GoHeels Exclusive: Monday Notebook

Chazz Surratt
University of North Carolina Football v South Carolina
Bank of American Stadium
Charlotte, NC
Saturday, August 31, 2019

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

September 2, 2019 | Football, Featured Writers

By: Pat James

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

Still riding high after Saturday's comeback win over South Carolina, the North Carolina football team gathered Sunday evening for a victory meal.

Mack Brown enjoyed watching his players celebrate their accomplishment. But he quickly turned their attention to what's ahead, an ACC Coastal Division meeting with Miami on Saturday at Kenan Stadium.

"We were really hard on them in the videos and showed them we won the game, but, 'Here are all the things that could've kept us from winning the game, as coaches and players," Brown told reporters on Monday. "At the end of the victory meal, we told them, 'Really enjoy South Carolina until you go to bed. And then when you get up tomorrow, you're totally focused on Miami.'"

Here are five notes from Monday's press conference, which also featured Jay Bateman and Phil Longo:

Howell's debut

Believed to be the first true freshman to start a season opener in program history, Sam Howell completed 15 of 24 passes for 245 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions on Saturday.

Howell's first series began with a delay of game. Yet, he still led the Tar Heels on a 70-yard scoring drive that resulted in a field goal. The composure he showed then – and really throughout the game – was among the things that Brown said impressed him the most about Howell.

The head coach also praised the quarterback's ability to throw the deep ball. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Howell completed 5 of 6 passes targeted 20 yards or more downfield, tied for the most such completions among FBS quarterbacks as of Monday afternoon.

"I still think he's most impressive when he's out of the pocket and running toward the line of scrimmage," Brown said. "He's fast enough to make yards, strong enough to break tackles. But when people come up, he's got that really good awareness to throw the ball downfield."

Howell threw the majority of his deep balls in the second half. Longo said he "tried to protect (Howell) early and give him some short, simple, quick throws to get him into a rhythm." He also said UNC was "a little bit more conservative than I'm used to being (in the red zone) because we wanted to make sure we came away with points."

But at halftime, Longo said Howell seemed comfortable, confident and healthy. So, he elected to let Howell loose. That'll likely be the case going forward, as well.

"I think we're kind of over that now," said Longo of being conservative with Howell. "I think the first-game-of-your-career butterflies are gone. He's our quarterback and he's going to run the offense and we're going to run it the way we do with any veteran."

As good as Howell was Saturday, there are still aspects of the game that he can get better at that. The most important might be making smarter decisions as a runner. Both Brown and Longo said Howell took some unnecessary hits against the Gamecocks.

"If he was a defensive player, he'd be a middle linebacker," Longo said. "He's physical and he's used to running people over in high school and he's used to getting the extra yard and he's a competitor. But there's health management in a game with the quarterback and you want to live to play another play.

"As the game went on, I don't know if you noticed, but he slid a few more times. I think he kind of learned that lesson, as well. It will be something we keep preaching."

A dominant ground game

Featuring Michael Carter, Antonio Williams and Javonte Williams, Carolina's running back room was heralded as its best position group entering the season. And on Saturday, it certainly live up to its billing.

Highlighted by five runs of 20 yards or more, the Tar Heels rushed for 238 yards against South Carolina. Javonte Williams led the way with a career-high 102 yards on 18 carries, good for 5.7 yards per rush. Carter added 77 yards and Antonio Williams turned four carries into 53 yards, all but two of which came on the 98-yard touchdown drive that spanned the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth.

"I'm not sure anybody has got three (running backs) who are as good as these three," Brown said. "I thought Robert Gillespie did a masterful job of keeping all of them in the game. Antonio didn't play as much the first three quarters. But right at the end of the third and the start of the fourth, we put him in and his fresh legs were obvious and he was hard to tackle. Any of those guys can be in the game at any time."

What stood out most about Saturday's rushing performance was how all three backs refused to go down after initial contact.

According to PFF, UNC finished with 161 yards after contact on the ground. As of Monday afternoon, Javonte Williams' 79 rushing yards after contact were tied for the 13th most among Power 5 running backs and Carter's 56 were tied for the 35th most.

"If the O-line blocks for three (yards) and you get three, that's not what we're recruiting," Longo said. "And that's really not what we have here. You want a crew of running backs who if you block the play up for three yards, they're going to get four or five and every now and then they're going to make you miss and it's going to become an explosive run.

"I think we are blessed right now with Antonio Williams, Javonte Williams and Michael Carter, and we've got two young ones there behind them (in British Brooks and Josh Henderson). But those three are really talented. We've got to continue to do a good job of getting them the ball."

