Morrison, Richards, Vohasek & Walston Interviews & Notes

CHAPEL HILL – Day two of fall camp is in the books for North Carolina, and afterward, four Tar Heels met with the media via zoom to discuss themselves, their position groups, elements of the team, and more.

Here are interviews along with notes and quotes from senior safety Trey Morrison, junior offensive tackle Asim Richards, senior defensive tackle Ray Vohasek, and graduate/super senior tight end Garrett Walston:

*Trey Morrison has started a lot at corner, nickel, and safety in his Carolina career. UNC defensive coordinator Jay Bateman said Morrison is capable of playing all three positions in the same defensive series, he’s that multifaceted and that valuable. But he has settled in for the most part at safety, though Morrison is happy to get work in other spots, too.

“I’m mostly working at free safety, but you know how we play,” he said. “We move everybody around so everybody’s in different positions. But I’m primarily at free safety right now.”

*Talk about the increased quality and quantity along the defensive line could be the storyline for the Tar Heels during fall camp heading into the season. The most important thing that needed to change in order for the Heels to become a legitimate CFP contender was for the DL to elevate its play several notches.

With perhaps as many as ten guys who are built to play a meaningful role and have the talent to do so, though some are still working on their craft to reach that point, Morrison sees the gains up front as a huge part of what the defense can become. It could change a lot how the back seven play this season from what UNC fans have seen the last two falls.

“With a strong d-line it just makes it easier on the back end, more plays can be made on the back end,” Morrison said. “We’ve got a lot of good guys, young guys – we’ve got two (or) three deep so we can rotate them. Everything is looking good, so the more plays they make the more opportunities we have on the back end.”

*Junior Gio Biggers was a name we kept hearing about as one of the surprise players during the spring, and in fact, we even saw him working with the ones and two on almost every seven-on-seven and 11-v-11 situation we saw in the three practices and spring game we viewed in person. That was the case again in Thursday’s first day of fall camp.

So, what has Morrison seen from Biggers in why he has raised his game to where he’s rotating in with first and second-line players?

“Gio’s my roommate, so we talk about this all the time,” Morrison said. “Gio has made a big impact on our defense. He’s going out there playing, he knows the playbook, he’s getting everybody lined up. He’s going to be a great addition to our team this year really helping out in that back end for sure.”

Note that Biggers played sparingly last season on defense, so him stepping forward as he has is sort of like UNC picking up a new player.

*Along with the growth of depth and quality along the defensive line, that has been a similar narrative with respect to the offensive line. Mack Brown has said multiple times over the last several months the group is much deeper than at any time since he returned, and not only have they reached a goal of having eight trusted players the staff can use in a game, but it could grow to ten by the time the Tar Heels travel to Virginia Tech for the opener on Sept. 3.

In particular, junior William Barnes’ name has often come up, and he’s drawn considerable praise from Brown. Barnes was a 4-star prospect and a Rivals100 kid when he arrived at UNC, but after playing a lot in his first two games as a true freshman, he hasn’t gotten a whole lot of action. That will change this season, since he can back up at four spots (excluding center) and is worthy of starting, Brown has said.

So, what has Richards seen from Barnes and how does it help the line?

“He can be trusted at multiple positions at guard and tackle if we needed him to be either one,” Richards said. “Honestly, he’s one of my favorite cases on the offensive line right now because I appreciate how much he’s put in that work and it’s really showing on the field about how much he grew as a football player.

“I think he’s going to have a big role this year.”

*Richards was the only first-year starting along the o-line last fall, as the other four also started in 2019. What did he learn during the offseason after have a full schedule of games to comb over dissecting his performances, and what were his personal points of emphasis over the last seven months?

“Last year was a real good learning experience for me, and some of the thing I needed to work on was staying square with my sets, putting good hands on people, and just playing without thinking,” Richards said. “That’s coming to me more naturally. The game is slowing down to me so I can play faster without thinking so much. I really think that helped me a lot last year.”

*Ray Vohasek arrived at UNC as an unheralded junior college transfer, but he enters his senior season with some hype hovering above, notably from Phil Steele, who placed Vohasek on one of his preseason All-America teams. So, what were some of Vohasek’s points of emphasis in the offseason that have helped his game grow now that fall camp is underway?

“For me, I would say when we’re playing the run transitioning to the pass rush, that’s something we have focused on this offseason…," he said. "That would be a big one for me, because I feel like when we would play the run, we would initially play the run and then would get an RPO (read, pass, option) and being able to transition into a pass rush, creating more pressure. Things like that.”

*Brown said Thursday one mandate the staff is pushing to the Tar Heels, who are deeper and more talented everywhere on the roster than two years ago, is, "We want you to play fewer plays, be more rested, and get more production with fewer plays."

With respect to the defensive front, which might be able to go ten deep at some point this season, what does that slogan mean to Vohasek?

“That’s a goal we’ve talked about,” Vohasek said. “It’s all about the guys coming up (and) processing. If we can get guys rotating in with all of us and get a couple of groups that can rotate in, different pass rush packages, things like that, that can be huge for us.

“And then just cutting down snap numbers. Me and Tomari (Fox), if we can rotate more, and guys like Myles (Murphy) coming in, K.J. Hester, stuff like that, it can take the wear off our bodies. And then the (opposing) offensive line will be worn out when it comes time for the fourth quarter.”

*Speaking of Murphy, word has it his rapid growth shown late last fall and into fall camp has continued through the offseason and into fall camp. Vohasek has huge expectations for the sophomore tackle.

“Yesterday he had a great practice,” Vohasek said. “Everybody knows he’s coming. He’s establishing himself as a starting defensive lineman. He won’t be just a starter, he will be a guy that can really make plays for us – make big impact plays for big games.”

*Garrett Walston’s college football career would have ended with UNC’s loss in the Orange Bowl in pre-COVID times, but with the NCAA giving every athlete back last year and not counting it against their eligibility, he had the option of returning to Carolina for one more season. Walston went through the process of making that decision, has quite a few reasons he did return, and is pleased with how it’s going.

“First and foremost, I think this team can be one of the more special teams in Carolina history,” he said. “We’re taking great strides year in and year out under Coach Brown. The defense is looking so much better than last year, we’ve got a ton of depth. It’s just something I couldn’t miss out on.

“And another thing was I wanted to improve my entire game. I wanted to get more production in the pass game and show what I can do for the next level, because I think that’s my strong suit. I’ve been behind a bunch of NFL-caliber guys since I’ve been here, at tight end and other position groups as well.

“And then I wanted to improve on my in-line blocking. I think my blocking space has gotten a whole lot better. Inline, still have to play lower, pad level still has to be better. I’ve really worked on my flexibility for that.

“And then I’ve always dreamed of being drafted. I think I’ve said this before, but the running thing in my household is I can’t let my little brother be the only one in the family who gets drafted. Because I know I’ll have to hear about that more than I already do. That’s been a goal of mine.”

Note: Walston’s brother Blake, who is 20 years old, is a minor league pitcher in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ system.

*Walston started thinking seriously about his options late last season, especially before and after the Orange Bowl. He spoke with tight ends coach John Lilly and UNC Coach Mack Brown along with his dad. They weighed the options and Walston decided there were plenty of reasons to come back, so he did.

“I thought I needed to come back, and I’m glad I did,” Walston said. “It’s been great so far.”