GoHeels Exclusive: Commanding The Defense

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

With just over four minutes left in the third quarter of North Carolina's loss to Clemson last Saturday, Jeremiah Gemmel's instincts kicked in.

Looking to pressure quarterback Trevor Lawrence, Jay Bateman called a blitz from the boundary (short side). Weakside linebacker Chazz Surratt was among the players sent after Lawrence. And because of that, Gemmel, who was lined up over the B-gap between the right guard and tackle, had to work toward the boundary once the ball was snapped.

Before it was, the redshirt sophomore linebacker noticed something.

Gemmel glanced to his right and saw tight end J.C. Chalk lined up out wide and Tee Higgins in the slot – and also on the line of scrimmage. Based on everything he'd seen on film, Gemmel said the Tigers would pass up the tight end, even if he was open, to get the ball to Higgins or their other standout receiver, Justyn Ross. Gemmel also knew the slot receiver typically ran a corner route out of the formation. So, he sat on that.

When the center snapped the ball, the play unfolded just as Gemmel had imagined: Lawrence looked toward Chalk, who ran an underneath route, then fired a pass to Higgins as soon as he broke toward the sideline. But Gemmel undercut the route and broke up the pass and forced a crucial three-and-out.

On Monday, Mack Brown referenced that play when praising the entire linebacker unit for its performance against Clemson. He wasn't the only one impressed by Gemmel's effort.

"I told him that was one of the most impressive routes I've ever seen defended because he was really lined up to the field (wide side), and that wasn't his route," said Tommy Thigpen, a former All-ACC linebacker under Brown who now serves as UNC's co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach. "He just said, 'I knew the route, Coach.'"

"I've never seen any kid do that since I've been coaching that can actually line up to the field and break up a 7-cut to the boundary."

"I told him that was one of the most impressive routes I've ever seen defended because he was really lined up to the field (wide side), and that wasn't his route," said Tommy Thigpen, UNC's co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach. pic.twitter.com/kqwQ8Z8wOo
— Carolina Football (@TarHeelFootball) October 4, 2019

This time last year, even Gemmel might not have been able to.

Although he clearly had the sideline-to-sideline speed and athleticism needed to make such a play, he didn't have a strong grasp of the playbook nor the amount of preparation that it takes to find success. But in moving from Will to Mike linebacker, he started taking steps to change that. And he's since transformed into a player who Bateman says the defense relies on and trusts.

"Now, you're seeing a young man who is playing with a whole lot of confidence and commanding the defense," Thigpen said. "It's hard to operate without him. He knows when he's supposed to run a vertical route. He knows when a guy is in the wrong gap. He's becoming like a quarterback of the defense.

"He's come a long way, and I think his best football is still in front of him."

Embracing a new role

At East Coweta High School in Sharpsburg, Ga., Gemmel said he played in a defensive scheme that wasn't too complex. So, for the most part, he focused on his own responsibilities and wasn't that concerned about what his fellow defensive teammates were doing each play.

That was largely how he still approached playing linebacker entering last season.

After redshirting in 2017, Gemmel earned rave reviews from coaches and teammates about the strides he made between then and the start of fall camp. Many believed he'd provide valuable depth at linebacker. But his somewhat limited knowledge of the playbook kept him from playing a single defensive snap in the Tar Heels' first two games.

Finally, by mid-September, he started understanding the defense more and performing better in practices. With Cole Holcomb playing almost every defensive snap while also dealing with some minor injuries, Gemmel said the coaches told him they'd likely begin playing him about 10-15 snaps per game to spell Holcomb.

"That's when I was getting excited," Gemmel said. "But around that time, that's right when I (had) my injury."

In the loss at Miami, during which he played six defensive snaps, Gemmel said he slightly tore his left abductor muscle. He played one defensive snap three weeks later at Syracuse. But it was then determined that the injury was significant enough to require surgery.

Ultimately, he missed the rest of the season.

