GoHeels Exclusive: Surratt's Switch

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

As coaches and lettermen and high school recruits exited North Carolina's new Indoor Practice Facility, the massive structure no longer teeming with the excitement that was palpable throughout UNC's first spring football practice on Sunday, a few players lingered behind.

They stood against a padded blue wall and spoke with the media, each focused solely on the future and not the past. They spoke of changes and clean slates and proving themselves again. And they spoke of the head coach who's instilling confidence in them to do so.

"I told 'em (Saturday) we'd never mention four years ago, three years ago, two years ago or last year again," said Mack Brown after leading his first practice in more than five years. "This was a new start. It's a new team. This team hasn't lost a game. And this team has a chance to start out right with a new era."

By all accounts, everyone inside the Kenan Football Center has bought into that message. But perhaps no player embodies it more than Chazz Surratt.

Before the Tar Heels changed coaches in late November, Surratt chose to move from quarterback to outside linebacker this offseason. The redshirt junior has completely committed himself to his new position, adding about 15 pounds of muscle. He's currently pushing 230 pounds. He's also now wearing No. 4, since his number on offense, 12, belongs to Tomon Fox on defense.

That's not all that's different about Surratt, though.

"I think he has a lot more swag now," Patrice Rene said. "Chazz is one of my best friends on the team. I like having him on the dark side, the defensive side. He has to pride up and come on the field with a little bit more swag."

A Parade All-American and its national player of the year at East Lincoln (N.C.) High School in 2015, Surratt appeared in 10 games and made seven starts at quarterback for Carolina from 2017-18. He completed 111-of-193 passes for 1,352 yards with eight touchdowns and six interceptions. He also ran for 279 yards and six touchdowns.

But sidelined for all but one game last season due to a suspension for selling team-issued shoes and a wrist injury, he and his parents began talking about his future.

Certainly, Surratt could've transferred and played quarterback elsewhere. That's seemingly the norm in college football nowadays. But he said he "wanted to stick it out with" his fellow classmates and stay in the state of North Carolina. He also saw an opportunity at linebacker.

"I played it in high school and I had success with it," he said. "I just thought it was best for me going forward."

So, Surratt went ahead and initiated the position switch. And he hasn't looked back.

As competitive in the weight room as he is on the field, Surratt plunged into transforming his body. Participating in drills with the other linebackers during Sunday's practice, he blended right in. He was on the White team, the second group of players to receive reps.

Yet, there's much he needs to improve upon, including his stamina. Through 10 practice periods, he said he "barely broke a sweat" when playing quarterback. At linebacker, though, he can get somewhat winded.

He's also working to refine his technique. Putting extra time into that is a good first step.

"I think he's doing a pretty good job transitioning," Rene said. "I come out here with him on the off days and help him with his backpedal and stuff like that. … Chazz is an athlete, a Gatorade Player of the Year. You don't just do that by being a regular, average guy."

Brown echoed Rene's statement, saying quarterbacks tend to be the best athletes in high school. Many are then capable of playing other positions in college.

"For whatever reason, it didn't work for Chazz at quarterback," Brown said. "And to be very clear, he wanted to move to defense before we got here. So he was either going to be a safety or a linebacker. He's up to 225 now. He runs really good and he's smart and he obviously knows schemes because he was a quarterback."

That could prove valuable as Surratt adapts to his new position. But instead of watching plays develop moving away from him, he now has to read the game in reverse.

That's yet another adjustment.

"It's different," he said. "I'm learning everything backward than I learned playing quarterback. Reading defenses and stuff, I think that will help. Stuff with the gaps and the fits at linebacker are different, but I'm learning and just trying to do the best I can."

As far removed as Surratt is now from playing quarterback, the cast that he's wearing on his right hand serves as a reminder of his last game at the position.

While attempting a tackle against Miami in late September, Surratt tore a ligament in his right wrist. He underwent surgery a few weeks later and missed the remainder of the season. Until two weeks ago, he said he hadn't been medically cleared. He won't be out of his cast until April.

"Sitting out is terrible," he said. "And it just made me appreciate football even more."

So, perhaps it's this new lease on Surratt's football life that explains the positive attitude, focus and energy that he's displayed since moving from football's most celebrated position to linebacker. Or perhaps it's Brown's promise of a fresh start.

Either way, Surratt's making the most of this new opportunity. And that's not going unnoticed.

"We all commend him for it," Aaron Crawford said. "We know how he is as a teammate … and I feel like that's what helped us rally around him, even through the tough times. He's taking everything he's doing and excelling in it and is giving it everything he's got."

Players Mentioned

Aaron Crawford

Tomon Fox

Patrice Rene

Chazz Surratt

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