CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina held its 14th and final practice of fall camp Sunday evening at the Koman Practice Complex, and afterward, three Tar Heels fielded questions from the media via zoom.

UNC opened camp July 29, and with fall semester classes beginning Monday, camp is now officially over. The Heels will move to more of an in-season practice regimen over the rest of the week. Carolina opens its season August 27 at home versus Florida A&M.

Below are videos of interviews with junior defensive lineman Myles Murphy, sophomore linebacker Rara Dillworth, and senior offensive tackle Asim Richards, along with some notes and pulled quotes from what they had to say:

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A junior and All-ACC candidate, the 6-foot-3, 300-pound defensive lineman took a big step forward in his performance last fall, finishing with 38 tackles, nine TFLs, 4.0 of which were sacks for a loss of 25 yards. He was credited with three pass breakups, five hurries, and 26 STOPs, which are plays that result in failures by the opposing offense. He graded out at 66.2 by PFF.

*The Tar Heels concluded fall camp Sunday evening, which was their 14th practice. The mission on defense was to fully install the new scheme and approach, and gain comfort. Murphy says they made tremendous progress, but have more work to do.

“I feel like we accomplished a lot of good things, but we’ve still got a long way to go,” he said. “From now to game time, we’ve still got some things to work on. We’re going to work on them, and when the first game comes, we’re going to have to see what happens.”

*As for those things they need to still work on?

“A little bit more on the communications part of it,” he replied. “Get that down, get all the signals and stuff down, we should be a good team this year.”

*Travis Shaw came in last January as one of the top prospects nationally in the class of 2022. A 5-star defensive tackle, some believe he was the top player in the nation in that position. Now that Shaw is less than two weeks from playing his first game, Murphy says the Greensboro native’s growth has been obvious and he will help the Tar Heels this fall.

“Travis has been a good run-eater for us,” Murphy said. “He’s going to take on a lot of blocks… He’s going to take on a lot of run blocks. He’s going to get out there this year. He’s going to be real good.”

*Spencer Rolland started at offensive tackle for two seasons at Harvard before transferring to UNC. He didn’t arrive until June following his graduation from the Ivy League school. He is competing for the starting right tackle job, but also adjusting to dealing with the speed, size, and physicality of being in the trenches with ACC linemen. Murphy has battled him a lot in practice, and offered this scouting report regarding Rolland’s development.

“He’s good with his size; he’s got some size on him,” Murphy said. “But I’d say he needs to work on his footwork and get used to – we’re a good defensive line, so we go against him ever day. So, I’d just say his footwork. If he works on his footwork, he’ll be a good player.”

Murphy also noted he’s seen progress from Rolland since camp started.

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, Dillworth heads into his sophomore season with more of a role on UNC’s defense, which he spoke about Sunday. He says his playing weight will range between 205 and 208 pounds, and that he’s perfectly comfortable in the Will linebacker role at that size.

As a true freshman, Dillworth didn’t get many game reps on defense, playing 33 snaps on the season. He appeared in 12 games, each of which he was on special teams, and a handful also on defense. He finished the campaign with six tackles and one TFL. He had four STOPs, and graded out at 79.1, which technically was the highest on the team, but given that his snaps were mostly in mop-up duty or against FCS member Wofford, that number may not reveal much.

Dillworth was in for 102 plays on special teams, mostly on the kickoff and punt return units.

*Junior ILB Cedric Gray said several days ago there are some unique assignments and roles for Dillworth in this defense, though he wouldn’t elaborate. In fact, Gray smiled hinting it was top-secret stuff. So, Dillworth was asked about the range in his roles on the defense.

“I’m playing Will linebacker, obviously, I’m also in some other little packages that I’m not going to speak to what it’s about, but it’s pretty fun,” he said, smiling. “I’m just happy with the way they’re using me and brining me on. I’m learning stuff, and the game’s getting more smoother and I’m moving faster, and I’m all dialed into it.”

*Clearly, Dillworth can play football. He’s fast, quick, can hit, loves to hit, and has a nose for the ball. That is why the staff brought him to Chapel Hill. And with Gene Chizik finding some unique ways to use Dillworth’s skillset is fun and exciting for him, and anyone interested in how Carolina will best take advantage of Dillworth’s talents.

“It’s fun to me because I can go out there and do what I usually do,” Dillworth said. “It’s even funner when I’m doing what I’m doing and making a play, it’s like everything that I’ve worked for is coming together.”

*Regarding Dillworth’s weight, he said between 205-208 is the comfort zone for him, on which he elaborated.

“I feel very comfortable and I feel like I could play at a solid size, and I can move very fast, that y’all know. And I just feel like 205-to-208 range, I feel like I can do everything any other linebacker in the country can do, and I feel really comfortable there.”

Richards started at right tackle the last two seasons but is entrenched there this season. He played both last year, starting the season at right tackle. He played 1,425 snaps the last two seasons, but was inconsistent with the PFF grades that were awarded.

Richards’ best games last fall were against Georgia State (71.8), Duke (66.9), and Wake Forest (65.7). He is the only returning starter along the o-line, if one doesn’t consider Brian Anderson a returning starter. Anderson missed much of last season with an injury, and currently is running with the second team at center.

*Think about it: None of the starters along the offensive line August 27 will be players that started last season in that same spot. Richards is the lone returning starter and is at left tackle. Ed Montilus has played a lot of left guard, starting 15 times over the last three seasons, and he should be comfortable there.

Center Corey Gaynor came over from Miami, and the right side appears to be a combination of senior William Barnes, who hasn’t played much, true freshman Zach Rice, and Harvard transfer Spencer Rolland looking to man two spots. With chemistry on the field regarding trusting each other, the calls, and the meshing that is a must for an o-line, where is the group in that respect less than two weeks from the opener?

“Our on-field communication is getting a lot better,” he said. “Me and Ed on the left side, and Corey, we’re older, so we know how to talk and stuff. When Will (Barnes) is in, he does a lot of talking from the right side. But we have to get some of the young guys to talk. And that will come with experience, honestly. So, we’re not too worried about that.”

*So, with Rice being a true freshman and Rolland transferring in from Harvard, they are both new to this level of football, how has Richards seen them grow this month?

“You could tell they felt out of place doing some of the drills and stuff, but (o-line) Coach (Jack) Bicknell has done a great job of working with them, making them feel more comfortable setting, taking the proper steps, hand placement. So, they are really coming along, and I’m enjoying seeing them grow and them continue to grow.”

*Richards says the o-line “has a lot of talent” and that eight-to-nine guys will play, but there is still some uncertainty over who will be the five starters and the rotation in general.

“We have a lot of people that can play for sure, but we just need to solidify who is going to play,” Richards said.

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