CHAPEL HILL - Super senior Tomon Fox met with the media following North Carolina’s 13th practice of the spring Thursday morning in the Bill Koman Practice Complex.

This was the Tar Heels’ final full practice before the spring game, which is set for 3 pm in Kenan Stadium on Saturday. They will have a walk-thru Friday.

Among the topics discussed were limited reps, the defense's potential and more.

Below is the full video from Fox’s interview along with some pulled notes and quotes from what the Lawrenceville, GA, native had to say.

*One of the major themes of this year’s spring practice has been some of the upperclassmen seeing limited action, particularly during the scrimmages, in order for the younger players to get more reps ahead of fall camp.

Fox has been one of those players along with Tyrone Hopper, Jeremiah Gemmel, Sam Howell and Beau Corrales to name a few.

What this has allowed Fox to do is coach the younger guys in his hybrid position group and observe other positions across the defense, something he thinks has been a big positive for him and his teammates this spring.

“I think it helps all the older guys, including me, Tyrone, Gemmel,” Fox said. “Guys like us, it just helps us with our leadership roles, just being able to coach the guys instead of being out there taking all the reps and just showing them.

“Just to talk to them, look to see what they're doing, help them with little things that they may be doing wrong, this, that and the third. Just pull them to the side and help them out more than we were before.”

And has it helped him understand the defensive scheme as a whole better, too?

“Yeah, it definitely has because now that I'm sitting back and watching, I get to understand what everybody's doing more than just like my position on the d-line,” Fox said. “I can see what the DBs help out and fix and just see how all of our assignments help and relate to each other.”

*UNC Coach Mack Brown has praised the spirit and energy of his team this spring, even saying on Tuesday that he’s “never seen the energy for 12 straight practices that I’ve seen with this team.”

That’s strong praise from a Hall of Famer with 43 years of coaching experience and shows the positive direction the program is headed in under his tutelage.

For Fox, the consistent enthusiasm is a bit of a surprise, but also something he gives credit to the underclassmen in particular for bringing.

“It’s sometimes surprising when you have energy from day one to day 12 because guys are usually excited on the first day of spring ball and they usually get tired by the end of it,” he said. “I think everybody here, especially the young guys, are just competitors, so they're ready to come out every day and just get better.

“And then the fact that they're able to get more reps because the older guys are helping them out, that also gives them another incentive to be out here and have energy because they know they're gonna come out here and practice and don't have to just sit back and watch us practice and do everything.”

And has keeping the energy level high been something he and the upperclassmen have been tasked by the coahches to do?

“Yeah, it’s definitely been our responsibility,” Fox said. “Just to turn this to a player led team, just the older guys taking care of everything, it takes some responsibility off of the coaches.”

*Having only lost one starter from last season in linebacker Chazz Surratt and having two super seniors in Fox and Hopper, UNC’s defense is full of experienced talent.

With this in mind, what areas does Fox think the defense will make the biggest improvements going into the 2021 season?

“I’d say the d-line and also the middle linebackers because we’re gonna have way more depth than we ever had in those two positions,” Fox said. “Last year, at the inside linebackers, we just mostly had Gemmel or Chazz playing the whole season. But now, I can even see some of the freshmen getting some reps this year, just because they’re able to catch on quick to the plays and they’re very athletic people.

"And, as far as the d-line, we have a lot more size this year, a lot more depth, so some of the older guys up front, they’ll be able to rotate more.”