North Carolina’s scrimmage Saturday morning was closed to the media, but through multiple sources, THI was able to cobble together some nuggets from the action. To reiterate, we did not see any of this, as the media is not permitted to watch scrimmages.
Here is what we have learned from Saturday’s scrimmage and also an extension from some ongoing positives about camp so far:
*It should be noted that more than a handful of players did not play, many as a precaution, and typically at this point in camp guys are banged up, so there’s no need to exacerbate the problems.
Senior WR Thomas Jackson had several big plays, one a long catch-and-run for a touchdown. He was just cleared for full everything two days before camp technically started, so him having an impact this early in fall camp is excellent news for the Tar Heels.
Senior safety J.K. Britt, who became a starter last year after Donnie Miles was lost for the season in the six game (versus Notre Dame) and did quite well, has continued to play exceptionally well through the first nine days of fall camp. That continued in the scrimmage, as he racked up a half-dozen tackles, forced two turnovers and showed tremendous leadership on the field.
Sophomore QB Chazz Surratt completed most of his pass attempts with two of the few misses being balls that should have been caught. Among his passes, one went for a touchdown. Surratt has apparently handled his four-game suspension extremely well, has been vocal and told the coaches he will do whatever they need to prepare the team for the first four games he won’t be a part of. His performance Saturday was high caliber. Could he be the scout team QB for the Cal-through-Pitt games?
Senior DE Tyler Powell has had a tremendous camp so far. He missed the first two games last season with an in-house suspension and then was injured in the second game he played – UNC’s fourth – and was lost for the season. He mended at home during the spring semester, but was back in Chapel Hill in June, took a lot of classes, was at every workout and has displayed leadership qualities for the entire team, not just the defensive line. On Saturday, he was in on several plays and showed there may not be a huge drop off in the eight games the Heels will be without either Tomon Fox or Malik Carney.
True freshman QB Jace Ruder made some really strong throws and looks the part. No stats on him, but he completed more than half of his pass attempts.
True freshman WR Dyami Brown is a sensational athlete and showed it a few times. He made a few really big plays, including one that went for a long touchdown.
Senior DT Jeremiah Clarke occupied multiple blockers seemingly more frequently than a year ago. None of his tackles stood out to our sources, but the understanding is he did a nice job holding his ground inside.
RS freshman WR Austyn Chestnut had a couple of big punt returns and looks like he could be a factor in the competition for this spot. Chestnut, by the way, was a preferred walk-on.
True freshman RB Javonte Williams got in a lot of work and did well, including getting into the second level of the defense a couple of times and on one run getting to the third level. He runs hard and with a purpose.
The OL did a nice job protecting the QBs. Pass pro was a bigger concern than run blocking for this group when camp opened, and it showed some positive things Saturday.
Here is what we have learned from Saturday’s scrimmage and also an extension from some ongoing positives about camp so far:
*It should be noted that more than a handful of players did not play, many as a precaution, and typically at this point in camp guys are banged up, so there’s no need to exacerbate the problems.
Senior WR Thomas Jackson had several big plays, one a long catch-and-run for a touchdown. He was just cleared for full everything two days before camp technically started, so him having an impact this early in fall camp is excellent news for the Tar Heels.
Senior safety J.K. Britt, who became a starter last year after Donnie Miles was lost for the season in the six game (versus Notre Dame) and did quite well, has continued to play exceptionally well through the first nine days of fall camp. That continued in the scrimmage, as he racked up a half-dozen tackles, forced two turnovers and showed tremendous leadership on the field.
Sophomore QB Chazz Surratt completed most of his pass attempts with two of the few misses being balls that should have been caught. Among his passes, one went for a touchdown. Surratt has apparently handled his four-game suspension extremely well, has been vocal and told the coaches he will do whatever they need to prepare the team for the first four games he won’t be a part of. His performance Saturday was high caliber. Could he be the scout team QB for the Cal-through-Pitt games?
Senior DE Tyler Powell has had a tremendous camp so far. He missed the first two games last season with an in-house suspension and then was injured in the second game he played – UNC’s fourth – and was lost for the season. He mended at home during the spring semester, but was back in Chapel Hill in June, took a lot of classes, was at every workout and has displayed leadership qualities for the entire team, not just the defensive line. On Saturday, he was in on several plays and showed there may not be a huge drop off in the eight games the Heels will be without either Tomon Fox or Malik Carney.
True freshman QB Jace Ruder made some really strong throws and looks the part. No stats on him, but he completed more than half of his pass attempts.
True freshman WR Dyami Brown is a sensational athlete and showed it a few times. He made a few really big plays, including one that went for a long touchdown.
Senior DT Jeremiah Clarke occupied multiple blockers seemingly more frequently than a year ago. None of his tackles stood out to our sources, but the understanding is he did a nice job holding his ground inside.
RS freshman WR Austyn Chestnut had a couple of big punt returns and looks like he could be a factor in the competition for this spot. Chestnut, by the way, was a preferred walk-on.
True freshman RB Javonte Williams got in a lot of work and did well, including getting into the second level of the defense a couple of times and on one run getting to the third level. He runs hard and with a purpose.
The OL did a nice job protecting the QBs. Pass pro was a bigger concern than run blocking for this group when camp opened, and it showed some positive things Saturday.
