CHAPEL HILL – The depth in North Carolina’s secondary is real, as its is level of talent.
And with UNC’s new defensive approach under first-year coordinator Geoff Collins, it appears to play into the Tar Heels’ qualities on that side of the ball. And understanding this as much as anyone is secondary coach Charlton Warren.
Warren met with a few members of the media following practice Wednesday, the team’s eight of fall camp. He took questions for nearly 15 minutes about depth at safety, DeAndre Boykins being at the back of the defense, press coverage, Marcus Allen’s added strength, Kaleb Cost at the star position, and much more.
Above is video of Warren’s Q&A session, and below are some notes and quotes from what he had to say:
*With the depth UNC has all around the secondary, Warren says they don’t change much when going rotating players in, and it also allows some to be used more tailoring to the needs of the defense at that moment.
“We’re at the point where we have enough experience at certain positions where we don’t have much drop off from an athletic standpoint. We do have guys that have experience at other positions, but we’re pretty fortunate right now, especially at the safety spot, where we have four guys that have played a lot of football over the last few years.
“Dre (DeAndre Boykins) moving from start to safety, for him a new position, but he’s an experienced football player.
“At the star position, we have Kaleb Cost, Tre Miller, and Ty White. That’s more a younger group of guys who haven’t played a lot of true game. Kaleb had a chance to start in the bowl game. Tre moved there in the spring. Ty White’s a freshman. So that position is a little bit young, but talent-wise, when they know what they’re doing, so there’s not that much drop off.
“It allow us going into the season that we have depth and I don’t have to play a guy 60 or 70 snaps a game.”
*With UNC employing more press coverage with its corners, and sometimes the stars, how does the star position change in this defense?
“It doesn’t really change. What it allows us to do is have (Alijah) Huzzie on the outside where he can cover a boundary or field receiver. But it allows us to have a guy inside who also can cover, but also play the run, also blitz off the edge, and do different things.
“It just makes us more versatile that we can leave a Huzzie outside and bring a guy inside.”
*And that’s what Huzzie came here to play to show the NFL he can play corner at this level, but he played almost exclusively at star last season. Has Warren seen a player with that level of talent now that Huzzie is almost always at corner?
“No, because his body type at the next level is going to allow him to play slot corner or corner. So, the skill set becomes the same. Him playing in the slot last year allowed him to make a lot of plays; they can throw away from a corner, it’s hard to move away from a star because he’s involved in almost every single play in the slot…
“What you are seeing is that he can really hone his skills at playing press, at playing just corner.”
*As camp continues, expectations for a big season by junior corner Marcus Allen grows. He has to length at 6-foot-2 with a longer reach, played 915 snaps last season earning a 71.2 PFF grade, and he added 11 pounds of muscle evenly distributed around his body.
Warren not only says Allen is more confident now, but he’s seen that play out on the practice field and how he goes about the many nuances of his position.
“You see a guy that as a freshman sort of got his foot wet (and) in special teams. Then as a sophomore, played a lot but he wasn’t as big as he is now. Now, he’s hitting his stride.
“I told him this the other day, ‘You’re now at the point now as a junior where you’ve taken your lumps, up and down, been great, been okay, and now you’ve got a chance to come into your own.’ The development happens in year three.
“So, for him, I think you’re going to see a more focused, you’re going to see a more diligent, and you’re going to see a guy that now has game experience so nothing surprises him.”
*Regarding Kaleb Cost, Warren offered serious praise for his smarts and how he handled playing baseball but learning the new defense at the same time. Cost’s time with football was limited because of his baseball demands, but also NCAA rules. But he put in the time watching film and being around the team every minute he could that was allowed.
Now, with Cost being a baseball player, Warren said some of those traits help him on the football field, too.
“Hand-eye coordination. He could be running full speed, turn and pluck a ball out of the air, or knock a ball down. Stealing bases; he stole bases for our baseball team. He’s a blitzer. He can line up on number two and come off the edge. That first 10 yards for him is really impressive. It’s the hand-eye coordination and ball skills that bring the two sports together.”
