Spring Practice Report: Grimes, Anderson & Asante Q&As

CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina held its second practice of the spring Thursday morning, and the last time the Tar Heels will be in just shorts. They put on the shells for Saturday’s practice, which will be held inside Kenan Stadium for the first time since before the Orange Bowl that concluded last season.

Afterward, four Tar Heels met with the media to field questions about themselves, their position groups, the freshmen, and more.

We isolated Jeremiah Gemmel’s interview for a separate content item, so here are videos of the full Q&A sessions plus some notes and pulled quotes from what sophomore CB Tony Grimes, senior C Brian Anderson, and junior LB Eugene Asante had to say:

*Grimes arrived at UNC last August a month after committing to UNC as a member of the class of 2021. But, when Virginia pushed its high school season to the spring, Grimes attained the final credit needed to graduate and enrolled at Carolina in early August. He got some occasional playing time before taking over late in the Tar Heels’ win over Wake Forest.

Now that he has finally had some offseason time in the program, what did he focus on and how has he gotten better?

“The offseason was very great for me,” Grimes said. “It helped me put on some size, it helped me get more in the film room. It just helped me get more confidence about training, coming in here with my teammates, building our relationships even more. Trustworthy on the defense.

“And my expectation for this season is to be the best corner I can be. Just try to be the number one corner that everyone talks about, ESPN, SportsCenter. Just try to be that dude that everyone talks about. So, that's my expectation. I'm coming in hot. I'm trying to be the best DB in the country."

*Grimes was excited when 12 other members of the class of 2021 enrolled in January. He originally committed to be a part of that class, which was ranked in the top-10 nationally for a while and ended up as the No. 15 class in the nation, but that’s not factoring in Grimes, who was a 5-star prospect. Had he been included, the ranking would have been several notches higher.

Most of the class is on campus, and Grimes is thrilled to have his guys around.

“I was hype because, as soon as I got here, all I did was text the group chat, ‘Oh man, I can't wait for y’all boys to get here, man. I miss y'all, man. Y’all need to hurry up, man. It's almost that time,’” he said.

“Then I’d be like, ‘Oh, you gotta week left, a couple more days,’ and then the next thing I know I said, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow,’ and then they’re here. And my face and my smile just lit up. My boys are here, so we’re about to rock and roll.”

*The Tar Heels are getting plenty of national attention already, and it will certainly pick up as the season draws closer. Most early rankings for next season have the Heels in the top 10 and winning the ACC’s Coastal Division.

UNC flirted with that kind of attention last fall, but it will be more in abundance over the next few months. The hype is there, and it will only increase before the opener at Virginia Tech. So how does the team deal with this?

“I think, personally, I'm just trying to focus on any little corrections I can make,” Anderson said. “Anything I can do to help make our unit better and more cohesive and I think that's something that we've really grown from.

“But I think, as far as taking that momentum, last year was the first time in a long time Carolina has ever been in the top five national rankings. It’s the first time in a long time we've been in the Orange Bowl. So, now with that, we can take that and use it to our advantage and take that momentum because, now that we're comfortable with that, we're used to being that, so it's not a shock to us and not a surprise.

“So, I think we're in a position now where we can see ourselves as top dogs in the ACC and in the country. And take that feeling of being comfortable up high and not have it be a surprise to us. So, I think as long as we're comfortable with being good and trying to be good, take being good to being great and be comfortable with that and be confident. I think that’s the biggest change in momentum.”

*Offensive line coach Stacy Searels and offensive coordinator Phil Longo have said many times the goal is to comfortably go eight-deep in the offensive line rotation, yet it hasn’t happened over the last two seasons. But with all five starters back up front and some key reserves also back, is this the year the Heels finally have the depth the staff would like?

“I’m excited, now as a fifth year guy on the o-line, to say that we finally do have some great depth,” Anderson said. “And me as a guy, my third year in the saddle to be in the center position, I was young and I’ve grown and this is really our third year all five of us starting and playing together.

“And that's just huge because our cohesiveness is just so much better. We are just on the same page with everything and can really fit things together. With that being said, EZ’s (Joshua Ezeudu) out for the spring, as y'all know, and so that's actually allowed some younger guys.

“You’ve got Malik McGowan, you’ve got Quiron Johnson coming in at guard, (Jonathan) Adorno, a few other guys. We're able to rotate some guys around and that’s given a lot of guys opportunity. I think Malik and Adorno and Quiron in particular, when they come in and roll at guard, it has been huge. William Barnes has really been stepping up, too. He's been a little bit more of a vocal leader in some aspects and he's just showing a lot of effort this spring. So, he might be another guy that's going to come in and make an impact.”

*Eugene Asante takes over for Chazz Surratt at the middle linebacker spot alongside Jeremiah Gemmel, who will be a third-year starter this season. Gemmel has become the face and voice of the defense and is a leader on the field. He makes the calls and understands where each player should be on every play, regardless of the scenario.

Asante started the Orange Bowl and played 63 plays registering 10 tackles. He played well. But now he’s the other guy in the middle, so what does it mean for him to have Gemmel by his side and someone he can learn from?

“Man, it’s great, just having Jeremiah out there,” Asante said. “At this point, I think Jeremiah has enough snaps to account for probably all the guys in our room. So, just having a guy like that next to me, understanding that he's so seasoned, he’s a veteran leader and he does everything that you would want of a leader. It's great to have him out there. That's my big brother and we talk every day.

“He pushes me and I push him as well and we're just trying to be the best tandem we can be. And with him and other guys on the defense, like Tomon Fox.”

*Gemmel said Thursday the depth along the defensive will be there this season. It wasn’t at all two years ago and the Heels came up short there last fall. But with an influx of so many young players, those who got on the field some last fall and the newbies who enrolled in January, Asante agrees the Heels are in good shape up front.

“I was in the locker room the other day having a conversation with a couple of the guys,” Asante said. “I was just talking about how excited I am to play behind a defensive line like this defensive line. Somebody sent me an excerpt of questions you guys were asking coach (Jay) Bateman and it said something about having 10 guys over 280 or 290 pounds.

“Being behind guys like that, Clyde Pinder, who's explosive. Myles Murphy, he’s a big guy but he has great quickness. Young bulls and Keeshawn Silver, who's out there busting his tail, explosive. And guys like Ritz (Jahvaree Ritzie) out there just tearing stuff up. And we're not even in pads yet.

“So, I’m really excited to be behind guys like that. And I can work with guys, the veteran leaders, like Ray Vohasek, Tomari Fox when he gets back. It's gonna be something special with the d-line and they're showing that they can be an elite group throughout this nation. So, I'm proud of the work they’ve put in and I'm proud to be playing with those guys. I'm just excited, super excited, to play with the boys.”

*Jacob Turner contributed to this report.