"I hate sitting out, especially during the season," Gemmel said. "They're out there playing and you're in there rehabbing the whole time. You just want to be out there and help the team in any way you can, if it's special teams or being on the sideline throwing the towel around, whatever you have to do. I was just ready to get back going."

By the time he was healthy, Brown and most of his staff had arrived. That included new head strength and conditioning coach Brian Hess, who Gemmel said played a vital role in helping him get back to where he "needed to be." Within three or four months, he lowered his body fat by 10 percent and packed on 15 pounds of muscle.

In that same time span, the coaching staff also approached him about transitioning from Will to Mike linebacker.

Gemmel said that decision let him know that the coaches have confidence in him to cover a lot of ground. But he also recognized that his new role would require him to know every responsibility for every call on the field. So, he did everything possible to ensure he would.

"In the spring and even player-led practices after the spring and before we got into fall camp," Gemmel said, "I just made it a priority to stay in the film room every single day and get all those blitzes and calls down that I needed to (learn), the more Level 2 and Level 3 stuff of the defense instead of our base defense. … I wanted to make sure I knew the whole defense because I feel like that's just a different responsibility that you have out there being the Mike linebacker."

It certainly is. And although he already knew that before arriving at Carolina, Gemmel said the two years he spent watching Holcomb reaffirmed that.

In addition to leading the Tar Heels in tackles each season from 2016-18, Holcomb, who was selected by the Washington Redskins in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, always ensured his teammates were lined up correctly. When reviewing film in the offseason, Gemmel said he noted how there were few plays last season when one side of the defense was in one coverage and the other side was in another.

"He was all over the field last year playing for us and he was a key vocal leader, getting everybody on the right page on the defense," said Gemmel of Holcomb, who he worked out with whenever Holcomb returned to Chapel Hill in the spring or summer.

"I feel like me going to the Mike linebacker, that's just a role I had to take upon myself since you had a leader like that gone. And that's a big responsibility."

But one that hasn't seemed to overwhelm Gemmel.

Constantly getting better

Coming out of spring ball, Brown talked about how he wanted Gemmel to communicate louder. That hasn't appeared to be a problem this fall, though. And it definitely wasn't an issue against Clemson, said Jay Bateman.

"I thought Jeremiah Gemmel played really well, did a great job of getting us lined up," he said. "We were trying to show a lot of different stuff up front, to try to protect the run box, because we were pretty light in the run box most of the game. And he did a great job with that."

As UNC's safeties coach last season, Thigpen said he thought Gemmel showed little emotion and he questioned his care factor. But he didn't know what a treat he was in the classroom.

Gemmel is adamant that hasn't always been the case. In the past, he said he was timid to ask questions in the film room out of fear of asking something dumb. But Thigpen describes a totally different player, one whose care factor and football IQ now remind him of Holcomb.

"When you're in the room, you have to be spot-on," Thigpen said, "because if you say something wrong, he'll ask you, 'Well, Coach, I thought you did it this way.' That's always the beauty of football and coaching is when you have guys who can operate on a really high level. And it's only going to get better for him. If he stays healthy, he can do anything he wants to do."

The first couple of games this season, Gemmel said he wasn't as instinctive because he was thinking too much. But the game is starting to slow down for him, and it shows.

Each week, Gemmel has noticeably improved. Against the Tigers, he turned in his best game of the season, posting a team-best 77.1 defensive grade, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). He was especially good in coverage (84.3), allowing two catches for negative yardage on four targets. That earned him a spot on the PFF ACC Team of the Week for Week 5.

He'll look to build on that performance when Carolina visits Georgia Tech on Saturday.

When the Tar Heels traveled to Atlanta, about 40 miles north of Gemmel's hometown of Newnan, Ga., in 2017, Gemmel stayed behind in Chapel Hill. He said he's expecting about 20 friends and family members at Saturday's game. And that'll unsurprisingly provide some extra motivation.

"It's going to be a great atmosphere to go into," he said, "and I just want to show out in front of the home crowd."

Players Mentioned

Jeremiah Gemmel

Cole Holcomb

Chazz Surratt

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