University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: UNC Athletic Communications
GoHeels Exclusive: Reap The Rewards
May 8, 2020 | Football, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
Looking around North Carolina's inside linebackers room before the start of spring practice last year, Tommy Thigpen saw a group with an abundance of athleticism, but little to no experience.
Among the inside linebackers who could participate in team activities, Dominique Ross had played the most, seeing 582 defensive snaps through three seasons. Jeremiah Gemmel, however, had only seen 10 reps. And neither early enrollee Khadry Jackson nor former quarterback Chazz Surratt had yet to even play the position in college.
Thigpen's group got even younger when Eugene Asante enrolled in late July. But at no point did Thigpen use that as an excuse, choosing instead to employ a patient approach.
"One thing about football is you've just gotta stay on the message," said Thigpen during a videoconference with reporters on Monday. "I stayed consistent with them and we just kept doing the same drills over and over and over again. …
"We never got down on them, we never yelled or berated the player. We kept encouraging them. And when Coach (Mack) Brown was with me in those years, in the '90s, that's how I felt as a player. He kept being positive with me, so as a result, that's my coaching style – stay positive, keep the message going and you just keep drilling it."
And hopefully, you'll reap the rewards, as UNC seems destined to do this fall.
Although the Tar Heels lost the versatile Ross to graduation, the position figures to be one of the team's best. That's largely due to the steady progression of Gemmel and Surratt, who should form one of the ACC's top tandems.
The first Carolina linebacker to capture first-team All-ACC honors since Kevin Reddick in 2012, Surratt tallied 115 tackles last season, the second most in the league. His 15 tackles for loss (the fifth most in the ACC), 6.5 sacks and 10 quarterback hurries paced UNC. His 31 total pressures ranked seventh among Power 5 linebackers, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).
Coming off such a successful season, Surratt considered foregoing his redshirt senior campaign and entering the NFL Draft. Ultimately, he chose to stay in Chapel Hill, a decision that'll likely not only benefit the Tar Heels but also Surratt – who is currently ranked by ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. as the No. 2 inside linebacker in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Gemmel might not draw the same sort of attention as Surratt. But in moving from Will to Mike linebacker, the redshirt sophomore was almost just as stellar, recording 84 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and three forced fumbles while commanding the defense.
"What sets both of those young men apart is how smart they are," said Thigpen of Gemmel and Surratt. "They're extremely intelligent football players and high-character football guys. So, football is important to both of them, and they're smart and they're tough. The more experience they got, the better they were going to become; I saw that in both of them.Â
"Chazz has a different kind of speed. He's big, he's fast and he's super cerebral – that's what people don't understand. With Chazz, you tell him something one time and that's it. Same thing with Jeremiah Gemmel. Both of those young guys gave us an element of speed that I know I didn't have when I was at Tennessee or at Auburn. They were both faster linebackers than the ones who I had. All they needed was experience and to just stay consistent with the messaging."
Despite how far they've come since last spring, Thigpen said Gemmel and Surratt still have room to grow. Both players are aware of that and eager to learn.
"What you don't want them to do is become stagnant," Thigpen said. "The more we can do with those young men, like bringing Chazz off the edge, you can be really, really creative with both of them because their knowledge of football is outstanding. So, for us, give them more so they don't get bored with the game. Challenge them more and they'll take to that. Both of those young guys, they love knowledge, they love to write the game down and play it in their minds.
"Now, there are still nine more guys on the football field, so it won't be just them; it's going to be the whole defense as a collective (that determines) how much the whole defense can handle."
That applies to both starters and reserves.
Throughout last season, Jay Bateman, Carolina's co-defensive coordinator with Thigpen, said he hesitated to take Gemmel or Surratt out of games. That showed in their final snap counts, as Gemmel played 816 and Surratt played 744, according to PFF. Ross wasn't far behind, playing 679, most of which came at nickelback. But no other UNC linebacker played more than 58.
Bateman told reporters in April that he doesn't envision there being a similar snap discrepancy this fall, given how much Asante – a four-star prospect according to the 247Sports Composite – and Jackson – a three-star prospect – have developed. Thigpen agreed.
"I'm very encouraged with Asante as well as Khadry," Thigpen said. "Both of those guys do the same things as Surratt and Gemmel. Gemmel is super fast and super smart, and I think Khadry has those same attributes. Asante is just so fast. We think Chazz is a really fast player, but Eugene gives us a dimension we don't have on our football team, which is speed. …
"We're going to experiment, especially on third down, with Eugene and Khadry because both of those guys deserve to get some playing time this year."
Newcomers Ethan West and Cedric Gray could also provide some depth to a Tar Heel defense that's looking to build off a strong finish to 2019.
Although it struggled with inconsistent play early in the season, the unit improved week by week. That was most evident across the final three games, during which Carolina held Mercer, NC State and Temple to 10 points and 262 yards per game.
"At the end of the season, when we played Temple and NC State, I thought we were playing as good a defense as anybody in the country," Thigpen said. "I would've loved to play anybody at that time in the season. With this (coronavirus) thing going on now, I hope to God we get back on track and play this season because I think our kids have a whole different type of confidence."
