Spring Football Notebook: Maye Surprise, Urgency, Jones At Safety & More

CHAPEL HILL – The spring football game is fast approaching for North Carolina, as the Tar Heels have been practicing for the last month.

Nineteen new players are on the spring roster, plus several new coaches have been added, so this has been a crucial period for a program trying to improve on its 9-5 finish last season. THI has been there every step of the way fully covering all aspects of the Tar Heels.

Here is a smattering of information accumulated at the Kenan Football Center and practice facility:

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*Drake Maye was a household name in the college football universe by the time last season ended, so when Chip Lindsey came to UNC from Central Florida, he had already seen Maye play multiple times and had a pretty fair idea what he would see from the Carolina quarterback. But Lindsey was posed a question earlier this past week, asking what about Maye ha surprised him. He gave an interesting answer.

“The thing I didn’t know before is he’s really intelligent, he’s really smart; football smart,” Lindsey said. “His football IQ is really high. He does well in school, he’s got a great gpa and all of that, he understands every aspect of offense from offensive line play, to who should be working to who in zone schemes, to who we’re working to in pass sets and pass protections.

“He’s able to change protections, that’s something he’s taken to really quickly.”

*The Tar Heels were regarded among the worst defenses in the nation last season, which wasn’t helped by them allowing App State 41 points in the fourth quarter of a 63-61 win in Boone. Amari Gainer was playing for Florida State at the time, as he did for four seasons before grad transferring to UNC. Gainer noticed early on there was a sense of urgency with the defense to create a new narrative.

“Any time you get on the field you’ve got something to prove, whether you’ve won a natty the year before, or whether you’re coming off of (poor season),” he said. “Any time you get on the field, you’ve got something to prove whether it’s to yourself, your family, to your teammates. It’s been great to see the guys come out with that edge every day like it’s their last and they’ve got to work.”

*As was the case last season, a position group UNC lacks depth is at inside linebacker, where starters Cedric Gray and Power Echols are the only experienced players. Sebastian Cheeks was lost for the season with an injury early last fall, and is just getting back into things. So, the quest to get a couple of players ready is one of the major points of emphasis this spring.

“Michael Short, Amare Campbell, and Deuce Caldwell are getting nearly all the snaps,” Brown said. “Sebastian Cheeks can do all of the pass scale stuff and drill stuff, he just can’t be in the team stuff. We have got to find two-to-three linebackers that can go in there and back up Ced and Power so they don’t have to play a thousand plays next year like they did this year.”

*Alijah Huzzie was an All-America at East Tennessee State and led all of FCS with six interceptions. He had 12 playing for the Buccaneers. In addition to playing cornerback, he’s working out this spring some at the star position.

“I could do both, honestly,” he said. “I see myself more outside, but I can pick up on star, too.”

Why is he getting cross-trained there?

“So I can learn the defense, learn where everybody’s supposed to be at and where I’m supposed to be at,” Huzzie replied. “And it will help me for outside learning inside. I’ll know the whole back end of the defense.”

*D.J. Jones played running back the last three seasons, but this spring is working exclusively at safety. The position change wasn’t a demand, it was presented to Jones and he ultimately made the decision. UNC defensive coordinator Gene Chizik says Jones is doing well, and coming along in the early stages of him learning a whole new position.

“It’s really tough in college, and D.J. has done a really nice job,” Chizik said. “It’s hard when you’ve never been a defensive player in college. There’s a lot of moving parts. I think he’s done well. It means a lot to D.J., he cares; there’s a high care factor there.

“But there’s a learning curve. When you go from running back to safety, it takes time. But we really appreciate what he brings. Every day he’s attentive and he wants to get better.”