Tuesday Defense Report: Grimes, Hardy & Taylor

CHAPEL HILL – Every Tuesday, several North Carolina football players are made available to the media to discuss their recent performance, the coming game, and their individual play.

The three defensive Tar Heels that met with the media this week were cornerback Tony Grimes, safety Will Hardy, and jack Noah Taylor at the Kenan Football Center.

UNC (5-1, 2-0 ACC) is coming off a 27-24 win at Miami last weekend and travels to Duke (4-2, 1-1) on Saturday for an 8 PM kickoff (ACC Network).

Below are videos of their Q&A sessions as well as a few notes and pulled quotes from what they had to say:

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Grimes was asked about the mood on defense the last two weeks since they have picked up their play since the Notre Dame game, about the incidents that happened on the field, how his game has elevated the last two weeks, being 2-0 in the Coastal Division, the success of the third-down (dime) package, freshman safety Will Hardy, Duke, and the Victory Bell.

*During Monday’s weekly presser with UNC Coach Mack Brown and defensive coordinator Gene Chizik, both said that the pass rush is ahead of the pass coverage. So, what must the Tar Heels do in coverage to catch up with the rush?

“We just have to stay disciplined and stay more consistent,” Grimes said. “We’ve been in great coverage at points at times, sometimes we’ve (had) lack of technique; our eyes and stuff like that. We’ve just got to be consistent with technique.”

*The defense had a lot of fun when DeAndre Boykins picked off Tyler Van Dyke’s pass Saturday to seal the win at Miami. Grimes waved goodbye to the Hurricanes and the defensive Heels were rather hyped on the field. Grimes says their confidence has grown a great deal in recent weeks.

“Definitely, definitely,” he said. “It was just an exciting game; exciting game throughout from the first quarter to the end… Then for Boykins to get that pick at the end, it was like game over! We won. We’re going home with a dub (W).”

This was Hardy’s first time meeting with the media and he was asked about what it has been like getting on the field a lot as a true freshman, his position in the dime package that is called “money,” how he moved up to first on the depth chart in the third-down package, his responsibilities, that his first tackle in college was on Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer, the teammates he looks up to, and the Duke game.

*Hardy has played 99 defensive snaps on the season, including 73 in the last three games. He played 30 against the Hurricanes. He has also been in on 37 special teams plays. The Georgia native, who did not enroll early, is having a blast.

“It’s been an awesome experience,” Hardy said. “Coming here in June, I didn’t know how much I’d be able to contribute this early in the season. (With) the dime package, I think that’s a good (opportunity) to come in and play early and play in those big moments when it’s third down and when it’s late in the game and they’re trying to move the ball quick.

“I’ve really enjoyed it. Those first couple of games, the stage felt really big, but I’m starting to settle in and really understand the scheme.”

*Hardy usually goes in for linebacker Power Echols, and it appears he’s lined up in a linebacker spot much of the time. He explained his responsibilities.

“Different coverages, different variations where I line up,” he explained. “I could be guarding tight ends, I could be guarding slots, sometimes we’ll play some zone so I line up as a backer and drop strong-hook, weak-hook. And then sometimes I’ll run to middle-third.

“So, it’s really versatile, and that dime package has a lot of different stunts and different blitzes and different coverages. We try to show a lot of things to the offense they don’t expect.

Taylor is always a fun interview, and here he was asked about the mood on defense with recent positive performances, getting off the field on third down, improving run defense, if the team has grown from the incidents on the field, his experiences playing Duke when he was at Virginia, that he just learned what the Victory Bell is this week, the rivalry itself, and more.

*UNC has allowed 141 total rushing yards in the last two games, in part because the rotation has grown deeper and more guys are contributing. Taylor said the group goes deep and there isn’t much of a drop off when new players go into the game.

“I think the biggest thing I’ve noticed about the d-line group is, in most position groups, it’s like this kid’s the leader or this guy or this guy, I could list just about everyone in that room as a leader. That’s why they’re able to play so many guys and rotate so many guys.”

*Even though the Tar Heels gave up 537 yards to Miami, they held the Hurricanes to 5-for-14 on third downs and 3-for-6 on fourth downs. So even giving up a lot of yards, getting off the field as they did can infuse the unit with a great deal of confidence, Taylor said.

“It does a lot just because it shows you that you know those times they are converting, we feel it’s not because they are better than (us), we feel like it’s guys weren’t doing their job. Once we start doing our job, that’s why we’re getting off the field on certain downs.”