CHAPEL HILL – Looking for reasons to explain North Carolina’s dramatic shift defensively from matador to near-stalwart leads to several noteworthy identifiers.
Among them is the Tar Heels’ depth, which is still growing. Not only are they getting players back healthy, but some younger Heels are getting spot snaps here and there.
The result is a fresher defense that has played its best football in the second halves this season. Carolina is as quick off the ball midway through the fourth quarter as it is in the first series. The program has been building to where it can roll a second unit onto the field without much drop off.
This has been a talking point of UNC Coach Mack Brown’s since he arrived, and it’s finally here. The 12th-ranked Tar Heels (5-0, 2-0 ACC) are deep on defense and using a bunch of players each week.
“The defense is at a point where they have total confidence in two-deep or three-deep,” Brown said earlier this week. “Someone said, ‘Don Chapman’s playing better.’ He doesn’t have any choice. He knows he’s got to make plays or they’re going to say, ‘Hey Stick (Lane), get in the game.’ So, that’s really helping us.”
Lane, an All-Sun Belt performer last season at Georgia State, missed the first couple of games with an injury, but is slowly working his way into the mix. So is sophomore Will Hardy. Junior defensive tackle Kedrick Bingly-Jones was called on last weekend versus Syracuse for rare playing time because Kevin Hester was out with an injury and Jahvaree Ritzie highly limited.
All “KBJ,” as his teammates call him, did was play 17 snaps and make one of the most important plays of the game. He is probably UNC’s tenth defensive lineman.
So far, 14 Heels have played at least 100 defensive snaps, and 19 have played 63 or more, with some of those in the lower range having been injured, thus reducing their total snap counts. And being fresh usually means an elevated performance, so 15 of those 19 players have graded out at 60.0 or higher on the season.
Of the 25 players who got the most defensive snaps last season, 11 graded out below 60.0. Of the 25 players with the most defensive snaps so far this season, only five has graded out below 60.0.
Fresh simply means better.
“End of the game, just in case we’re in a neck-and-neck game, something like that, coach can put me in any time of the game knowing I’m fresh,” senior defensive tackle Myles Murphy said, essentially speaking for everyone on the front line.
Defensive coordinator Gene Chizik says it also breeds better competition in practice. There are snaps to eat, but many mouths to feed. So guys have to make the most of it.
“Competition always brings out the best in everybody, we love that part,” Chizik said. “We love the fact that there’s competition pretty much at every position. There’s some clear-cut guys that are going to be the guy and we know that, but it’s two-fold.
“I said it last week, we are creating competition at different positions, and we have enough depth there to make the guy in front of you be extremely conscientious about how he plays and how he performs.”
The evidence in UNC’s improved play is obvious to the eye, but also the stats. Comparing last season to the Heels’ numbers through five games this fall:
*Total defense: No. 115 to No. 35 (102 fewer yards)
*Rushing defense: No. 85 to No. 40 (48 fewer yards)
*Passing defense: No. 115 to No. 54 (5 fewer yards)
*Pass efficiency D: No. 114 to No. 14
*Scoring defense: No. 101 to No. 30 (11.8 fewer points)
*Third-down defense: No. 95 to No. 52 (5.3% lower)
*Fourth-down defense: No. 61 to No. 10 (20% lower)
*Red zone defense: No. 86 to No. 31 (11% lower)
The Tar Heels have not only improved in all facets of that side of the ball. Murphy said he doesn’t have to pace himself on the field. He knows he can bust “all out” for a series and not leave anything on the field, because another wave will handle the following series.
Chizik reiterated multiple times during his weekly press conference Monday the importance of guys being pushed to perform at a high level. It’s a recurring theme because it’s an absolute byproduct of having plenty of depth.
“We talk about it all the time, ‘is your presence felt in the game,’” Chizik says he asks the players. “As a player, if they’re not feeling your presence in the game, then you’re really not being productive.
“So, we feel like now we’re starting to build enough depth where if your presence in the game is not being felt, maybe there’s somebody behind you whose presence will be felt.”
The Tar Heels have checked a bunch of boxes this season, but perhaps the most noteworthy one is their depth on defense. It’s just about everywhere, and is partly why they are positioning themselves for a potentially special season.
