University of North Carolina Athletics
Storylines: Replacing Defensive Line Leaders
August 16, 2010 | Football
Aug. 16, 2010
This is the third in a series from Tar Heel Monthly focusing on ten on-field storylines to watch during football camp.
By Lauren Brownlow
Cam Thomas, E.J. Wilson, Marvin Austin and Robert Quinn - all four could become fixtures on NFL rosters, and they anchored one of the nation's best defenses in 2009.
But Wilson and Thomas are gone, and while Carolina has plenty of talent on its defensive line, it won't be easy to replace their production. They take with them 50 of the unit's 161 solo tackles and five of the 14 forced fumbles.
Thomas, a 6-3, 330-pound defensive tackle, ate up space alongside his 310-pound senior teammate, Austin. But this year, other than Austin, only one other tackle - the likely starter, junior Tydreke Powell - weighs over 300 pounds.
Powell had 24 tackles (4.0 for loss) last season and forced the decisive fumble to set up the game-winning field goal at Virginia Tech. He has been one of the steadiest backups on the defensive line.
But it's not as simple to put a talented freshman tackle in the game early on as it is to let a young end come in for a third-down situation. While the mental transition is tough, the physical one is probably even more difficult.
"Playing in the trenches, we're one of the positions that get hit every day," Powell said. "We're down there, we're tussling and when we get a double team, I don't know too many quarterbacks, linebackers or anybody that's taking on 600-700 pounds at one time."
Junior Quinton Coples was listed as the starting left defensive end in the spring, but he has spent most of camp so far playing defensive tackle. Powell says Coples has been lining up at the 3-technique, meaning he can use his defensive end speed to shoot the gap between guard and tackle to pressure the quarterback.
"I'm learning to go down there and play the technique correctly and properly. It's actually been pretty fun," Coples said. "I feel like I'm athletic and strong enough to hold my ground inside. I didn't gain a whole lot of weight because I feel like that would be a waste."
The other tackles have stepped up as well. Quinn said fellow junior Jordan Nix, who transferred to Carolina in 2008, has the best hips on the team. He added that freshman Brandon Willis and redshirt freshman Jared McAdoo are showing flashes of playmaking potential.
There are plenty of talented playmakers at end, some of which have already showed what they can do, like Coples and Michael McAdoo. Sophomore Donte Paige-Moss saw limited action last season but turned that into two sacks and two quarterback hurries.
Coples says that the young defensive ends love to line up opposite the unstoppable Quinn in practice and try to race him to the quarterback. While a lot of them can come in and rush the passer, particularly in third-and-long situations, not all of them are ready to be every-down players.
The key to transitioning from freakish athlete to reliable starter is consistency, according to Quinn. That's the difference between Coples and McAdoo, for instance, last year and this year.
"Both of them are being more consistent on trying to make a play, stopping the run - whatever their assignment may be, it's like they're just being more consistent," Quinn said. "If you've got a run play, you need to be looking at your line keys and guys need to be getting on the o-linemen, knocking them back. You see that play in and play out, they're constantly doing that. That's a sign that they're growing up."
Wilson was one of the best linemen at knowing exactly where he and everyone else on the line were supposed to be, and he studied so much film and had so much experience that his instincts were second to none.
Junior Michael McAdoo was listed as Quinn's backup at right end in the spring but is now practicing on the left as the starter. It's not a huge adjustment, other than taking his first step with the opposite foot. But his role will be much bigger.
Last year, he had 20 tackles (13 solo), including 7.0 for loss. It took him a full season to feel fully comfortable on the field, and it helped to watch Wilson work. "E.J., he was a good athlete," McAdoo said. "He did all the right things. He stepped right, his technique was right so I just hope I can try to look at some of the things that he did right."
The goal of the line is to keep up the progress; there is plenty of talented depth but with two experienced players gone, there is a lot of fine-tuning to do in terms of avoiding mistakes and doing the little things.
They want to make sure that the defensive line never takes a step back. Just as Wilson groomed the younger players, the older players want to keep the cycle going.
"I look at how we came in, the class that came in behind us and these guys that just came in also, they're smart and they're catching on," Coples said. "They've got a lot of talent. It's good to see that they have the potential to get out there and help us. I really enjoy the freshmen. They're great guys and I feel like they've got a bright future here at Carolina."
Lauren Brownlow is the executive editor of Tar Heel Monthly.
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