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Papuchis Pleased With Growth, Sees Bright Future

CHAPEL HILL – UNC defensive coordinator John Papuchis met with the media following Tuesday’s practice at Kenan Stadium to discuss his unit’s improvement, what they are doing differently than earlier in the season, and some of the Tar Heels that are playing well.

Here are some snippets of what Papuchis had to say:

*On the unit’s overall improvement:

“One thing we’ve done in the last couple of weeks is we’ve gotten stops when we’ve needed them, and I think that shows some of the character out of the group. Miami, at the end of the game we had to get the ball back (and did), and this past week, we got two stops at the end of the game that were critical.

“We got the red zone turnover that we were able to turn into points to end the first half. Our guys have shown a certain kind of mental toughness and an aptitude to finish things, and I think that pay dividends as we keep going on.”

*Papuchis said the defense can show and execute more things now than earlier in the season when it scaled things back some and simplified individual responsibilities.

“We have gotten to do a lot more, especially on third-down situations, and that’s just them feeling more comfortable in the system and how it works week to week and what my installation plans look like. Our execution the last few weeks, as far as our third-down pressure stuff, has been really good.”

*He also said that the Tar Heels’ final defensive play at Pittsburgh last Thursday night is an example of that. Strong safety J.K. Britt nearly got Pitt’s quarterback on a blitz, forcing him out of the pocket where defensive tackle Jalen Dalton, stringing out the play while fighting off his block, eventually recorded a sack forcing Pitt to punt with three minutes to play in the game. The Panthers never got the ball again.

“They did a great job in terms of executing. I kind of thought, in terms of scheming it up, that would be there. They protected our cross-dog stunt. I brought the safety down the chute, and our kids did a great job of executing. We’d like to finish it, get J.K. to finish that thing off, but that was a big play, forced the quarterback to pull it down and Jalen did a good job of finishing it.”

*The defensive line’s improvement has been pretty obvious, and Papuchis is excited about its growth and what to look for next season.

“I thought the D-line has come on pretty good. I didn’t think last week was our best effort, but then two weeks ago against Miami, I thought they played as good as the front has played since I’ve been here. So we’re flashing, we’re showing signs, (and) we get all those guys back, for the most part except for Dajaun (Drennon), so I’m excited about what the D-line can look like going forward. We just have to keep progressing the next couple of weeks.”

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