Spring Practice Report: Gemmel Talks LBs, Depth, Youth...

CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina senior linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel is one of the more experienced players at his position in the ACC and has become the de facto spokesman for the Tar Heels’ defense.

He knows Jay Bateman’s system extremely well, communicates it like a coach would but from a players’ perspective, and he has a handle on what the other 10 guys on the field are always supposed to be doing. So, when Gemmel is made available to the media this spring, we will isolate what he has to say.

His importance to the defense as a whole and communicating from the team’s perspective are important and valuable. So, above is the full video of Gemmel’s Q&A session and below are some pulled notes and quotes from what he had to say:

*UNC returns 10 starters on defense from last season, plus Storm Duck is healthy and some talented freshmen are now on hand which will make for an even deeper unit. In fact, all 11 starters from the Orange Bowl are back.

Overall, Carolina finished last season ranked No. 58 in total defense allowing 401 yards per game and No. 65 in scoring defense giving up 29.4 points per contest. The Tar Heels were much better over the final five games of the campaign, which included more of a movement to some younger players. O, how good does Gemmel believe the defense can be this coming season?

“I think we're just taking a step up, really at every position,” Gemmel said. “From the secondary, because all the guys are coming back. Trey Morrison's coming back, Don (Chapman). They’ve had two years to start. We can go out and pretty much run the defense by ourselves.

“But the thing that I've noticed from the first two days of spring practice are the freshmen d-linemen. Just how they understand if they’re a 4I, if they’re a five technique to stay inside. That really impressed me. They’re in the film room every other day. They're talking to me, talking to other d-line trying to get in the film room.

“So, the biggest jump for me I think is the d-line and how we're going to be able to substitute this year because I think, last year, we got a little tired later in games because we weren't able to substitute on the d-line like we can now because we’ve got depth.”

*Two true freshmen linebackers enrolled in January and both came in with big-time reputations. So, what are Gemmel’s thoughts about Power Echols and Ra Ra Dillworth?

“Speed,” Gemmel said. “I feel like we're probably the fastest linebacker corps in the country, especially with those two additions to the linebacker corps. They have great speed, great tracking angles, and they're highly intelligent.

“I think that's what (Jay) Bateman’s looking for and Coach (Tommy) Thig (Thigpen) are looking for when they're recruiting these linebackers. We're looking for guys who are highly intelligent, who can learn a really complex playbook, but also can run a 4.5, 4.4.”

*Depth along the defensive line was almost nonexistent in Mack Brown’s first year back at UNC in 2019 but improved last fall, yet it wasn’t where the program needs if it is going to challenge meeting the program’s mission statement of competing in the upper tier nationally.

Brown was very clear Tuesday saying the primary goal for this spring is to develop depth on both sides of the ball, but particularly on the defensive side. He said the Heels wore down late in losses to Notre Dame and Texas A&M, so they must fix that some this spring. So, what does Gemmel see from each of the defensive units with respect to gaining more depth to meet Brown’s goal?

“I just think that we’re going to be able to roll one and twos more than we did last year,” Gemmel said. “At backer, if Eugene (Asante) and I need a break, we feel comfortable with Ced (Cedric Gray) or Khadry (Jackson) going in to roll. Same with the secondary and same with the d-line.

“I feel like that was the thing we were (missing) last year because we had a couple of injuries and we also weren’t too deep on the defensive line. In a couple of games late in the game, I feel like our d-linemen played a little bit too many snaps.

“I think this year with (Jahvaree) Ritzie coming in, Kedric Bingley coming back healthy from his torn Achilles last year, Keeshawn (Silver), Ritzie, all the guys coming in, Ruck (Kaimon Rucker), along with Tomon coming back and Hop (Tyrone Hopper), we’re really deep on the defensive line, and I really think that’s a really good problem to have.”

*Desmond Evans came in a year ago as the prize of the 2020 recruiting class and worked through adjusting to the college game. He got on the field for 170 snaps in 10 games on defense registering 10 tackles, including two for a loss of yardage, one being a sack.

What has Gemmel seen from Evans in the offseason and through two spring practices, and what does he expect from the long, athletic defensive end/outside linebacker?

“I think just learning the playbook for him,” Gemmel said. “Because playing the outside linebacker position, they’re not rushing off the edge every time, they’ve got to drop in coverage. Sometimes they have to lo-ho drop, sometimes they have to be the flat-hole dropper, and I think the biggest step for him was just learning the playbook more.

“I think he’s going to be able to play a lot faster because he knows where to go, he knows where he needs to be. I think that was the biggest step for Des. That’s another long body guy that we have outside in rush. He’s going to be able to constrict gaps and make them smaller. I expect a huge season out of him.”