Surratt shows potential

In his first game as a linebacker, Chazz Surratt tallied a team-high 12 tackles, contributed to two sacks, broke up a pass and recorded a quarterback hurry. As of Monday afternoon, his 77.5 defensive grade was the 18th best among Power 5 linebackers (min. 20 snaps) and his 83.9 coverage grade was tied for the third best among all Power 5 linebackers, according to PFF.

"I looked him up last night at dinner and just hugged his neck and said, 'You were a quarterback this time last year. You'd never played in a game at linebacker,'" Brown said. "He played all day, he didn't get tired, he's in great shape. I think he's got a chance to be a tremendous player and I think he actually has a chance, if he progresses, to be a pro linebacker because he runs so fast and he's 230 pounds.

"He overran some things early because he was so hyped. As you can imagine, his head was swirling out there on the first series. But I was so impressed by the way he played and how hard he played."

Bateman agreed.

"I think once he got into the flow of it he played really well …" Bateman said. "He made a play, I think it was in the second quarter, on a 3-by-1 formation, No. 3 vertical, and he went and grabbed No. 3 and broke the throw up to the tight end. That's a coverage that I'd say probably about 28 of the 32 NFL teams play and I'd say about 20 of them have a guy who can do that.

"So, yeah, I think he played really well. We're excited about him moving forward."

With Dominique Ross available to play against Miami, the staff will now look to figure out how to best incorporate Ross, Surratt and Jeremiah Gemmel.

"I think we have a problem that we anticipated on having," Bateman said. "I think Dominique can go out and play on the edge some. We can play them both together some. We have some packages where all three of them are in the game. So, there's a lot of things we're going to be able to expand upon with Dominique back."

Secondary steps up

With Patrice Rene unavailable to play in the first half against South Carolina, Carolina was dealt a significant blow when Trey Morrison sustained an upper-body injury seven plays into the game. But the rest of the Tar Heels' secondary stepped up.

"We're sitting there and poor Storm Duck, who's never been in a game, is over there and we said, 'OK Storm, go have fun bud,'" Brown said. "He looks at us like, 'You're kidding?' We said, 'No, you've got it. There's no choice; you're a freshman.' And he played really well.

"I was impressed with the play of Greg Ross. He had some tough plays last year and people picked on him some, but he made some really good plays Saturday against good players. All of them stepped up with a lot of confidence."

At safety, Myles Wolfolk made six tackles and doubled his career interception total with two in the fourth quarter. That earned him a 91.6 defensive grade from PFF, tied for the fourth best among Power 5 players as of Monday afternoon. His 90.7 coverage grade was the sixth best.

Myles Dorn also played well after missing a few early tackles. He finished with seven, the second most on the team.

Morrison is currently listed as questionable for the Miami game. But the secondary should receive a boost in the form of Cam'Ron Kelly. The freshman, who signed with Auburn before transferring to Carolina in April, wasn't ruled eligible to play this season by the NCAA until last Wednesday. That was too late to work him into the South Carolina game plan, but he still played some snaps on special teams.

"It was hard last week because if you give him a bunch of reps and he's not able to (play), you feel like you kind of cheated your defense a little bit," Bateman said. "I think now that he'll be able to go there are a couple of spots we'll try to work him into. But he's a really bright kid and he's a good player and he's going to play a lot here once he gets settled in."

Bateman said Kelly will play corner, nickel and safety.

Scouting Miami

Miami opened the college football season with a 24-20 loss against Florida on Aug. 24. The Hurricanes were then off last week.

At ESPN, Brown said he covered at least one Miami game each of the past three years. So, he has an idea of the Hurricanes' strengths.

"Their talent will be more like Clemson than anybody else in this league," Brown said. "They're very, very talented; they've had two weeks to prepare, so they'll be fresh. They'll be mad because they lost in a tight one to Florida, so we'll have our hands full.

"The first thing you look at is their defense. They're an old-timey Miami defense. Maybe the best set of linebackers in the country and if not, they're in that group. Those two guys are all over the field. … They've got really good pass rushers on the edge, they're so talented from top to bottom. (Trajan) Bandy is one of the top corners I've seen."

Bateman provided some thoughts on Miami's offense.

"I think they've got some real, real skill at wide receiver," he said. "I think the two tights ends are both NFL guys. I think the tailback is a great player, a tough competitor, willed them. You could see him just pulling the team along in that first game. So, I think we've got to do a great job covering. I think the quarterback is really talented. He's a young kid.

"Florida has a bunch of really good players up front on defense and they played like it in their first game. But we've got a real challenge on our hands."