GoHeels Exclusive: The Transformation Of Chazz Surratt

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

Around this time a year ago, shortly after he underwent season-ending surgery on his right wrist, Chazz Surratt first approached Jeff Schoettmer about moving from quarterback to defense.

Initially, Surratt wanted to play safety, said Schoettmer, the former North Carolina linebacker who is now in his second season as a defensive graduate assistant. That seemed like the most logical fit since safeties study formations like quarterbacks and make most of their plays in space. But before long, Surratt started talking about converting to linebacker.

He asked Schoettmer for help making that transition. And although Schoettmer never hesitated to provide it, he couldn't help but have the same immediate reaction that several of Surratt's teammates and fans would eventually have upon hearing of his decision.

"At first, I was kind of skeptical," Schoettmer said. "I was like, 'C'mon, Chazz. You've been playing quarterback. You're going to give it another shot at quarterback once you're healthy.'"

Surratt, however, stressed he wouldn't.

Between hurting his wrist against Miami in September and his conversation with Schoettmer a few weeks later, Surratt had spent much of his time thinking and talking with his parents, Kevin and Brandi, about his future after college. He still dreamed of playing in the NFL. But he no longer saw himself making it there as a quarterback.

It was at that position that Surratt made 10 appearances (seven starts) for UNC from 2017-18. At East Lincoln (N.C.) High School, he also set numerous state records at quarterback between his sophomore and senior seasons. Before then, though, he had played linebacker and safety, as well as running back and receiver, as a freshman for the Mustangs. And he loved it.

So, when contemplating the next step in his football career late last year, he and his parents agreed that it'd be best for him to shift to the defensive side of the ball, specifically linebacker.

"I knew I was athletic, and I knew I could physically do it," Surratt said. "It was just a matter of putting the time in and work to go out there and play and be successful at it."

And he clearly has.

Entering Saturday's game at Virginia Tech, the redshirt junior leads the Tar Heels in tackles (46), pass breakups (3) and quarterback hurries (4). He's second in sacks (3) and tackles for loss (5.5). He also possesses the team's best pass-rush grade (79.9), according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).

It's by no means common for a Power 5 quarterback to switch to linebacker. Yet, Surratt has made it look easy, even though he'd be the first to admit it hasn't been.

"Chazz has gone from a guy who people kind of snickered at for moving him from quarterback to linebacker about a year ago," Mack Brown said, "to a guy who is playing as well as any linebacker we've had in the last number of years and has a chance to be in the NFL. So, I'm really, really proud of him. He is one of the most unique stories in college football this year."

Sources of confidence, pride

Before going any further, it should be noted that there could've been no story at all; no tale of how Surratt has drastically transformed himself; no spotlight on the player whose emergence has been key to Carolina going from two wins in 2018 to three already this season.

Brown, Jay Bateman or Tommy Thigpen could've denied Surratt's request to move to linebacker. And no one would've blamed them.

A three-time All-ACC linebacker at UNC, Thigpen served as the Tar Heels' safeties coach last season. When Brown was hired after the 2018 campaign, Thigpen was retained. He was also elevated to co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach.

After speaking with Schoettmer, Surratt went into Thigpen's office in December and told him he wanted to play linebacker. Not only did Thigpen say he could, Surratt said, but the excitement he expressed gave Surratt confidence that he'd get a chance to see the field.

The way Surratt ran the ball as a quarterback, always looking for extra yardage, told Thigpen everything he needed to know.

"You knew, 'OK, this guy doesn't shy away from contact. He actually invites it,'" Thigpen said. "Well, that's the linebacker's creed – you want guys who are smart and tough, but you also want guys who are violent and want to hit you with speed. And that's what he gave us."

Next came a meeting with Brown.

When Surratt walked into his office, Brown said he thought he was moving to safety. That he instead wanted to give linebacker a try caught the Hall of Fame coach off guard. Rarely in his 41 years of collegiate coaching had he heard of any quarterback, let alone one of Surratt's caliber, making such a transition.

But when taking over a program, Brown said it's imperative that you give the players a chance to do what they want. And it was evident in talking with Surratt that playing linebacker was something he wanted to do, not something he felt like he needed to do.

