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.

Game Day vs. Elon

As a fan, I always get nervous before the first game of the season because you never know exactly what you are going to get. This season is much different for the North Carolina Tarheels than any other. New Head Coach Larry Fedora is unveiling a radically different offense and defense than anything the 'Heels have done before. A spread offense that will probably rack up more total offense and rewrite the Tarheel record books. The question I have is this offense going to be able to kill the clock nursing a 3 point lead with about 3 minutes to go in the game. The Tarheels are also unveiling a 4-2-5 defense that is attacking and aggressive and aims to turn defense into offense. Fedora's defense at Southern Miss returned 8 interceptions for TD's last year. It will be interesting to see what happens. The 'Heels have some offensive weapons in place in QB Bryn Renner and RB Gio Bernard. Wide Receiver could be a problem especially with training camp injuries to T.J. Thorpe and Reggie Wilkins. Coach Fedora has stated that he likes to use 8 wide receivers and the Tarheels go into this game with walk-ons Roy Smith and Mark McNeill as #7 and #8. On defense, the 'Heels have defensive lineman Sylvester Williams and Linebacker Kevin Reddick as the feature players but Seniors Dion Guy and Gene Robinson could play prominent roles in the new defense. Guy is playing a hybrid end/linebacker role and Robinson is playing a defensive back/linebacker role. It will be interesting to see how the 'Heels defend Elon Wide Receiver Aaron Mellette who had 113 receptions last year and at 6'4", would represent match up problems for any team. My prediction, UNC 34, Elon 21.