Practice Report: Chapman, Hester, Green & Montilus

CHAPEL HILL - Don Chapman, Kevin Hester, Antoine Green, and Ed Montilus all met with the media following North Carolina's 11th practice of the spring on Saturday morning in Kenan Stadium.

The Tar Heels practiced for around 30 minutes before scrimmaging for over an hour.

Below are the full videos of each interview along with some pulled notes and quotes from what they had to say.

*Having played 950 snaps during his two seasons in Chapel Hill, Chapman is one of the Tar Heels’ most experienced secondary players going into this season.

Playing primarily a safety, the San Diego, CA, native started in all 11 games last season, ranking fourth on the team in tackles with 48, and appeared in all 13 of UNC’s games during his freshman campaign in 2019, starting four times.

So, how does one of the veterans on Carolina’s defense think the secondary is developing this spring?

“I feel like we're doing good,” Chapman said. “Everybody's being more vocal along with everybody knowing what they're doing. We've been putting in extra hours with (defensive coordinator) Coach (Jay) Bateman and some of the linebackers, just trying to get some extra work, make sure everybody knows different positions so, if need be, we can hop out there and be able to play different spots on the field.”

And are there any younger players that are standing out the most on the defense as a whole?

“I would say both our young linebackers, Power (Echols) and Ra Ra Dillworth, they’ve been stepping up a lot,” Chapman said. “And I would say KJ Hester’s been a guy that's been doing things a little bit different.

“Khadry’s (Jackson) came a long way, too. You see him flying around, flying to the ball, inside out, having good angles. So, he's really stepped it up.”

*During the Tar Heels’ second scrimmage of the spring on Saturday, which was open to the media, Chapman took reps solely at the nickel position.

Chapman has played primarily as a safety throughout his two seasons at Carolina but is enjoying learning a new role despite never really playing there before.

“Right now, I just gotta go through the motions,” Chapman said. “I know it, I know the playbook because, at free safety, you’ve got to tell the nickel what to do a lot.

“So, it's kind of the same thing, but I guess my biggest thing right now is just learning blitzes. I'm not used to blitzing as much and the nickel blitzes quite a few times.”

*After redshirting during his true freshman season in 2019, Hester appeared in 10 games as a redshirt freshman in 2020, racking up 10 tackles, one tackle for loss of yardage, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.

In total, Hester played 126 snaps last season, which was the fifth most of any defensive tackle on the team.

So, what were Hester’s main goals this offseason in terms of developing his game both mentally and physically?

“I’ve been really looking at consistency since I didn't have a lot of experience coming out of high school, starting off my senior year,” Hester said. “So, that's my biggest thing, trying to get into things. I feel like that came up well from me.”

*With the Tar Heels only losing one starter on defense from last season in Chazz Surratt, just how good does Hester think this year’s defense can be?

“As a while, we’re gonna be a great defense I feel like,” Hester said. “We have a lot of talent. All it is just learning. Once we get that down, the sky’s the limit for us. We’re gonna go crazy on defense.”

*After suffering a horrific injury at Syracuse during his freshman campaign in 2018, Green has struggled to see the field on a consistent basis, playing a total of just 402 snaps over his last two seasons.

This year, though, Green is expected to be a key member of the Tar Heels’ wide receiver core and has taken a lot of reps with the starters during spring practice, despite fifth-year senior Beau Corrales being limited as he continues his recovery from sports-hernia surgery.

So, what are some of the challenges Green has had to deal with and overcome, particularly since Mack Brown took over?

“I’d say the main challenge was bouncing back after my freshman year, coming off of that leg injury” Green said. “I’ve just been focusing on being consistent and just doing my part.”

And what did Green work on developing in his game the most this offseason?

“I’d say just working on getting in and out of breaks and being consistent when the ball is coming my way,” Green said.

*As one of the most experienced players in the wide receiver room, what young players have impressed Green the most so far this spring?

“I'll say all three of them,” Green said. “JJ (Jones), Kobe (Paysour) and Gavin (Blackwell). They’re all stepping up and they’re just filling in real well.”

And with so many bodies to choose from at wide receiver, what is his current role in that group 11 practices in?

“This spring I’ve been mainly on the right side and I've been running with the blues (starters),” Green said. “Right now, I have Stephen Gosnell behind me and we’re just rotating.”

*Since Brown took over the program again in November 2018, Montilus has seen a ton of action on the Tar Heels’ offensive line.

Montilus played 509 snaps during his sophomore campaign in 2020, appearing in nine games and starting in six before an injury cut his season short. During his redshirt freshman year in 2019, Montilus saw even more action, playing in all 13 games and starting in eight at the left guard position.

Admittedly, consistency has been an issue for the Apopka, FL, native since he arrived in Chapel Hill back in June 2018, and that is one aspect of his game he has looking to improve going into his junior season.

“It’s something I’m still working on, I’m gonna be honest,” Montilus said. “In the beginning of the spring, I was doing good. Right now, I'm just a little bit off.

“I’m not gonna blame it on my injury… but that’s something I'm working on going into this fall camp coming up. But I’ve gotta finish off this spring, learn from the older guys, just take coaching and everything will work out.”

*And as a veteran on UNC's offensive line, how good does he think this group can ultimately be?

“This spring, the o-line has looked the best it's ever been since I've been here,” Montilus said. “Coach (Stacy) Searels said it’s looking as good as it was on that LSU team that he coached back in the day.

“And we’ve got more depth now with guys like Quiron Johnson. My boy William Barnes, he’s stepping it up. We’ve got up to eight guys that are playing real well. And we’ve got all the younger guys coming along, like (Jonathan) Adorno and Malik (McGowan). It’s definitely looking really good right now.”