CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina is eight days into fall camp, putting it near the mod-point.
Afterward, senior defensive tackle Kevin Hester with the a few members of the media to discuss himself, first-year coordinator Geoff Collins, how the Tar Heels are different on that side of the ball, and even the offensive line that he battles each day in practice.
Above is video of his Q&A session, and below are some notes and quotes from what Hester had to say beginning with some of his stats:
*2023 season: 411 snaps; 30 tackles; 0 TFLs; 1 fumble recovery; 8 hurries; 13 STOPs; PFF 63.1. *College career: 1,297 snaps; 110 tackles; 5.5 TFLs; 1.5 sacks; 2 fumble recoveries, 2 forced fumbles; 17 hurries; 8 missed tackles; 49 STOPs; 1 pass deflection.
*Hester is in his sixth year at UNC. He was part of Mack Brown’s first recruiting class and has been in the program for each game of the Brown Part 2 era. Now, as one of the oldest guys on the team and certainly an old head in the d-line room, Hester gives thanks to Aaron Crawford for learning how to lead younger players because of how Crawford mentored him in 2019.
*Collins said Tuesday he believe the defensive line could go ten deep this season, and really that it will go that deep. Hester offered his thoughts about the group as a whole.
“I’ve been here a while, and I think we have the most depth that we’ve had since I’ve been here. We’ve got young guys coming in here like… and we’ve got a lot of experience. (True freshman) Leroy (Jackson) is coming up a lot. (True freshman) Peter’s (Pesansky) coming along good… We have so many people, so (much) depth, it’s just amazing.”
*With Ted Monachino was a defensive analyst last year and is now the d-line coach. Hester said he’s already improved in a few areas because of Monachino.
“Pass rush for sure. He’s more of a pass rush specialist, all we do is work on pass rush a lot. He helped me personally because I wanted to work on my pass rush. So, it’s great having him come in a show me some stuff.”
*There is the physical side of pass rushing, also a technique side, but Hester has learned so much of it is mental, too.
“Pass rush has a lot of mentality, that’s where (we’re) paid. Our pass rush, we’re more aggressive. Instead of holding out gaps, we’re more aggressive on the pass rush getting off the ball.”
---Hester says it’s a lot more fun, but they don’t have some kind of sack reward, but need to find one. Example, Major League Baseball teams have things they do for players when they hit home runs, like some football teams do for getting turnovers. Hester thinks it’s a great idea and will talk with his teammates about coming up with something.
*Hester says landing Joshua Harris in the portal this past spring was a big pick up for the Tar Heels. He eats blockers for sure, but he’s also quicker than most people realize.
“He’s a sixth-year guy like me, so he has a lot of experience. Since he came here, it wasn’t an awkward stage… he fit in immediately. The bond came in great, and I think he was a great addition to our team for sure….
“He’s twitchy for sure. He’s surprisingly twitchy, you wouldn’t expect it.”
