CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina defensive coordinator Gene Chizik met with the media following the Tar Heels’ practice Tuesday morning at the Koman Practice Complex.

Chizik fielded questions about his side of the ball, in particular the jack position, Alijah Huzzie at cornerback, the safeties, Tomari Fox and Travis Shaw up front, and more.

UNC held its tenth practice of the spring Tuesday and conclude with the annual spring game on April 15.

Above is video of Chizik’s full Q&A session, and below are some notes about what he had to say:

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*Chizik said they are making progress at safety, noting they have a lot of new players there, including Georgia Tech transfer Derrik Allen and former running back D.J. Jones. Gio Biggers and Will Hardy are now doing a lot of the drills, but they aren’t involved in any contact stuff.

*Chizik heaped high praise on Ja’Qurious Conley, who has missed significant time with a pair of knee injuries, but he’s healthy now and his talent is really beginning to show itself.

*East Tennessee State transfer Alijah Huzzie has drawn rave reviews since spring practice started. Chizik said the junior cornerback is exactly what they saw on film when they recruited him. Huzzie “has great instincts” and handles his business well once it’s a player-on-player deal. Example:

“We always tell everybody that we’re responsible for the first second-and-a-half of a play’ ‘that’s what you’re, get you in the right spot,’” Chizik said. “And the player is responsible for the last three, four, or five seconds of a play of making those plays… He does a great job of finishing, he does a great job of just feeling things in the secondary that we can’t teach. He’s got a sixth sense for the ball in the air. Just a really, really good player. Never panics. He’s been everything we’d hope he’d be so far.”

*Amari Gainer is always “on my hip” learning, asking questions, and taking mental reps when he’s not doing physical reps, Chizik said. “He’s very conscientious as a football player. He loves the game, he’s a violent player; he plays really hard. It really is important for him to learn what’s going on. So, he never takes a rep off, it doesn’t matter if he’s in there or not… So, when you see him with me, even when he’s not in, we’re talking things through every single rep. That’s how important it is for him to learn.”

*On Kaimon Rucker so far, Chizik said, “Ruck has been off the charts. His presence is felt every time he goes on the field.”

*Chizik isn’t shying away from expressing high expectations for his defense. Asked what that is, he replied, “I expect us to live up to what our athletic potential is. We’ve got a lot of really good athletes out there. We have to play better with more consistency, we are definitely doing that right now. There’s no question in my mind we are way ahead of where we were this time last year…

“I feel really good about the direction we’re headed. I don’t feel great about where we are right now, but we have a lot of time. But I feel really good in the direction we’re headed.”