*************************************************************************************
And Remember, for just $8.33 a month, YOU CAN BE AN INSIDER, TOO!!!
*************************************************************************************
CHAPEL HILL – Power Echols certainly got a taste of big-time college football last season, though the depth of his sample wasn’t entirely by design.
A true freshman learning the ways of playing middle linebacker at North Carolina, Echols was easing into his role playing behind veteran Jeremiah Gemmel. Echols had the benefit of seeing how Gemmel went about his business, and serving as an apprentice for a year would move him closer to readiness in 2022.
However, part of that process zoomed accelerated when Gemmel was ejected early in the Tar Heels’ win over then-No. 10 Wake Forest at home in November. And in UNC’s bowl game versus South Carolina, Gemmel was ill and couldn’t play after giving it a shot early in that contest.
Echols played 64 snaps versus the Demon Deacons and 49 against the Gamecocks. That’s 113 snaps in big-time situations, which was enough to give him a bit of a been-there, done-that feel to the growth in his game.
“I’d say the only difference is how comfortable I am,” Echols replied, when asked what that playing did for him as opposed he was thrust into duty. “I feel like I was pretty comfortable before the South Carolina game, but now that I’ve been in it, and the accumulation of reps I’ve had all the way from last spring through now, I’m just more comfortable knowing what I’m doing and where I’m going.”
Overall, Echols played 155 snaps on defense and 209 on special teams, mostly on the kick return, punt return, and kickoff coverage units. He is a much different player now after having that experience and knowledge gained reflecting to last fall.
In addition, Echols also played 20 defensive snaps in an early blowout win over Georgia State, three snaps in a victory over Duke, and 25 against FCS member Wofford, meaning he played 114 snaps after November 6.
Up to that point, and certainly once he started getting consistent game reps, Echols was in serious adjustment mode. Adapting to the college game takes time, even for the best and most sought-after prospects, including Echols.
“The eye discipline and the assignment pride,” Echols said about what were his biggest adjustments. “Knowing that you’ve got your one job and try not to – in high school, you could do not whatever you wanted to, but nobody’s the same caliber athlete that you play against, here, everybody’s that dude where they came from.
“I would say the biggest adjustment is assignment pride and eye discipline; just knowing your job.”
A 4-star prospect from Vance (now chambers) in Charlotte, Echols was the No. 157 overall player nationally in the class of 2021, including No. 11 at his position, and No. 10 in the loaded state of North Carolina.
Clemson offered him. So did Auburn, Penn State, and Tennessee, among others. But he chose Carolina. Initially, Echols was learning his collegiate trade under Jay Bateman in a defensive scheme that relied heavily on a wide range of assignments and communication.
Bateman was let go following UNC’s poor performance in the loss to South Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, and in his place came Gene Chizik, who won a national championship as the head coach at Auburn in 2010 . He was National Coach of the Year. Chizik was also Mack Brown’s defensive coordinator at Texas when the Longhorns was the national title in 2005.
Just like Chizik did during his first stint at UNC in 2015 and 2016, everything on that side of the ball has been simplified, certainly to the relief of many players, Echols included.
“I wouldn’t say it’s that much different, the only thing I would say is it takes a lot of weight off our shoulders because we just don’t have to do as much,” said Echols, who is 6-foot, 225 pounds. “The defense is a lot simpler, it’s just ‘knowledge, hit, and run,’ as Coach Chizik would say.”
Now the starter alongside Cedric Gray, that is Echols’ mandate and mission. And it’s something he’s much closer to being ready for on an every down basis because of those late-season reps.
