CHAPEL HILL - This time last year, North Carolina linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel had no idea what it felt like to start in a college football game.
Gemmel, who appeared in just four games during his redshirt freshman season in 2018 and tallied only one tackle, was relatively unproven to a new coaching staff and his teammates. The potential was there, but Gemmel hadn’t yet had a chance to prove himself.
“Last year, it was his first year starting, so it was almost like being a rookie on the football field,” UNC co-defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen said.
Fast forward some 365 days and Gemmel has grown into one of the Tar Heels’ most important players on defense. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Newnan, GA, native started in all 13 games in 2019, racking up 84 tackles, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He also played the second most snaps for the Heels on defense, just behind senior safety Myles Dorn, with 816 on the year.
It was an impressive campaign for a player many UNC fans knew very little about before last year’s season opener against South Carolina. There were still learning curves Gemmel had to work through, though, especially in the first few games, but work through them he did.
“As the season kept going, we thought he was probably one of the most unsung heroes on our team,” Thigpen said.
Playing alongside fellow linebacker Chazz Surratt who, as a junior, burst onto the national scene earning first-team All-ACC honors and was runner-up for the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year, Gemmel was a bit overshadowed. It was quite the season for a quarterback-turned-linebacker, who naturally stole some of the limelight away from Gemmel’s consistently solid performances, particularly during the second half of the season.
Despite all the attention his teammate received, Gemmel remained focused on being the best player and leader he could, and it didn’t go unnoticed.
“Everything goes through him,” Thigpen said. “From every check to whatever blitz we call, getting us in and out of calls. He’s the quarterback.”
Now, as the Tar Heels prepare for a 2020 season shaded with so much uncertainty if it will even take place, Gemmel, now a junior, is solely focused on building on the success of his sophomore campaign. He’s not doing it alone, however, and has been working closely with Surratt in attempts to take each other's games to the next level.
“Me and Chazz have just been in the film room a lot,” Gemmel said during a recent Zoom interview. “We’ve gone through the whole past season and looked at teams that we had problems with.”
From countless hours watching film, Gemmel has identified what he and his teammates need to improve the most ahead of the season opener against Syracuse.
“Really, it was some bunch sets and just passing,” Gemmel said. “We really didn’t have any problem in the run game, me, Chazz or the d-line or even the safeties.”
Having played side-by-side with him for nearly a year now, Surratt has also noticed how much Gemmel has improved over the last 12 months.
“It’s great to have Gemmel out there,” Surratt said. “He’s always the Mike, makes the calls all the time, so he's always on it. He’s very sharp, very athletic, hits, comes down hill, can play in space. He can do everything you need in a linebacker.”
Even more importantly, Surratt and Gemmel have built a trust on and off the field that is necessary for any successful linebacker duo to have.
“To have him out here, that’s a guy I can look to, rely on,” Surratt said. “I know he’s going to make the right play every time when we go out there.”
What a difference a year makes. From relative unknown to becoming one of the most important players on UNC’s defense, Gemmel’s story so far is one to remember, and he’s not done yet.
