like Coach Jay Bateman said. Then really just grinding the playbook doing what I have to do, doing my 1/11 (doing one assignment during the play). Then just watching the rest of the guys on the defense ball out is just a blessing to be a part of as well."

*Now that Kelly has elevated his game to what UNC Coach Mack Brown called the best of his Carolina career, what was the biggest challenge for Kelly to this point?

"The biggest challenge was probably just coming back from the ACL,” Kelly said. “I only had really one game underneath my belt my freshman year, which was Clemson. That was the most snaps I played. A lot of people don't realize that. Basically, last year was my freshman year on the field.

“But definitely, just getting the hang of it and just being more confident in my leg. Then just taking my shots and taking my chances without second-guessing it. That was the biggest thing, so now I feel like I'm able to do that."

*Kelly plays with a great deal of energy to the field and has been really good in sequences, Bateman has said multiple times, but what does the Chesapeake, VA, native say provides when in the game?

"I feel like I bring a lot of energy,” he said. “I play fast(and) physical. I definitely love to communicate. I think I communicate a little too much to some of the guys. They'll tell you I love to talk. I love bringing the swag to the game, and bringing some of that 757 swag Tony (Grimes) will tell you about.

“But definitely, I play fast and physical, and once you hit on all your assignments and your fast and physical, not a lot of things get past you."

*Hester played one year of football in high school, but his game is developing, as evidence by his performance in the win over Duke. Hester was credited with a sack when forcing a fumble that led to a 63-yard return for a touchdown by Trey Morrison infusing the Tar Heels with a ton of vitality. Now that he is five games into this season, in what ways has he seen his game grow?

"I improved on reading blocks and definitely playing behind my hands,” Hester said. “I feel like I came a long way fundamentally-wise."

*On the play when he hit Gunnar Holmgren’s arm, what did Hester do to make that play happen?

"Kamion Rucker, I'm going to give my credit to him,” he said. “Because he definitely helped me with his twist game. I'd definitely be selfish to say it was just myself."

*It appeared Hester had to give a good reach in order to reach Holmgren, did he think he was going to get the Duke QB’s arm right before it happened?

"No, I didn't actually, but you always got to try,” Hester said. “You always have to have the mindset that you can always get him."

*UNC’s defense struggled in the second half of the loss at Georgia Tech, but it was outstanding in the win over the Blue Devils. What was the key in the Tar Heels showing such dramatic improvement from the week before?

“From week to week, I think we’ve just been working on our fundamentals, working on controlling what we can control, our effort, our energy, our gap responsibility,” Vohasek said. “I think that’s what we’ve been preaching, and I think it’s paying off right now.”

*The Yellow Jackets and Blue Devils combined to convert only 5-for-26 on third downs the last two weeks. Vohasek says the importance getting those stops is constantly preached and it has recently paid off.

“That was something we emphasized,” he said. “Even Jeremiah Gemmel in the locker room talked to us about it. He talked about we gotta get off the field on third down, that was something we emphasized. If we’re gonna get teams to third down, we can’t let them convert, let them control the game, things like that. That was a big emphasis for us, is getting off the field on third down, and I think it’s paying off right now.”

*And the mindset in making those stops and getting off the field?

“I think it’s kind of like a bought in thing from the group,” Vohasek said. “We all heard them talk about it, we heard the coaches talk about it, and we’ve bought into it, and it’s paying off for the defense. It’s keeping the numbers down on how many plays they're getting. It’s a momentum killer for the offense if we can get them off the field. It’s just the group buying in, realizing hey, if we get off the field here it’s a big momentum swing, and it’s big for us.”

*FSU beat the Tar Heels last season in part because QB Jordan Travis ran for 107 yards and scored twice. He ran for 113 yards in a win over Syracuse this past weekend. What stands out to Vohasek about the Seminoles on offense?

“I think they have a very mobile quarterback,” he said. “I think both their running backs are some of the best we’ll see this year, veteran offensive line. You can say what you want about their record, but they’re a super talented team. Some things could’ve went a different way, and their record could look a lot different, so it’s a big challenge ahead of us.”