CHAPEL HILL – Kaimon Rucker has played more meaningful snaps than any other freshman on North Carolina’s football team so far.

He was in the opener versus Syracuse for 22 plays and is second on the team for newcomers with 97 position snaps, which doesn’t include special teams plays. He has eight tackles, including one for a loss of yardage, four quarterback hurries and five STOPs, which are plays that result in failures for the offense.

Rucker’s PFF grade on the season so far is an impressive 74.2, including a 73.3 in 33 snaps during UNC’s rout of Duke in Durham this past weekend.

A 6-foot-1, 225-pound linebacker/defensive end, Rucker was made available to the media Tuesday morning for the first time since he arrived at Carolina. So here is getting to know a little more about Kaimon Rucker:

*Rucker credits his Hart County high school coach, Rance Gillespie, for helping him get ready for UNC. Gillespie spent nearly a decade as a college coach, including most recently as the offensive coordinator at Georgia Southern before going back to coaching in high school.

“I feel like he prepared me for the speed of practice, the mental part of the game, especially with coming from a collegiate level like Georgia Southern. He obviously knows the process of practice, he knows the speed, he knows the mental game for it. So, I feel like he prepared me along those years when he got there, my sophomore year. So, I feel like he properly prepared me for moments like these coming to UNC.”

*The biggest adjustment for Rucker since he got to UNC?

“I would say the top two things are the playbook and the overall speed of the game. Obviously, the speed is different from high school to the collegiate level, and also the playbook of getting used to everything… You’ve got to redo everything, it’s a restart button, so learning the plays again, operating at a different speed than what you’re used to. I feel like those are the main parts of the transition.”

*Rucker is quite confident seven games into his college career, and while it’s been a process, as it is for all freshmen, he got a nice jolt early on and has ridden that through the season. So where is his confidence level at this time?

“I can tell you that it’s definitely escalated from the first snap I took (versus) Syracuse to now. I feel like, now, I’m also getting used to the speed of the game, the mental game, just everything. Seeing opponents on the field is getting slower, I can read people. I can read the playbook a lot quicker.

“I can process a lot more information faster and I feel like my confidence has definitely increased since the first time I touched a collegiate field.”

*Most athletes remember the moment in time when they get it, the light went on and it was full speed ahead from that moment on. Does Rucker have one yet?

“I feel like the first tackle that I made (versus) Syracuse. The main one where I stunted inside and I got a tackle for a loss on the quarterback. I feel like that was like, ‘Okay, I can really be here, I can really kick it with these boys, I can contribute to the team to where if coach puts me in a position on the field I feel like I can get it done.’”

*Rucker had a keen understanding of who he is as a player and young man when THI spoke to him the night he committed to UNC in June of 2019. So, now that he’s fully entrenched as a Tar Heel, who would he describe himself as a football player?

“I describe myself as selfless, very humble, willing to do the little things right, just trying to get everything done the right way. Even if it’s the slightest detail, even if it’s putting my near foot up on the tackle or fitting in a B gap and a certain play or anything of that sort, I feel I’m very detailed, I want to get everything right.

“I want to be a very positive teammate, as well, a very positive leader. So, I feel like that’s how I would describe myself best.”

*Rucker was a National Honor Society student and has many interests outside of football, including the work he’s done in his community back home in Georgia. So why does he play football?

“That is a question that I’ve gotten before, and I feel like I play football is something that I’ve always wanted to do coming out of high school,” he said. “I can be honest, starting off is something that my dad really pushed me to do and as time went on and I’d seen the progression, I fell in love with getting better and I fell in love with the game of football.

“And over time, it’s (gone from) an external motivation to more of an internal motivation of me wanting to get better (and) my internal love for the game and me just finding out what I want to do with the game of football. And I just play because it’s fun and what I want to do. Of course, I want to get my degree here and I have to do everything I have to do first, of course football is just something I love and want to continue to do if God will allow me.”

*THI extensively covered Rucker’s decision to commit to UNC, but now that he’s been a part of the program for a while and is getting on the field some, why is he at UNC?

“They just have everything that I need,” Rucker said. “Of course, they’ve got a great coaching staff, they have great academics, we have great teammates – it’s a brotherhood here. And that’s all I want in the gist of everything is just a great academic program and a great football team that has great brotherhood. Just sticking through everything, no matter how hard times get, and I feel like I found that here and I love it here.”

*Back onto football, Rucker has put on quite a bit of weight, as Mack Brown noted during his Wednesday post-practice interview, and it’s been evident at times that Rucker has become quite strong, which is also something Brown raved about Wednesday. So, how much stronger has Rucker gotten since arriving in Chapel Hill?

“I’ve definitely gotten strong,” he said. “I don’t know my weight specifically, so I can’t really tell you that, but I’ve genuinely gotten stronger. I feel like I’ve gotten faster, I’ve definitely gotten quicker and of course Coach (Brian) Hess and his staff have done a tremendous job getting me better along with my teammates. I see the progression.”