CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina defensive coordinator Gene Chizik met with the media Monday in advance of the Tar Heels’ home game Saturday versus Appalachian State.
UNC is coming off a 31-17 win over South Carolina in which Chizik’s unit registered nine sacks and 16 TFLs on the night. It also limited the Gamecocks to minus-two yards rushing.
The Heels and Mountaineers kick off at 5:15 on Saturday at Kenan Stadium:
Above is video of Chizik’s presser, and below are some notes from what he said:
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*UNC’s defense was outstanding on so many levels in the win over the Gamecocks, but Chizik said, “some warts showed up,” though there is a lot to build on.
“Everybody is going to look at the sacks and tackles for loss, but there is still plenty to clean up.”
What are some of those things?
-Defense lost SC QB Spencer Rattler when the was flushed from the pocket a few times. He had three runs of 10 or more yards, including two for 15 and 19 yards.
“To have an athletic quarterback, and you let him escape four times for 43 yards; those are warts that show up in the pass rush.”
-Pass coverage must be better. “There are some coverage issues that we have to address, which they’ve been addressed. There was some tackling issues – open field space tackles that we have to get under control.”
*RS freshman Tayon Holloway played 69 snaps on defense Saturday night and at times struggled. South Carolina went after him often, and while he made some plays, he also had some very rough moments.
Chizik says CB is one of the tougher positions to play, and Holloway “will learn a lot” from the other night. He did say Holloway did some nice things: played a few balls well, competed, and will learn a lot.
SC stayed away from Marcus Allen, UNC’s other corner, who had just one targeted pass thrown him way.
“When you get challenged like that, everyone knows it… It was a little trial by fire, and he’ll learn a lot.”
What did he like from Holloway’s performance?
“I thought there was a time when he made a big play in the low red zone. We came off on kind of a bubble screen. There were times when his coverage was really good… There was times when his technique was really good. There was times he was executing what we asked him to do. And then there were times when he was challenged.”
*Chizik heaped a ton of praise on Alijah Huzzie, a corner who played star with DeAndre Boykins out for the season. Huzzie was moved back to corner in the fourth quarter when South Carolina was picking hard on Hollway. He also returned punts.
Chizik says Huzzie can do so much to help the Heels.
“When you’re a football player… (you) can pretty much do everything.”
*Kaimon Rucker was named National Defensive Player of the Week after registering 5.5 TFLs Saturday, and also constantly disrupt whatever it is the Gamecocks tried doing, especially constantly being a presence in their backfield.
A natural rush end, Rucker is the starting jack now, but he sure had a hand on the ground a lot Saturday. Overall, it was a masterful performance in Chizik’s jack spot.
“I think he’s really come into his own as a football player in the last eight months.”
They saw “spurts of it last year” and has “always had a knack” to rush the passer. “Plus, he has natural instincts when it comes to pass rusher that we can’t teach.”
Also: “He’s definitely more comfortable in this role because he’s been in this role for a year now.”
*As for this week’s opponent, App State scored 40 points, racked up 18 first downs, and gained more than 300 yards versus the Tar Heels in the fourth quarter of last year’s game. Yes, it’s part of this week’s message, but Chizik also said he doesn’t need to remind the kids of it.
“Last year was tough to watch. Fourth quarter was the main issue… lot to clean up from that… We won the game but we weren’t proud of the product we put on the field.”
