CHAPEL HILL – How much does Kaimon Rucker love football?

So much that when he returned from an injury that kept the defensive stalwart from the field for four games, he was just happy to have the pads on.

Rucker played only nine snaps in North Carolina’s loss to Pittsburgh, but he wasn’t in shorts on the sideline and unable to help his team in anyway. He was a football player wearing a football uniform occasionally getting into a football game.

One would think being an every down baller like Rucker, being in uniform and cleared to play, but still mostly having to watch would be so difficult. But that wasn’t the case for the veteran.

“Definitely not playing was a lot more difficult because when you have those nine snaps, it kind of shows you it’s just like whether you play 50 snaps or nine snaps, are you are you going to make the most of those nine snaps,” he said Tuesday at the Kenan Football Center.

Rucker said the gps unit in his helmet revealed he went at it just as hard in each of those nine plays as he has when playing every down.

“Shoot, I was in uniform. So that was happy for me. (The staff) was like, ‘Yeah Ruck, go ahead and be ready to not play a lot.’ And I was like, ‘Bro, that’s fine, I’ve got my uniform on. I’m happy right now.’”

Rucker played 55 snaps against the Yellow Jackets, though he didn’t grade out well, according to PFF. But with the Tar Heels having a bye week and now preparing to visit Virginia, Rucker says he’s fully healthy and ready to go.

Right below is video of Rucker’s Q&A session as well as some notes from what he had to say:

*Rucker exacerbated an issue in his knee on the Thursday before the Tar Heels hosted Charlotte in their second game. He was lifting weights and felt something and knew it wasn’t good. He explained the knee problem originated in fall camp.

“When that happened, I’d had some knee discomfort previously. And I think it stemmed from fall camp. It was just one of those things where I just played on it and I didn’t realize that it was torn until that Thursday where I squatted and the next you know I heard like a (popping sound).

“I’m like, ‘Okay, this is no good.’

*That’s when he knew something was up. He calls it a freak accident, but Rucker said he had something as a sophomore but played on it throughout the season. He felt it again the following spring for his junior year.

Rucker said it was “sort of” painful, but not so he couldn’t play on it.

“I didn’t really know it was torn until that situation happened. I did have that week a little bit of some hamstring issues as well, which I’ve never had hamstring issues in my life.”

He said, “hindsight is 20-20 vision,” and looking back thinks the hamstring may have resulted from the knee sue to favoring.

*How close is he to being back to his regular every down self?

“Shoot, now. I feel pretty good, It was just like I had my first (full) game back, Georgia Tech last week and I felt great.”

Rucker acknowledged that learning to trust the knee took some time, but it’s no longer an issue.

*In addition, Rucker also discussed what the defense must do to get better; how to fix the problem allowing so many explosive plays; if the team has it within them to turn around a season that includes four straight losses, the death of a teammate, major ugly injury to their quarterback, and the serious health issues challenging OL Coach Randy Clements.