Preseason Report 10: Wolfolk's Voice, TE Depth & OL Growth

CHAPEL HILL – For the first time since fall camp opened Aug. 6, North Carolina practiced Sunday but there was no media availability afterward. But with 21 player interviews conducted since practice commenced, along with two Mack Brown zoom sessions, there’s still plenty to report.

Note: The Tar Heels will be off Monday but are back at practice Tuesday.

Here are some notes and quotes from UNC’s first 10 practices:

Mack Brown has said multiple times over the last couple of months that leadership on the team this season will be more important than ever before because it extends well beyond the football facility. Players must make smart decisions when they’re not doing football-related activities, such is the reality during the COVID-19 era.

So, Brown wants as many leaders as possible to step forward, and one Tar Heel who without question will be one of the most vocal and hold teammates accountable is senior safety Myles Wolfolk. He got a pretty good trial run at being the guy a year ago, as the never-shy-to-communicate native of Largo, MD, was at times the loudest voice even after he was shelved with an injury and dealing with the swings that came with it.

Wolfolk played the first four games before suffering an injury that allowed him to get back on the field only for the Virginia game in early November. The rest of the time he battlied trying to get healthy but never showing that sruggle to his teammates.

“Wolf’s always been a really vocal leader,” junior linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel said. “Even when he was down and out last year when he was hurt, he was always vocal and always talking to the guys. He pretty much just carried that on onto the field. Every time I’m out there, Wolf, and we’re connected on a call, I always hear him talk and he’s always communicating.

“That’s something we were really needing in the boundary position and I’m glad to have him back.”

Wolfolk was raised in a manner that helped fuel this attribute.

“It’s always been something I’ve been around," he said. "My father was a head coach, so I’ve been knowing football my whole life, and I’ve always liked helping people in general, not just on the field, but in general. So, any time I can help I try to help, and that’s part of being a leader is just helping the guys around you and bringing them to the same level you’re on.

“Me, I’m a competitor, I like to play football, I love the game, so I want everybody on the same level as I am. I want everybody to be as good as I am if not better if they can be. It kind of comes naturally. I think I get it from my father.”

Wolfolk then explained that his voice was bothering him because he had been yelling so much at practice. But he didn’t let up.

“It just feels good to have that presence and have the guys look up to me like that,” he said.

In five games last season, Wolfolk was in on 25 tackles and had three interceptions.

Garrett Walston is the only tight end on the roster with any real game experience. He played in all 13 games starting eight times last season catching nine passes for 76 yards and a touchdown. Aside from him, redshirt freshman Kamari Morales played in three games catching one pass for nine yards and true freshmen Jon Copenhaver and Kendall Karr are just getting started. Note that both Copenhaver and Karr were early enrollees.

That's it at tight end. So what has the senior seen from the other three?

“The two young guys I think are going to be great players,” Walston said. “They’re obviously young making young mistakes, but they didn’t have spring ball… They look good. And Kamari also looks very good. He’s picked up more strength, looks more comfortable, more confident out there and I think he’ll have a good season, as well.”

Morales (237 pounds) is a bit on the shorter side at just under 6-foot-2 while Walston is technically listed at 6-foot-4.25. Karr and Copenhaver are both listed at 6-foot-2.5. Walston drew a comparison of Morales to a recent Tar Heel who had some explosive moments at UNC.

“He reminds me a lot, honestly, of Carl (Tucker),” Walston said. “They’re about the same size height-wise. Obviously, Carl probably weighed a little more, but I think Kamari will catch up to that. I don’t think he’s too far off from it now, actually. I think Carl Tucker is a good comparison for Kamari.”

Asim Richards played 47 offensive snaps last season plus 56 on PAT team, grading out at 65.8 per PFF. He got a ton of reps in practice, though, which Richards cites as a key to his current comfort level as the Tar Heels’ starting left tackle.

Josh Ezeudu played a lot last fall, playing in all 13 games and starting seven times. He was on the field for 516 snaps, too, mostly playing guard, though he started the Appalachian State game at left tackle when Charlie Heck was out with an injury. So he has experience.

But confidence is important whether you’re a bit on the green side like Richards or a bit more grizzled, like Ezeudu. And so far, both players have made huge steps forward in that department.

“I think the biggest difference with both of them is confidence,” UNC Coach Mack Brown said. “Obviously, Asim was a freshman and he backed up at right tackle, but he got to play quite a bit, and that helped him. We could have red shirted him probably, but we needed depth, especially when Charlie Heck broke his finger and Jordan Tucker had a hurt knee at Wake Forest, so we got thin fast. But I think that both of those guys right now have a lot of confidence.

“Josh would probably be the backup tackle on both sides, or we'd probably move Josh right now to left tackle if Jordan Tucker was out, and move Asim back to right tackle. So we're trying to get in offensive lineman that can play. We'll probably be lucky to have eight, but we've got to have eight, and we didn't have that last year. And we feel like that those two guys are playing at a high level.”