CHAPEL HILL – First-year North Carolina defensive coordinator Geoff Collins met with a few of us in the media following the Tar Heels’ tenth practice of the spring Thursday morning.
Topics discussed were Collins’ energy, the aggressiveness in how his units play, pulling the Heels into a slightly different way of playing, a lot on Travis Shaw, Power Echols being the voice on defense, and much more.
Above is video of Collins’ Q&A session, and below are some notes from what he had to say:
*Collins says it’s all about building up the guys. Whether he tears into them or hoists them in the air, it’s always about getting the message across, with the end game of always getting better.
-To that, Collins said, “The bond that we’ve been able to create, the closeness in a short amount of time, has been really cool.”
*Collins has a vast degree of experience going into programs that needed a boost on defense. There is no exact time table for each group to “get it,” but they eventually do, and Collins knows what that looks and sounds like. So, ten practices in, where are the Tar Heels with respect to getting his approach and schematic approach?
“Two Thursdays ago, we had a really good practice. And you could just see the confidence and the understanding of our blitz packages and our different schematics that were used in the confidence; and you saw it a bunch today as well… You could see them flying around being confident communicating at a high level.
“And whenever guys made big plays, celebrating together, having fun with it. It’s been a great journey.”
Collins was sure to give former DC Gene Chizik praise for the IQ level of the players he inherited, and that they were well coached and at a point where they could quickly learn Collins’ tweaks and amendments.
“It is a very, very, very highly football intelligent, and that’s not by accident.”
*Collins heaped a ton of praise on cornerback Alijah Huzzie, saying “almost 99 percent” of his reps right now are coming at corner, his natural position. Huzzie was forced to play star last season after DeAndre Boykins was lost for the season in August with an injury.
*With Kaimon Rucker out for the rest of spring, defensive ends Des Evans and Beau Atkinson have been getting some work at Rucker’s Rush position in addition to the players in that specific group, like Tyler Thompson, Malaki Hamrick, Curtis Simpson, Jaybron Harvey and Daniel Anderson.
But Collins said there are packages in which both Evans and Atkinson will be on the field at the same time.
*Collins wants to play “22-25 guys that are woven through the defense,” and part of that is playing fast. The speed might mean fewer snaps for some players, but it also means rotating in capable reserves will keep the Tar Heels fresher later in games. He also noted the defense caused seven turnovers Tuesday. It had one interception in the full scrimmage portion Thursday, and couple of other picks during competitive drills.
*The word on Travis Shaw is that some people in the program have gotten into his ear and helped the light go on. Shaw can be a first-round pick, Collins said, and he’s been a joy to coach. The things that hurt Shaw in his first two years, such as not always being on time, allowing minor ailments to keep him off the field, and maintaining the proper level of focus, are no longer issues. UNC Coach Mack Brown said this Tuesday of this week as well.
“He comes in every single day wit a great attitude,” Collins said. “He plays really, really hard, he’s playing with technique, he’s playing with fundamentals… At one point during the scrimmage, he gathered the defense up, and it was awesome.”
