UNC's new-look defense still a work in progress
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David M. Hale, College football21Shareshttps://pinterest.com/pin/create/bu.../2014/0721/ncf_a_larryfedora_ms_1296x1296.jpg
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The final scrimmage of the spring for North Carolina came on a high school field two hours from the Tar Heels' campus, a temporary adjustment while renovations remain ongoing at Kenan Stadium. But as massive offseason projects go, the upheaval at the stadium is nothing compared to the rebuilding job on defense for UNC.
Last season was a disaster by any measure, so now the Tar Heels are effectively starting from scratch on defense. There's a new staff, led by former Auburn coach Gene Chizik. There's a new scheme, which has forced personnel to adjust to new roles. And most importantly, there's a new attitude -- a desire to erase the demons of 2014 and turn the Heels into legitimate contenders in the Coastal in 2015.
"We've had some down years, but I think we've really picked our confidence back up this spring," said linebacker Jeff Schoettmer, one of seven returning starters on the defense this year. "We've got that chip back on our shoulder." Larry Fedora has seen improvement this spring from a defense that was the worst in the ACC last season. AP Photo/Chuck Burton
Finding motivation to improve isn't particularly tough. UNC ranked last in the ACC in scoring, rushing, passing and total defense last season, and despite an offense that averaged 33 points a game, the Heels wrapped up the season with just a 6-7 record.
Figuring out solutions to those obvious issues, however, is a more challenging task, and so this spring, Chizik began by taking some small steps.
Chizik has amassed an impressive playbook during his years coaching defenses -- most notably at Auburn and Texas -- but the early stages of implementation at North Carolina have been remedial. That's by design.
"We were able to lay a solid foundation," said first-year linebackers coach John Papuchis, who worked as the defensive coordinator at Nebraska last season. "We exposed them to a lot of core concepts but didn't get too much into scheming."
Players got a taste of one blitz concept, one man, one zone and on through the playbook -- a focus on fundamentals over nuance. And for a unit that was often lacking in the fundamentals last season, that seemed an ideal focus for the spring.
"[Chizik] is very detailed, and teaching the base, the fundamentals, the techniques these guys need to know are the things he's really stressed this spring," head coach Larry Fedora said. "Have they perfected those yet? No. But each scrimmage as we've gone, you've seen less and less of going back to old habits, and staying within the scheme."
The more traditional 4-3 base Chizik runs is also a big departure from last year's defense, which employed hybrid positions that split roles between edge rusher and linbacker; linebacker and safety. Just six weeks ago, coaches still weren't quite sure how to adjust those hybrid players into more traditional roles, and this spring served as something of a test run for some of those decisions.
Donnie Miles are finding new homes, too, after spending last season working largely at the Ram spot.
Again, UNC's coaches understand this will all take time. The idea was get the basics down this spring, then let the bigger adjustments -- learning scheme, adjusting in the weight room -- develop over the remainder of the offseason. Though that means there is still plenty of work to do, the Heels say they have been surprised the progress they have made.
"We had to learn a whole new defense, have a whole new staff," defensive endDajaun Drennon said, "and to only have 15 days on the field, I feel like we got a lot accomplished."
Still, when a reporter asked Fedora at the end of Saturday's spring finale if he thought UNC was ahead of where it was a year ago, he hedged his bets.
Rebuilding projects take time, and though there is far more optimism on the defense this spring, there are still so many questions. If the Heels are lucky, many of those will be answered before the season kicks off.
But if there is one area that's been clearly addressed in these early weeks of the defensive renovation project, it's the attitude on defense. This year will be different at UNC -- and hopefully better, too.
"Seeing some of the numbers that teams put up against us [last year] -- we want to come out with a vengeance, to change the look of our defense," Drennon said. "We know we have a lot to correct from last year, but we're going to do that."
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The final scrimmage of the spring for North Carolina came on a high school field two hours from the Tar Heels' campus, a temporary adjustment while renovations remain ongoing at Kenan Stadium. But as massive offseason projects go, the upheaval at the stadium is nothing compared to the rebuilding job on defense for UNC.
Last season was a disaster by any measure, so now the Tar Heels are effectively starting from scratch on defense. There's a new staff, led by former Auburn coach Gene Chizik. There's a new scheme, which has forced personnel to adjust to new roles. And most importantly, there's a new attitude -- a desire to erase the demons of 2014 and turn the Heels into legitimate contenders in the Coastal in 2015.
"We've had some down years, but I think we've really picked our confidence back up this spring," said linebacker Jeff Schoettmer, one of seven returning starters on the defense this year. "We've got that chip back on our shoulder." Larry Fedora has seen improvement this spring from a defense that was the worst in the ACC last season. AP Photo/Chuck Burton
Finding motivation to improve isn't particularly tough. UNC ranked last in the ACC in scoring, rushing, passing and total defense last season, and despite an offense that averaged 33 points a game, the Heels wrapped up the season with just a 6-7 record.
Figuring out solutions to those obvious issues, however, is a more challenging task, and so this spring, Chizik began by taking some small steps.
Chizik has amassed an impressive playbook during his years coaching defenses -- most notably at Auburn and Texas -- but the early stages of implementation at North Carolina have been remedial. That's by design.
"We were able to lay a solid foundation," said first-year linebackers coach John Papuchis, who worked as the defensive coordinator at Nebraska last season. "We exposed them to a lot of core concepts but didn't get too much into scheming."
Players got a taste of one blitz concept, one man, one zone and on through the playbook -- a focus on fundamentals over nuance. And for a unit that was often lacking in the fundamentals last season, that seemed an ideal focus for the spring.
"[Chizik] is very detailed, and teaching the base, the fundamentals, the techniques these guys need to know are the things he's really stressed this spring," head coach Larry Fedora said. "Have they perfected those yet? No. But each scrimmage as we've gone, you've seen less and less of going back to old habits, and staying within the scheme."
The more traditional 4-3 base Chizik runs is also a big departure from last year's defense, which employed hybrid positions that split roles between edge rusher and linbacker; linebacker and safety. Just six weeks ago, coaches still weren't quite sure how to adjust those hybrid players into more traditional roles, and this spring served as something of a test run for some of those decisions.
Donnie Miles are finding new homes, too, after spending last season working largely at the Ram spot.
Again, UNC's coaches understand this will all take time. The idea was get the basics down this spring, then let the bigger adjustments -- learning scheme, adjusting in the weight room -- develop over the remainder of the offseason. Though that means there is still plenty of work to do, the Heels say they have been surprised the progress they have made.
"We had to learn a whole new defense, have a whole new staff," defensive endDajaun Drennon said, "and to only have 15 days on the field, I feel like we got a lot accomplished."
Still, when a reporter asked Fedora at the end of Saturday's spring finale if he thought UNC was ahead of where it was a year ago, he hedged his bets.
Rebuilding projects take time, and though there is far more optimism on the defense this spring, there are still so many questions. If the Heels are lucky, many of those will be answered before the season kicks off.
But if there is one area that's been clearly addressed in these early weeks of the defensive renovation project, it's the attitude on defense. This year will be different at UNC -- and hopefully better, too.
"Seeing some of the numbers that teams put up against us [last year] -- we want to come out with a vengeance, to change the look of our defense," Drennon said. "We know we have a lot to correct from last year, but we're going to do that."
