Here’s how the UNC Tar Heels’ defensive line went ‘tired’ to ‘wired,’ almost overnight
In an 8-part series, the News & Observer and Herald Sun will be examining UNC’s football depth chart, position by position, as the season opener on Sept. 3 in Blacksburg, Virginia, draws near.
North Carolina co-defensive coordinator Jay Bateman remembered two seasons ago when he couldn’t replace a starter in the fourth overtime against Virginia Tech. A clearly fatigued Aaron Crawford was still better than the alternative of bringing someone in off the bench.
This season, Bateman should have the luxury that no one on the Tar Heels’ line should ever have to play tired. Carolina’s overall defense should be better because its defensive line is better.
And bigger.
And deeper.
Carolina returned its starters in nose tackle Ray Vohasek, defensive tackle Jahlil Taylor and defensive end Tomari Fox, and everyone else who played a snap on the line last season. Bateman said they won’t hesitate to go to the reserves this season, because of the amount of talent they have.
“There’s rotation for for need and there’s rotation because you earn it,” Bateman said. “We’re at a point now where we’ve got a lot of players where I’m like, ‘This kid has got to play.’”
Myles Murphy may be at the top of that list. The 6-foot-3, 305-pound sophomore from Greensboro appeared in every game last season for the Heels and is ready to have a breakout season.
Murphy has transformed himself physically, saying he increased his squats from 325 pounds when he first arrived at UNC to now throwing up 515 pounds. His teammates have noticed the change.
“Everybody knows he’s coming,” Vohasek said. “He’s establishing himself as a starting defensive lineman and I think he won’t just be a starter, he’ll be a guy that can really make big, impact plays.”
Kevin Hester Jr., a third-year sophomore, falls into a similar category. He fashioned himself more of a basketball player, which is why he played only one year of high school football. UNC defensive line coach Tim Cross said he “probably thought he was closer to Giannis Antetokounmpo than Aaron Donald.”
It’s taken some time for him to learn the nuances of the game, but Hester knows how to put his 6-foot-3, 305-pound frame to use on the field. After playing just one game in 2019 and receiving a redshirt, he played in 10 games last season and progressively showed improvement, concluding with a season-high three tackles in the Orange Bowl loss to Texas A&M.
“All these young guys man, it’s at a point where we don’t got no more pups, everybody’s a big dog now,” Fox said. “It’s just a matter of who’s going in first, and then if you’re not, you’re not going to notice the change, because even if we swap out, we’re still gonna just keep coming.”
Don’t be surprised to see freshmen Kedrick Bingley-Jones, Keeshawn Silver and Jahvaree Ritzie working into the rotation. Bingley-Jones missed all of last season with an injury. Silver and Ritzie both enrolled on January and participated in spring drills. Fox pointed out that Silver and Ritzie made an impression in fall camp, calling them “freaks of nature.”
“They’re going to be, I wouldn’t be surprised, the face of the program in a few years when they’re old heads,” Fox said.
The value of the Heels’ added depth will allow Carolina to create personnel packages with the line in a way that they couldn’t before. They can have a run stopper for short-yardage situations that doesn’t play passing downs. Or they can have a designated pass rusher, like Clyde Pinder Jr., who doesn’t necessarily have to be an every-down player.
With coach Mack Brown’s emphasis on wanting to create pressure without having to blitz or scheme for it, the defensive line having specialists could make a big difference.
“No doubt, that’s going to really help us,” Cross said. “Guys find a role and embrace that role and get really thoroughly immersed in it... it keeps everybody engaged keeps everybody fighting for each other and working hard, because they know that at any moment their number can get called.”
A final number that Cross believes will help the Heels is 300. They’ve got more girth upfront with the number of 300-pounders they can line up, including 6-foot-4 sophomore Kristian Varner.
Carolina got worn down on the line in losses last season to Notre Dame and Texas A&M, but Cross doesn’t think that will be a problem this year.
“Lord have mercy, that I can speak to,” Cross said. “They are much, much bigger than we’ve been in the past, but we still got to work. Because big ain’t everything, but it is something.”
Projected UNC defensive line depth chart
| End | ||
| STARTER | ||
| Tomari Fox (JR) | 6-1 | 290 |
| RESERVES | ||
| Kaimon Rucker | 6-1 | 260 |
| Jahvaree Ritzie (FR) | 6-4 | 285 |
| Nose | ||
| STARTER | ||
| Ray Vohasek (SR) | 6-2 | 300 |
| RESERVES | ||
| Kevin Hester Jr (SO) | 6-3 | 305 |
| Kedrick Bingley-Jones (FR) | 6-4 | 305 |
| Tackle | ||
| STARTER | ||
| Myles Murphy (SO) | 6-3 | 305 |
| RESERVES | ||
| Jahlil Taylor (JR) | 5-11 | 310 |
| Kristian Varner (SO) | 6-4 | 300 |
| Keeshawn Silver (FR) | 6-5 | 295 |
Previous UNC preview installments
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Wide receivers
Special teams
Other Triangle ACC previews
Defensive line
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
Wide receivers
This story was originally published August 27, 2021 at 5:20 AM with the headline "Here’s how the UNC Tar Heels’ defensive line went ‘tired’ to ‘wired,’ almost overnight."