The Spring Football Game-Defense

I would love to see the Tarheels defense go back to the ballhawking days of Dre Bly and using the defense to generate some offense. That should have been the case last year but we all know what happened there. The best thing that came out of the mess last year was that it gave several of the Freshmen that probably would have red-shirted alot of game experience.

The defensive line is going to be the strength of this defense. Quinton Coples, Tydreke Powell, and Donte-Paige Moss are all probably going to make some preseason all-star lists and are all poised for breakout years. Coples and Moss both had solid years last year and Moss may finally be living up to the hype he had when he came in as a Freshman. Tim Jackson and Kareem Martin are capable backups that got valuable experience last year and Juco transfer Defensive Tackle Sylvester Williams received alot of spring hype from coaches and players alike.

The linebacking core of Zach Brown, Kevin Reddick, and Herman Davidson are all solid and posess good speed. They are backed up by P.J. Clyburn, Dion Guy, and Darius Lipford. I would love to see the linebackers blitz more and create alot of pressure on the opposing teams quarterback but these linebackers can also run sideline to sideline.

The defensive backfield returns Charles Brown and Jonathan Smith from a year off and they are joined by Tre Boston and Jabari Price as the starters on the spring depth chart. Sophomore Josh Hunter has undergone another position change to Free Safety and made some noise in the spring game with an interception and a pass break up. Mywan Jackson, Matt Merletti, Brian Gupton, and Gene Robinson round out the group. Jackson had a great spring game last year but disappeared once the season began. I believe he suffered a couple of injuries that hurt his playing time.

The Tarheel defense lost alot of talent to the NFL this year for one reason or another but I believe the group they have this year has alot of potential. I believe that it will be alot of "ground and pound" on offense and don't give up the big play on defense and this is a good recipe for a top 20 team and a contender to be in the ACC title game in December.