Players Tuesday Report: Richards, Collins & Vohasek

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CHAPEL HILL – With North Carolina facing a short week to prepare for its home game Friday afternoon versus rival NC State, only a few Tar Heels were available to the media Tuesday evening at the Kenan Football Center.

The Tar Heels are coming off a surprising loss at home to Georgia Tech, but have a chance to win a 10th game for the first time since 2015.

The three Heels made available: Senior offensive tackle Asim Richards, senior jack Chris Collins, and injured senior defensive tackle Ray Vohasek. We are focusing on just Richards and Collins in this report, and we will do something separate on Vohasek, who is out for the season, having last played October 1 versus Virginia Tech. We will include the Vohasek video at the bottom of this report.

All three interviews are about decisions the seniors have made or will make regarding their futures, and for Vohasek, that includes his mission to make it in the NFL. He has no more eligibility left. Richards and Collins have the option to use their Covid years. One has already decided and the other has not.

UNC is 9-2 overall and 6-1 in the ACC.

Below are videos of their interviews, along with a few notes and pulled quotes from what Richards and Collins had to say:

*Richards has the option to use the Covid year and return to UNC, but he hasn’t yet decided on what he will do. One note: He did say, “I will be taking part in Senior Day festivities.”

As for his decision?

“I have not made a decision yet,” Richards said. “That’s a decision that will come after we finish playing. I’ve got to really think about it (and) talk with my family about it. We’ll see.”

The factors when he does eventually make a decision?

“Just how the season as a whole has went for me, where I’m projected to go,” he said.

Richards has been at various spots in mock drafts for 2023 dating as far back as last May.

*Many players say they don’t think about things like that during the season, but Richards admits he has.

“Of course, I’ve thought about it,” he said. “But (I’m) mostly focused on what’s ahead. We’ve still got big goals we want to accomplish. I’ve been mainly been focusing on the team.”

*That Carolina is 9-2 and Coastal Division champs will factor into Richards’ decision. UNC should be even better next season, and being a part of that could be a carrot the three-year starter to return.

“It’s really been an amazing season,” he said. “The persistence of this team, the perseverance of this team is definitely something I admire so much and I love being around. So, yeah, it is going to be a difficult decision, that’s for sure.”

*The Tar Heels allowed six sacks in the loss to the Yellow Jackets, and over the last six games, have allowed 26, which is 4.3 per contest. In fairness to the offensive line, which gets most of the blame for sack issues, three of the sacks against GT were charged to the OL, three elsewhere. So, not all sacks are linemen’s fault.

Still, Richards says the group up front must perform better.

“Probably just a lack of focus,” Richards said is the main cause for the uptick in sacks allowed. “We just have to get back on track with that, and I believe that this week we have been doing a good job of just locking in and doing our jobs.”

*What specifically did o-line coach Jack Bicknell emphasize?

“He always to do the things that don’t require any talent,” Richards said. “And just being in the right positions, knowing what to do, where your eyes are supposed to be. Just things of that nature, that’s what we want to do.”

*Collins said Tuesday he will not use the Covid year and return to UNC.

“I’m walking on Senior (Day), so this will be my final year at Carolina,” he said.

*What went into the decision to not return?

“I’m not quite sure what’s next,” he said. “I’m going to sit down with my family and figure out what I want to do next. The biggest thing is I’ve had a great five years at Carolina, I’m leaving here on a high note, I’m very thankful for Coach (Mack) Brown and the staff for giving me the opportunity to play here.

“It’s been a great time. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

*Collins is from Richmond, VA, but he immersed himself into all of the UNC rivalries as soon as he got to Chapel Hill. So, his favorite memory might not be from an NC State game, Carolina’s chief football rival, but against the guys just up the road.

“Definitely changing the narrative around Duke,” Collins replied. “I remember my freshman year, I was here in 2018, that was the only year we lost to Duke. I didn’t really understand the significance of the Victory Bell, because I was just a freshman.

“I remember the seniors’ faces when we lost there to (Former Duke QB) Daniel Jones, at their place. I remember seeing them (Blue Devils) riding out on the Victory Bell, and just quite didn’t understand it. And to win four straight years, and my senior year being able to ride on the bell, ring the Victory Bell, it was like it came full circle.

“And it was on their field. My personal memory is definitely changing the narrative around Duke.”

*Collins acknowledges he was somewhat thrown to the wolves as a true freshman in 2018, when in Carolina’s second game, a blowout loss at East Carolina, he was inserted into the game and actually played 29 snaps. He played 150 that season. He says he didn’t weigh much and wasn’t ready, but got in there anyway.

So asked to think back to that afternoon, and consider how far he’s coming on the football field and as a young man, Collins gave a thoughtful response.

“Definitely self-confidence is through the roof compared then just because that was my first collegiate game,” he said. “So, you definitely have that moment like, ‘Do I belong here? Is this where I’m supposed to be?’

“Now, being a fifth-year senior and being a leader on this team, it’s good to see growth and see my confidence through the roof, see my play develop. That’s the biggest thing. Just realizing, ‘Yeah, you can play with anybody.’”

Collins has played 369 snaps this season and 1,070 for his UNC career. He has six sacks and 67 career tackles.

*Regarding UNC’s game versus State on Friday, the Wolfpack have major quarterback issues, but it appears fourth-string QB Ben Finley will get the start. But the Heels are preparing for the base things State does, and Collins says they will be ready.

“At the end of the day, football doesn’t change that much,” Collins said. “They’re going to come in here and try to run the ball

When you get to rivalry games, it’s not about trick plays, it’s about coming in here and seeing who wants it more in the last regular season game. We’re not really worried about who they put in at quarterback, at the end of the day it’s about how we play.”

Vohasek is out for the season, but he still met with the media to discuss how things have gone since the injury and his surgery, and his future. Vohasek has always been terrific with the media, so it was nice to have a final session with him.