"He was passionate about it," Brown said. "I said, 'Why do you want to do this? Do you want to go back to quarterback now that there's a change in coaching staffs? Do you want to play safety?' And he said, 'No, I'm 228 pounds. I want to play in the NFL; that's a life's dream for me. I think this is my best chance to get there, and I think I can help the team.'

"We were really struggling with linebackers; we didn't have many numbers and no experience at linebacker. So, we said, 'What the heck? Let's look at him.'"

Bateman, who has recruited in the state of North Carolina since he was Elon's defensive coordinator from 2006-10, said he knew of Surratt, the 2016 Parade National Player of the Year, before arriving in Chapel Hill. He also thought Surratt could handle the switch.

"A lot of times you move running backs to linebacker," said Bateman, Carolina's co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach. "But the first time I met him I thought, 'This kid physically looks like a linebacker.' So, I was excited about him."

Not all coaches would've been.

Surratt recognizes that other staffs might've encouraged him to play linebacker elsewhere. Some might've even told him they didn't think he could play it at all. But when given the chance to say no to Surratt, Brown, Bateman and Thigpen all said yes – and they've maintained belief in him.

"They've never been too hard on me or anything like that," Surratt said. "They've just tried to make me better each day. Even when I had a bad day or a not-so-good day, they were always picking me up or giving me little things so I could get better. And they gave me confidence, and I think they've got confidence in me to go out there and play well. I'm really grateful for that."

At the same time, no matter how much trust the staff had in him, this story also wouldn't be the same if Surratt hadn't stayed.

He admits that at one point he considered transferring, which is what most players in his position would have done. But he was close to earning his degree. And he didn't want to leave his friends at his state's flagship university, the school he always wanted to attend.

So, despite the uphill battle he faced, he elected not to leave.

"That's not in their family values," Thigpen said. "His daddy is, 'Hey, you stick it out. You don't complain. You don't gripe and moan. You just go to work.' And that's what I've gotten from talking to his dad is he's just a kid who grew up in North Carolina, always wanted to be around Carolina, and that's what you want.

"That's how you win a championship, with kids with that kind of ability and that kind of love for the University."

A chance to be special

As opposed to dwelling on a second straight season without a bowl game, Surratt set about preparing for his new position as soon as he returned home to Denver, N.C., for winter break last December.

Then 215 pounds, he primarily concentrated on gaining weight. He struggled forcing himself to eat, he said. But his parents helped, feeding him five or six times a day. By the time he returned to UNC three weeks later, he weighed about 230 pounds.

While he was home, Surratt, still recovering from his wrist surgery, also texted Schoettmer and asked for some drills to work on. Schoettmer sent him a few. Then, when they were reunited in January, they started doing drills together, just the two of them.

Clearly, some time had passed since Surratt last played defense, Schoettmer said.

"But you could just see his athleticism jump out at you," Schoettmer said. "He didn't really know how to play and he didn't really know what he was doing yet, but an athlete is always going to be an athlete. That's exactly what Chazz was."

Still, despite all the time he spent with Surratt, Schoettmer wasn't sure what kind of player Surratt would be entering spring ball in March.

It didn't take long to find out.

During the first practice, Surratt, wearing a cast on his right hand, was participating in an inside run drill when he filled the wrong gap on a stretch play, Schoettmer said. But he fought off the guard, quickly redirected himself and tackled the ball carrier.

"(It was) like completely wrong, but you could just see the athleticism flash," Schoettmer said. "And those are the things we can coach up. If you see a guy who doesn't really know what he's doing and he's able to defeat a 300-pound lineman, while he's still in a cast, and then make the play, have enough speed to react and make the play – right there, that was the moment I was like, 'This kid could be really special.'"

Surratt said he started gradually grasping gap assignments as spring ball progressed. He also began understanding the defensive terminology. He had some frustrations, though, with eye discipline and line schemes, Thigpen said.

There were also bumps and bruises.

At quarterback, Surratt would sometimes go months without getting hit in practice. But he gained a newfound respect for his teammates as he slowly grew accustomed to absorbing contact on every play. That surely didn't come easy for Surratt, considering he could only use one hand to shed blockers and make tackles; his cast wasn't removed until after spring ball.

"But you still saw a want," Thigpen said. "Even though he had one hand, you saw a want and a desire to try to get better every single day."

