CHAPEL HILL - Confidence is a powerful tool. It’s not something seen and it’s not something that can be quantified, but it can be felt, certainly by the North Carolina defense.
It has helped the Tar Heels amass 34 sacks through 10 games, good for fourth in college football. It has helped UNC reach bowl eligibility for the sixth straight season, and it’s been the driving force for a defensive unit that has allowed just 16.33 points over a three game-winning streak.
“Confidence is such a wonderful thing in all of our lives, and if you don’t have it, you’re not going to end up on top,” UNC Coach Mack Brown said. “Right now, our defense has got it.”
The newfound confidence has also led to a new dimension for the Tar Heels under defensive coordinator Geoff Collins: finding the endzone.
Since Collins’ arrival in Chapel Hill last offseason, UNC has recorded three defensive touchdowns, all in the form of a pick six.
As the commander of the Tar Heel defense, linebacker Power Echols credits Collins’ philosophy for the uptick in takeaways and defensive scores.
“He just allows us to go out there and just be football players,” said Echols. “At the end of the day, I feel like he just lets us go out there and use our athletic ability, just allows us to play freely.”
Redshirt freshman Kaleb Cost recorded an 87-yard touchdown against Pittsburgh on Oct. 5, the Tar Heels’ first defensive score since 2019 in the Military Bowl. Cost’s score snapped a 57-game stretch in which UNC’s defense failed to score a touchdown.
Three weeks later, Jahvaree Ritzie’s 84-yard interception and scamper to the endzone at Virginia marked the first time since 2009 that a Tar Heel defensive lineman recorded a touchdown.
On Saturday, Echols intercepted Wake Forest backup quarterback Michael Kern midway through the third quarter, taking the pass 42 yards the other way to extend North Carolina’s lead to 24-10.
Echols’ pick six put an exclamation point on the evolution of the Tar Heel defense, who have now had a defensive lineman, linebacker, and defensive back find the endzone this season.
UNC has tallied a defensive score in three of the last five games, and has five non-offensive touchdowns over the season's first 10 games.
On special teams, Davion Gause’s 21-yard blocked punt versus James Madison marked the first non-offensive score of the season for UNC. Overshadowed by the Tar Heels’ fourth straight loss against Georgia Tech was Alijah Huzzie’s 69-yard punt return for a touchdown three weeks later.
The resurrection under Collins specifically is a stark contrast compared to the first five years since Brown’s return to Chapel Hill. From 2019 through 2023, UNC scored just three non-offensive touchdowns: Storm Duck’s pick six against Temple in 2019, Bryson Nesbit’s onside kick returned for a score against Appalachian State in 2022, and Huzzie’s punt return for a touchdown last season at Pittsburgh.
Those three scores spanned across 65 games, making the Tar Heels’ three pick sixes through 10 contests this season all the more impressive.
“Our defense has never had confidence. They’ve been up and down,” said Brown. “They’ve talked about it, they’ve never done it. For three weeks, they’ve done it and right now it’s a very confident bunch.”
On a three-game winning streak and with three games remaining in its season, the UNC defense finds itself just one pick six away from tying the school record of four set in 2008 and 2009.
Boston College and NC State, the Tar Heels next two opponents, have combined to throw 14 interceptions on the season, providing an opportunity for UNC to keep swinging in search of the endzone.
