CHAPEL HILL – Filling the void of not having Ray Vohasek on the field isn’t something new to North Carolina, but it is now a permanent situation to work around, given that the graduate defensive tackle is formally out for the season.
Vohasek missed No. 21 UNC’s last two games, wins at Miami and Duke, but wasn’t listed as out for the season until last week. Managing without a vocal leader who eats blockers for a game or two is one thing, doing so the rest of the way is entirely different, and will be a challenge for the Tar Heels.
“He was the leader, he was the guy, and he stirred them up, and they had fun with him,” UNC Coach Mack Brown said during his weekly press conference Monday at the Kenan Football Center.
While Vohasek may have been a bit unsung, he was quite valuable and often highly productive, regardless of what the statistics say.
“Whether (Vohasek) he was getting sacks or battling balls down, that doesn’t count for how many times he had to be double-teamed and they had to put two guys on him…,” UNC defensive coordinator Gene Chizik said. “The young guys have got to come on: the Travis Shaws of the world, they have to give us reps, which they have.”
At least they have started to.
The bulk of Vohasek’s reps have gone to Hester, whose game-high in snaps entering this season was 31 in an overtime loss at Pittsburgh a year ago. This season, he played 28 snaps in each of the first two games, but in the two contests Vohasek has missed, Hester’s snap total grew to 88 with 36 at Miami and 52 at Duke.
“At the time, it didn’t feel like 52 snaps,” Hester said Tuesday, chuckling. “(Defensive line) Coach (Tim Cross) told me at practice, and I’m like, ‘Fifty-two? That’s crazy.’ It felt good. It felt like I adjusted to it well, it didn’t feel like 52 snaps.”
Hester earned solid grades from PFF in the two games, and for the season, his 203 snaps have earned him a composite grade of 68.5. He will need some help, though, which is why the staff has enlisted redshirt freshman Keeshawn Silver and sophomore Kedrick Bingley-Jones to step into bigger roles moving forward.
Both have already done so, at least at Miami. The humidity and temperatures in the mid-80s necessitated the UNC (6-1, 3-0 ACC) staff dig deep into the rotation that afternoon, and both players got quality snaps. Silver had a career-high 15, which included two tackles on Carolina’s goal line stand, and Bingley-Jones played seven snaps. He had 18 in a win over Virginia Tech the week before.
Junior Myles Murphy’s badly injured ankle is healing, and sophomore Jahvaree Ritzie, who has also been banged up for most of the season, is starting to feel better and find his form.
“Myles Murphy is getting well, Jahvaree Ritzie’s a special guy and he plays hard all the time, and he’s a great leader,” Brown said. “And we’re also seeing Kevin Hester play better, so he’s really stepped up. Travis Shaw is getting healthy, so he’s playing more.
“And one of the question marks this weekend, because they’re going to be so physical and run the ball so much, is how much do Kedrick Bingley-Jones and Keeshawn Silver play as well, because we’re going to need them.”
The challenge Saturday is hosting a Pittsburgh (4-3, 1-2) team that is most comfortable running the football right at opponents. Physicality is the name of the game, and it enhances the Panthers’ chances at winning each week that they have the nation’s fourth-leading rusher and tops in all-purpose yards in running back Israel Abanikanda.
Chizik said depth up front on defense was the biggest difference between the group he inherited during his first stint at UNC in 2015 and the one he took over last winter. Good thing, considering that is being tested some.