That continued into the summer.

As they did throughout the spring, Schoettmer said he and Surratt watched film at least once a week. Finally able to use both hands to lift weights, Surratt said he also benefited greatly from the workouts with head strength and conditioning coach Brian Hess, lowering his body fat by about 5 percent. And on the field, he started feeling comfortable and wasn't thinking as much.

When spring ball ended, Brown said and he Bateman had entertained the idea of blitzing Surratt all the time if he didn't learn to play linebacker. Suddenly, he seemed capable of more.

"I remember just sitting in there one day in the summer watching him and saying, 'Tommy, this guy is making every tackle,"' Bateman said. "I think at that point it became, 'We've got a guy who could be a really, really talented kid on our hands.' So, then it became, 'He doesn't know this yet. We've got to make him learn this. We've got to force him into some of these and take some lumps as he's learning it.'

"I think in the summer there was definitely a couple of practices where all of a sudden it was like, 'Oh, OK.'"

More such moments have come this fall.

'He's that talented a kid'

Even if Dominique Ross had been available for the season opener against South Carolina, Surratt would've played a lot. But knowing the Tar Heels would be without the senior linebacker, Surratt said he spent the entire offseason preparing as if he'd start against the Gamecocks in Charlotte, about 20 minutes from his family's home.

Everything he did eventually earned him that right.

"I was excited," he said. "I was just ready to get the warmups and all the stuff out of the way and just go out there and play. The first step on the field, it was weird, just being on the opposite side of the ball; (I was) a little jittery at first. But once I settled down and just played, it was good."

That adjective, however, wouldn't adequately describe his performance.

In helping hold South Carolina to 270 total yards in a 24-20 win, Surratt posted a team-high 12 tackles, including a sack, in his first game at linebacker. He also recorded a breakup and a hurry while playing all but three defensive snaps.

This story could've ended there. Surratt could've left Bank of America Stadium and never played another game that rivaled that one; a game that many Division I linebackers will never match statistically; a game that seems more likely to occur on the movie screen than in real life.

But each week since then, Surratt has improved. Look no further than his last two games. Against then-No. 1 Clemson, arguably the most talented offensive team in college football, he finished with seven tackles, three hurries, two breakups and a sack. He then equaled his season high with 12 tackles in the win at Georgia Tech. He also registered his best defensive grade (74.7), run-defense grade (85.5) and tackling grade (86.4), according to PFF.

All that has led to national media calling him one of the most pleasant surprises of the first half of the college football season. But Bateman considers him anything but.

"When you spend time with him and you get to know him and you know just how bright a kid he is and you see how hard he works at it and how important it is to him," Bateman said, "I think when you have a kid like that with that ability, I'm not surprised by anything he can do. I think Chazz Surratt can do about anything he wants on the football field. He's that talented a kid."

He's smart, too.

Throughout his transition, Surratt has talked about how his experience reading defenses as a quarterback has helped him. He also has a keen understanding of what offenses are trying to do. And he's trying to impart that knowledge to his defensive brethren.

"There will be a lot of times," Thigpen said, "when we'll ask, 'Chazz, explain it to us. What was your progressive read?' so kids will know overall what the offense is looking to expose us on in any defense that we're in."

Hanging on one of Thigpen's office walls are photos of former linebackers Zach Brown, Bruce Carter and Quan Sturdivant, all of whom Thigpen tutored in his previous stint as Carolina's linebackers coach from 2005-08. Pointing at each individual picture, Thigpen says Surratt has Sturdivant's intellect and the athleticism of Brown and Carter.

In time, that might not be all that Surratt has in common with them. Every member of the staff agrees he'll play in the NFL.

"If he stays healthy and he continues to improve like he is," Bateman said, "I think he's a first-round draft pick."

Of course, Surratt always envisioned himself as an NFL quarterback. But making it to the pros as a linebacker wouldn't be any less significant. In fact, it might even be more rewarding given the unconventional path he'd be taking there.

"If I'm playing in the NFL, that's a dream come true," he said. "I'll be just as happy playing on defense as offense. I've got a long way to go until then, so I'm just trying to go each day and get better and am trying to progress."

As he does, he'll add more chapters to his unique story.

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Players Mentioned

Dominique Ross

Chazz Surratt

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