CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel and quarterback Sam Howell met with the media after practice on Tuesday as the Tar Heels continue to prepare for their regular season finale at No. 9 Miami on Saturday.
Among the topics discussed were the Hurricanes, the Orange Bowl, Miami’s talent on both sides of the ball and much more.
Here are the full video interviews along with some notes and quotes from what they had to say:
JEREMIAH GEMMEL
*The Tar Heels are preparing to face another dual-threat quarterback in Miami’s D’Eriq King. Defensively, UNC has struggled with mobile quarterbacks mightily at times this season, with the Notre Dame, Florida State and Virginia games prime examples of this.
So, how is Carolina’s defense preparing for King’s athleticism and ability to escape outside of the pocket in practice this week?
“We’ve got scout receivers and speed guys going in at quarterback to try to replicate the speed that he's going to have in the game,” Gemmel said. “You’re just not gonna be able to (replicate it).”
And how do you go about stopping, or simply slowing down, a guy like King?
“Just making sure everybody's on the same page and setting edges,” Gemmel said. “Don't let him get an edge on the defense because that's really when the defense starts to fall apart, especially with his speed and his agility.
“Don't let him get on the edge of the defensive ends, linebackers, nose tackles. That's what we've been emphasizing today in practice is just setting the edge on the QB and making sure he doesn't have any creases to go to because he showed on film, when you give him just enough space to get outside or hit the edge, he's gonna make you pay for it.”
*With Clemson and Notre Dame set to meet in the ACC Championship game and likely both finish inside the College Football Playoff top four, the Tar Heels have a chance to reach the Orange Bowl if they can pick up a win in Miami this Saturday..
While there’s still a lot that has to go right for UNC to ultimately earn a bid to the Orange Bowl, Gemmel said he and his teammates are aware of it and have been discussing the possibility of it becoming a reality.
“I think it's just an extra motivation to get out there and play on Saturday,” Gemmel said. “We're going against a top 10 team in Miami and it's a great opportunity to show that we can beat a top 10 team.”
*Not only is Carolina preparing to face one of the top quarterbacks in the country in King, they’re also preparing for one of the top tight ends in the country in Brevin Jordan.
Jordan has missed time this season due to a shoulder injury, having played in just six of Miami’s nine games. He did return in last Saturday’s win over Duke, however, finishing with four catches for 75 yards and one touchdown.
How is UNC’s defense preparing for Jordan and what kind of challenges does he bring at the tight end position?
“It's funny, you call him a tight end, I call him a hybrid because of how well he can play outside at three or number two,” Gemmel said. “His routes are just like the receivers' routes, that's why a lot of times they bring 85, the other tight end, in with them and they can run 11 personnel looks with two tight ends on the field because, Jordan, he's able to go out and he can play receiver.
“And he's able to run the routes quick enough and he has enough speed to hit the edge. So yeah, I think that's a challenge for us, them having two big bodies out there and being able to block in space.”
SAM HOWELL
*UNC is preparing to face its second top 10 opponent in a three week span when it travels down to the Sunshine State to face the Hurricanes this weekend.
The Tar Heels, who currently sit at 7-3 overall, lost their other matchup against a top 10 team when No. 2 Notre Dame visited Chapel Hill on Nov. 27, beating UNC, 31-17.
How does Howell feel about facing ninth-ranked Miami on Saturday? He’s just excited for the opportunity.
“It's obviously another great opportunity for our team,” Howell said. “Obviously, the other one, the last top 10 team we played, the game didn’t go our way. But, this is a great opportunity for our team and our program.
“It’s the last regular season game of the year, so we definitely want to go out with the win and against a team like Miami, it'd be really good for the trajectory of this program. It's definitely a game we need to win.”
*Two of the top quarterbacks in the country will be facing each other this weekend, with Howell and King both having impressive seasons so far.
Howell is currently the ACC leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns, having thrown for 3,129 yards and 26 touchdowns through 10 games. King on the other hand is second in the ACC in passing touchdowns with 20 and has thrown for 2,334 yards, which is the sixth most in the conference.
While Howell doesn’t know King personally, he has a lot of respect for his game and is looking forward to going up against him on Saturday.
“I think he's a really good football player,” Howell said. “He's a really good quarterback, he's fun to watch. He’s a lot better passer than I thought he was coming from Houston, so he's really impressed me in the passing game and obviously he's a great runner. He's definitely a really good player and I'm excited for the matchup.”
*Lastly, Miami has some of the top defensive ends in the ACC in Temple transfer Quincy Roche, who UNC went after hard, and UCLA transfer Jaelan Phillips.
UNC Coach Mack Brown said during his weekly press conference on Monday that Roche and Phillips “may be the best combination of defensive ends in the country,” which is huge praise coming from the Hall of Fame coach.
So, what does Howell think about the pair and does he agree with his coach’s statement?
“I think the two defensive ends might be the two best defensive players we've seen all season,” Howell said. “They're both really good players. They have a lot of TFLs, they have the ability to sack the quarterback. So, when you have a guy like that on both sides of the ball, it makes it hard not only in the run game, but in the passing game.
“So, we just need to do a good job up front, make sure we're playing physical on those guys. Our o-line has done a really good job preparing for that this week and I feel good about that matchup.”
