Thigpen: Depth Starting to Come Along At Linebacker

CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina linebacker coach Tommy Thigpen met with the media via zoom following practice Wednesday morning to field questions about his unit.

Most of the questions centered around building depth behind starters Cedric Gray and Power Echols, as true freshman Amare Campbell played five snaps versus Minnesota, and redshirt freshman Sebastian Cheeks gets closer to being on the field.

Linebacker is the one position group that lacks proven depth on defense, but with what Thigpen said, the unit is in better shape than it was a month ago, and is trending in the right direction.

The No. 17 Tar Heels play at Pittsburgh on Saturday night for an 8 PM kickoff. The game will air on ACCN.

Above is video from Thigpen’s Q&A session, and below are a few notes from what he had to say:

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*Cheeks suffered a season-ending injury early last season and he was limited in the spring. Thigpen was asked how much it set him back and how much ground he’s made up since being a full go.

“This was probably his best week of practice so far,” Thigpen said. “There’s been a lot of talk about getting him back in the rotation, just like we put the young guy, AC, Amare Campbell in the game a couple of snaps last week.

“He’s starting to feel a little bit more confident. With Cheeks, he’s playing a lot more physical, getting more confidence in his shoulder, and now starting to play the role of being a tough and smart linebacker. So, looking forward to this week, and hopefully we can get him in this week.”

*Coaches often speak about needing to get reserves game reps, but it doesn’t always happen. And when a coach has guys like Gray and Echols, it has to be awfully tough to pull them off the field. They are that good.

“It’s difficult. But Coach (Mack) Brown has made it a commitment to start playing a lot of the young guys. And you’re right, Power and Ced are different and they are in superior shape. They know the game, they’re smart. So, it’s difficult to get them off the football field, but we’ve got to get those guys some reps some, because if one of those guys goes down, then then that next guy don’t have any repetitions in a real football game.”

Thigpen added he needs to show more confidence in the young guys and get them “10-15 reps a game,” especially if the defense is on the field for more snaps than is the norm.

*Campbell has been the top reserve since the middle of August even though this is his first year in the program. Thigpen was asked about Campbell’s progress.

“He might be one of the smartest young players I’ve ever been around. His recall is probably one of the best I’ve seen. You wouldn’t know he’s a true freshman just the way he talks football and the way he approaches the game, the way he practices.

“And you can attribute that to Power and Ced because they push him to the max. He comes in and he asks a lot of great problematic questions, and the way his focus is, very rarely does he make the same mistake twice. Maybe something he hadn’t seen one time, but the next time it comes up, he’s able to regurgitate it and fix his problem.

“He’s earned it. If Power was to go down… the guys on this team are very confident and got a lot of confidence in AC.”

*On Tuesday, Gray said he has taken Campbell under his wing and is showing him the ropes. Thigpen says that’s so, but the level of respect for his knowledge and progress means they have conversations not common for true freshmen and a senior.

“Those two guys (Gray and Echols) are self-starters, and they recognize when they see one, and they see that in AC. They talk to him as if he’s a third-year vet, and their conversations are really high level.

“Just to see the way they’ve taken him in, and they’ll tell you they respect smart, intelligent football players, and they really respect toughness. And AC all that we’re looking for. We thought Power was one of the more physical kids as a true freshman, and probably one of the most cerebral kids, but (Campbell) is right there with Power and Ced.”