Especially in his room.
Looking around North Carolina's inside linebackers room before the start of spring practice last year, Tommy Thigpen saw a group with an abundance of athleticism, but little to no experience.
Among the inside linebackers who could participate in team activities, Dominique Ross had played the most, seeing 582 defensive snaps through three seasons. Jeremiah Gemmel, however, had only seen 10 reps. And neither early enrollee Khadry Jackson nor former quarterback Chazz Surratt had yet to even play the position in college.
Thigpen's group got even younger when Eugene Asante enrolled in late July. But at no point did Thigpen use that as an excuse, choosing instead to employ a patient approach.
"One thing about football is you've just gotta stay on the message," said Thigpen during a videoconference with reporters on Monday. "I stayed consistent with them and we just kept doing the same drills over and over and over again. …
"We never got down on them, we never yelled or berated the player. We kept encouraging them. And when Coach (Mack) Brown was with me in those years, in the '90s, that's how I felt as a player. He kept being positive with me, so as a result, that's my coaching style – stay positive, keep the message going and you just keep drilling it."
And hopefully, you'll reap the rewards, as UNC seems destined to do this fall.
Although the Tar Heels lost the versatile Ross to graduation, the position figures to be one of the team's best. That's largely due to the steady progression of Gemmel and Surratt, who should form one of the ACC's top tandems.
The first Carolina linebacker to capture first-team All-ACC honors since Kevin Reddick in 2012, Surratt tallied 115 tackles last season, the second most in the league. His 15 tackles for loss (the fifth most in the ACC), 6.5 sacks and 10 quarterback hurries paced UNC. His 31 total pressures ranked seventh among Power 5 linebackers, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).
Coming off such a successful season, Surratt considered foregoing his redshirt senior campaign and entering the NFL Draft. Ultimately, he chose to stay in Chapel Hill, a decision that'll likely not only benefit the Tar Heels but also Surratt – who is currently ranked by ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. as the No. 2 inside linebacker in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Gemmel might not draw the same sort of attention as Surratt. But in moving from Will to Mike linebacker, the redshirt sophomore was almost just as stellar, recording 84 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and three forced fumbles while commanding the defense.
"What sets both of those young men apart is how smart they are," said Thigpen of Gemmel and Surratt. "They're extremely intelligent football players and high-character football guys. So, football is important to both of them, and they're smart and they're tough. The more experience they got, the better they were going to become; I saw that in both of them.Â
"Chazz has a different kind of speed. He's big, he's fast and he's super cerebral – that's what people don't understand. With Chazz, you tell him something one time and that's it. Same thing with Jeremiah Gemmel. Both of those young guys gave us an element of speed that I know I didn't have when I was at Tennessee or at Auburn. They were both faster linebackers than the ones who I had. All they needed was experience and to just stay consistent with the messaging."
Despite how far they've come since last spring, Thigpen said Gemmel and Surratt still have room to grow. Both players are aware of that and eager to learn.
"What you don't want them to do is become stagnant," Thigpen said. "The more we can do with those young men, like bringing Chazz off the edge, you can be really, really creative with both of them because their knowledge of football is outstanding. So, for us, give them more so they don't get bored with the game. Challenge them more and they'll take to that. Both of those young guys, they love knowledge, they love to write the game down and play it in their minds.
"Now, there are still nine more guys on the football field, so it won't be just them; it's going to be the whole defense as a collective (that determines) how much the whole defense can handle."
That applies to both starters and reserves.
Throughout last season, Jay Bateman, Carolina's co-defensive coordinator with Thigpen, said he hesitated to take Gemmel or Surratt out of games. That showed in their final snap counts, as Gemmel played 816 and Surratt played 744, according to PFF. Ross wasn't far behind, playing 679, most of which came at nickelback. But no other UNC linebacker played more than 58.
Bateman told reporters in April that he doesn't envision there being a similar snap discrepancy this fall, given how much Asante – a four-star prospect according to the 247Sports Composite – and Jackson – a three-star prospect – have developed. Thigpen agreed.
"I'm very encouraged with Asante as well as Khadry," Thigpen said. "Both of those guys do the same things as Surratt and Gemmel. Gemmel is super fast and super smart, and I think Khadry has those same attributes. Asante is just so fast. We think Chazz is a really fast player, but Eugene gives us a dimension we don't have on our football team, which is speed. …
"We're going to experiment, especially on third down, with Eugene and Khadry because both of those guys deserve to get some playing time this year."
Newcomers Ethan West and Cedric Gray could also provide some depth to a Tar Heel defense that's looking to build off a strong finish to 2019.
Although it struggled with inconsistent play early in the season, the unit improved week by week. That was most evident across the final three games, during which Carolina held Mercer, NC State and Temple to 10 points and 262 yards per game.
"At the end of the season, when we played Temple and NC State, I thought we were playing as good a defense as anybody in the country," Thigpen said. "I would've loved to play anybody at that time in the season. With this (coronavirus) thing going on now, I hope to God we get back on track and play this season because I think our kids have a whole different type of confidence."
Especially in his room.
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