CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina Offensive Coordinator Chip Lindsey met with the media Monday in advance of the Tar Heels’ game at home Saturday against Wake Forest.
UNC is coming off an open date, its second in less than a month, and before that won consecutive road games at Virginia and Florida State by a combined score of 76-25.
The Tar Heels gained 928 yards in the two games, Jacolby Criswell was 32-for-47 with 504 yards, 3 TDs and no interceptions. And he attempted only two passes in the second half of the win at FSU. He has not thrown an interception since the loss at Duke in September, which is a span of 123 attempts.
Omarion Hampton ran for a combined 282 yards and 6 touchdowns plus he caught six passes for 130 yards and a score in the two victories.
Even with a third-string QB and an offensive line that has been banged up and with its coach often unavailable due to an illness, the Tar Heels are ranked 20th nationally in total offense averaging 448.8 yards per contest. They are No. 23 in rushing, No. 47 in passing, and No. 26 in scoring at 34.0 points per contest.
UNC hosts Wake Forest this weekend at 8 PM. The game will air on the ACC Network. The Heels are 5-4 overall and 2-3 in the ACC while the Demon Deacons are 4-5 and 2-3.
Above is video of Lindsey’s presser and below are some notes from what he had to say:
*Lindsey said the staff did more self-scouting in the first bye week prior to the pair of road wins at UVA and FSU. He said with them having a third starting quarterback, the two opens dates coming when they did were big so they could slow down some for Criswell and make some alterations. This past week was a higher scale of that.
Lindsey said they now have a great understanding of who Criswell is as a player. The late arrival gave him a different baseline than the other QBs in the program.
*With Darwin Barlow out this weekend and Caleb Hood likely redshirting, it means that JC transfer Charleston French is the No. 3 running back. He has 10 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown. Lindsey described him as a player:
“I like him. He’s a great kid, he plays really hard, plays fast. A little bit different dimension to the running back position.”
*The offensive line has played better the last couple of games partly because it’s finally fully healthy. What are a few things to Lindsey that jump out about what the unit is doing well? He says:
-healthier
-Communication the calls
-Chemistry
-Working with Criswell
*In addition, Lindsey also spoke about the shovel pass catch-and-run for a touchdown by Hampton in the FSU game; if he marvels at what Hampton does on the field; about the direct relationship between the OL’s and Criswell’s improved play syncing together; and about the Wake Forest defense.
