2012 Review- Defense

Coach Larry Fedora also brought a new defensive scheme with him, the 4-2-5, that was supposed to contain a "jail break" blitz philosophy. I was picturing a Pittsburgh Steelers type defensive scheme with a lot of sacks and wreaking total havoc on the other teams offense. It did not quite turn out that way. It became a situation where the coaching staff had to try to take the pieces they had and make them fit. Seniors Gene Robinson (Ram) and Dion Guy (Bandit) were put in positions that were new to the defense and had never played in that system before. The Tarheels defense was prone to allowing the big pass play and most of their games were high scoring affairs that never lacked for a dull moment. Depth, especially on the defensive line, was also problematic. They did not really have the depth to run the 4-2-5 system but they plowed ahead but allowed over 25 points a game but if you take out the two shutouts against Elon and Idaho, it rose to over 30 a game. Defensive Back Tre Boston led the team in tackles with 86 and tied for the team lead in interceptions with 4 but anytime you have a defensive back leasd the team in tackles you might have problems. Kevin Reddick was second on the team in tackles with 85 and led the team in sacks with 6 1/2 and had a solid senior season. Defensive Tackle Sylvester Williams was told he was too heavy by the new coaching staff and put in the work to lose 30 pounds before the season started. He had an All-American senior season and was second on the team in sacks with 6 and had 13 1/2 tackles for loss. Several underclassmen emerged with solid seasons. Junior LB Tommy Heffernan, Redshirt Freshmen Safety's Darien Rankin and Sam Smiley, and fellow first year Freshmen Shakeel Rashad, Justin Thomason, and Jessie Rogers all logged quality minutes this season. The off season will be key as Coach Fedora starts recruiting his own style players to fit this system.