University of North Carolina Athletics
A Q&A With Coach Dave Huxtable: Part I
July 10, 2003 | Football
By: Joe Bray
TarHeelBlue: Would you take a look at the depth chart and give a brief description of each defensive player. Let's start outside with the ends.
Coach Huxtable: "At left end we've got Jocques Dumas listed as number one, but now that we've made the commitment to move Madison Hedgecock to defense, I expect Madison to really challenge for that position. I'm excited about having Madison on defense.
"We moved him over the seventh game last year and just sort of threw him to the wolves. From a technique and fundamentals standpoint he was so far behind. We started him on offense this spring, but halfway through we put him over on defense. Now that we've made the commitment to keep him on defense, he'll get all that technique work he's been missing from day one of fall camp. I think he'll be a much better player for us.
"But, as of now, Jocques Dumas is still our starter.
"We moved Kendall High from tackle to defensive end during the spring. He has all the physical tools to get the job done. I've heard that he's working really hard this summer. We expect really good things from Kendall this fall if he makes the decision to go out there and do it.
"At the other defensive end, Tommy Davis had a good spring. He's gotten bigger and stronger. He gave us some good downs as a redshirt freshman last year. I like his speed.
"Alden Blizzard is a redshirt freshman who's gotten bigger this summer. He's put on good muscle. Coach Connors tells me he's made good progress down in the weight room. He has a long ways to go from a knowledge standpoint, knowing his position, knowing the defense. He has a great deal of talent. Coach Lawing has to bring him along learning how to play his position.
"Brian Rackley finished the spring strong. We've got to count on him getting some downs this fall."
TarHeelBlue: Let's look inside at the tackles.
Coach Huxtable: "Donti Coats finished the spring as our starting right tackle, but I think he'll be pushed by Chase Page. Chase missed most of the spring because of a pulled hamstring.
"Donti has all the tools, but he's got to make a decision to want to do it on every play. He needs to become an every-down player, and he has the ability to do it.
"Chase was a starter last year, but missed over three fourths of spring practice. He'll play a lot of football for us in the fall.
"We moved Issac Mooring from end to tackle, and right now he's our starting left tackle. I thought Issac, without a doubt, was our most consistent player up front during the spring. He's up to 275 and did a good job inside. He's the type of guy who could, if we needed, go back outside in a pinch.
"We moved Jermicus Banks inside from defensive end. He's a guy who could play inside or outside, but we felt we needed a little more depth inside. Jermicus did a good job in the spring, but still has a good ways to go to learn how to play inside. Fall camp will be really important for him.
"Jonas Seawright is our biggest player inside. He's on the defensive side of the ball for good. Jonas is going to be a player for us, he'll do a good job. Fall camp will be particularly huge for Jonas to get ready to give us some quality downs this fall."
TarHeelBlue: Let's take a look at the position you coach, linebacker.
Coach Huxtable: "Melik Brown finished the spring as the number one Sam linebacker, but he and Clarence Gaddy are both equal to the task of playing that position. Melik was a pleasant surprise coming in here in January. He has all the physical tools, and he picked things up very quickly. I was very surprised at how quickly he picked things up mentally. He really did a great job and passed Clarence near the end of the spring.
"Clarence had his most consistent play this past spring. One reason is he was healthy for the whole spring. He's always had some injuries, which has been a distraction for him. I felt like Clarence really started to play good football during the spring, so I feel like we'll be pretty solid at the Sam linebacker position.
"Doug Justice will be our starting Mike linebacker. We moved Devllen Bullard from Sam to Mike linebacker in the spring. Devllen will do a good job backing up Doug.
"Clay Roberson started one game at Will linebacker last year, but right now he's our number one Will linebacker. We moved Jeff Longhany from Sam to Will linebacker. I was really impressed with Jeff this spring, he did some really good things. I'm expecting big things from Jeff, I'm very excited about him.
"I think Clay Roberson was probably our most consistent linebacker during the spring. Clay worked very hard. I think Clay has always been easily distracted with off the field things, so I talked to him before the spring about how important it was for him going into his senior year. He made that commitment and had an excellent spring. Now he needs to pick up this fall where he left off in the spring.
"We've got some freshmen linebackers coming in that I'm excited about. I expect one or two of those kids to play some this year. We'll evaluate them when they get here and see how fast they can pick things up.
"Linebacker is probably the area where we need the most help. Without a doubt we've got more depth up front than we ever had last year."
TarHeelBlue: What about your defensive secondary?
Coach Huxtable: "At corner Cedrick Holt and Chris Hawkins finished the spring our number one corners. They're backed up by Derrick Johnson and Michael Waddell.
"Those are four good corners. They will give us some depth and good play."
TarHeelBlue: What did Holt and Hawkins do to move up?
Coach Huxtable: "Cedrick Holt was just a playmaker all spring long, intercepting passes, breaking up passes, making big plays. He had a huge spring game, he was that way for all fifteen spring practices. He's a very heady kid, he has the instincts.
"Michael is still struggling a little bit coming off that leg injury. However, I understand that he is totally committed and working very hard in the weight room this summer. I think Michael is going to come out and have a great senior year.
"We'll see how it plays out between Hawkins and Waddell this fall.
"When we get into our nickel package, Derrick Johnson is our starting nickel back."
TarHeelBlue: Let's move back to the safety positions.
Coach Huxtable: "At free safety Dexter Reid is the leader of our defense. He's really taken charge of things. He's working extremely hard this summer, I really love that kid. He's just an outstanding player and leader.
"We've got Rashaad Tindall working at the number two free safety position. He was slowed down this spring coming off a knee injury. He showed some signs of being able to do some good things. I think he'll be a good player once he learns and knows exactly what he's supposed to do, where he's supposed to be and how he's supposed to do it. The knowledge standpoint is where he's behind right now, but athletically he can do all the things we're going to ask him to do.
"We moved Mahlon Carey over from tailback to defense, and he showed that he can play on defense. He really has some good instincts. For him it's a knowledge thing. He's only had fifteen practices on defense. Every play is a new picture, a learning experience. We've got to get him a lot of reps in fall camp to get him ready."
TarHeelBlue: Did he play any defense in high school?
Coach Huxtable: "He played outside linebacker in high school, so it's his first time playing back there. He did a nice job in the spring.
"Then there's Michael Harris. What an awesome kid. He can play both strong safety and free safety, he can be kind of a swing guy for us. He works hard at the game, he takes a lot of pride in his performance. Michael will play a lot of football for us this year.
"The strong safety position is still really wide open. Tommy Richardson, Mahlon and Michael will all be competing for the starting spot when we come back in the fall."
Part II: Friday, July 11
