THI TV: Chizik On Improvement, Replacing Taylor & Evans, Plus More

CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina defensive coordinator Gene Chizik met with the media Monday at the Kenan Football Center in advance of the Tar Heels’ game Saturday at Virginia to field questions about his unit and the Cavaliers.

The No. 17 Tar Heels (7-1 overall, 4-0 ACC) and Wahoos (3-5, 1-4) kick at noon Saturday, and the game will air on the ACC Network.

Above is video of Chizik’s presser, and below are some notes and a few pulled quotes from what he had to say:

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*UNC is allowing 23 points per game in ACC play, and Chizik is pleased with the direction the unit is going.

“I feel like we are getting better every week,” Chizik said. “We’ve seen so much during the season, there’s really not a lot new. It’s really interesting, because when you talk to the guys now, whether it’s on the field in the first half when you’re trying to make adjustments then, or you come in and you make those adjustments, there’s a real clear understanding of what everybody’s talking about. That’s gotten better for sure.”

*How is the defense affected now that Noah Taylor has been ruled out for the season?

“Saturday night, there was a lot of moving parts, guys going down; Noah went down early in the game,” Chizik said. “Chris Collins came in and did a really, really nice job. Malaki Hamrick came in and really did a nice job as a true freshman. And then Kaimon Rucker switched over to that position and played some well. Which we had worked him there on and off…

“I know people say next-man-up mentality, but truly, that’s what it is. It’s hard to replace Noah, because it’s not just is skillset that he brought, he brought phenomenal leadership, attitude, good teammate-type presence to our defense. That’s going to be really, really hard to replace.”

*Hamrick played 14 snaps versus Pitt and has also played 29 at Miami and 20 versus Virginia Tech, with many of the snaps him being used in the dime packages. He was recruited to play jack and has tremendous potential. So how has he come long now that he will have an expanded role?

“We’ve played him a bit in our dime and sub packages, mainly third-down stuff,” Chizik said. “And he’s played on early downs as well… Now he knows it’s his time. It was always in that room between Noah and Chris they were going to take the lion’s share of everything and he would be a sub guy.

“Now, he’s going to have to be a sub guy and a rotation guy. He’s going to have to step his game up. He’s a very talented young man, and his future’s really, really bright here.”

*At the time of Chizik’s press conference, UNC had announced that power end Des Evans was only listed as out for the Virginia game this weekend, but about two hours after the presser ended, the school announced Evans is out for the season. Chizik was asked about shuffling things around some not having Evans for the UVA game, but his answer obviously now pertains to the season, too.

“Not in scramble mode, but certainly in let’s-figure-out-what-to-do mode,” Chizik said, regarding how to move around parts to make up for the loss of Taylor and Evans, plus Kaimon Rucker is being monitored this week.

“We’ll see what’s going on with Ruck (Rucker), we’ll see how the week goes with him. The great thing is Jahvaree Ritzie is athletic and talented enough, we’ve played him at power end during practice a lot. In fact, he did it a lot in fall camp.

“We have flexibility because we have so much depth on the defensive line, if we have to move him out to that position, we still KBJ (Kedrick Bingley-Jones) on the inside, Travis Shaw’s been playing a lot. So, we still feel like we have some good bodies on the inside to be productive if we have to move (people) around.”

*Ja’Qurious Conley was in for three plays on special teams Saturday night, all of which were on the punt return units. How close is he to being able to help some on defense?

“JQ is coming along,” Chizik said. “We feel like it’s a weening-in process with him. Him being able to play on some special teams is good. We’re going to continue working him in the mix and seeing where he is in terms of picking some things up.

“Special teams right now really suit him because of his speed and his athletic ability, and his ability to tackle. That’s perfect for him right now. So, the process with him is him learning, after being out in the spring and not really going through fall camp, learning the defense and being able to execute and being able to execute what we’re asking him to do gameplan-wise.”