UNC Defense Shutting Down Lesser Teams, Showing Encouraging Signs

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Had Richmond chosen to punt on first down of its first four offensive series against North Carolina, the Spiders still would’ve been able to manage 2 more yards of total offense than those fruitless possessions went on to produce.

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Along the way to a 41-6 blowout victory on Saturday at Kenan Stadium, the Tar Heels delivered defensively and now have prevented their opponents from scoring a touchdown in back-to-back games for the first time since the 2012 season.

Though both efforts have come against lesser competition, UNC’s defense continued to make strides in the right direction Saturday, with players such as linebacker Mikai Gbayor and defensive end Melkart Abou-Jaoude stepping up to make impactful contributions here against the Spiders, who compete in the FCS.

“We’ve just got to keep on going,” Gbayor said. “It’s not the end, it’s still early in the season, and we’re looking forward to doing that to all of our opponents. We just want to shut them out and just play hard-nosed football. That’s our goal. Just to continue to elevate.”

A point of concern on the young season, UNC’s defensive line had its best showing so far. Carolina players and coaches talked during the week about Richmond’s physically imposing style on the ground. But the Spiders were held to a season-low 124 rushing yards and got just 3.1 yards per attempt from their running backs.

In the red zone, UNC faired even better. The Tar Heels limited Richmond to two field goals on its three trips. The biggest stop came after Richmond recovered a surprise onside kick to start the second half, and drove down to the goal line. On fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, UNC’s defense held its ground with linebacker Andrew Simpson and defensive lineman D’Antre Robinson spearheading the charge to stuff quarterback Kyle Wickersham and keep the Spiders from scoring, preserving what at the time was a 20-3 lead.

The Tar Heels’ defensive front also was productive in the pass rush. Abou-Jaoude, the Delaware transfer, led the group with two sacks in the first quarter, before Gbayor added a third — a strip sack, with Jaoude pouncing on the fumble — in the second half. That pressure helped Carolina hold the Spiders to just 75 passing yards in total on the day. Earlier, in the second quarter, the Tar Heels had suffocated Richmond to minus-2 yards of total offense through four possessions.

“Melkart’s been a great story for us,” UNC coach Bill Belichick said. “Came to us from Delaware, and wasn’t that big of a transfer coming in, but just got better and better every day all through the spring. His pass rush, run defense, his playing in space, his ability to stunt and run games. It just keeps getting better and better. And he’s the kind of guy that you just love to work with, because he continues to improve, and can take those little fine coaching points and continue to make them be effective for his game.”

Despite the Tar Heels finishing with 41 points, they did so with only 312 yards of total offense (including just 119 passing yards). Meanwhile, UNC’s defense used takeaways to generate two scores.

The first came from Gbayor’s strip sack in the third quarter, setting up the Carolina offense on the Richmond 34-yard line. Seven plays later, UNC capitalized with an easy pitch-and-catch touchdown from quarterback Gio Lopez to receiver Jordan Shipp for a 27-3 lead.

Then, in the fourth quarter, the Tar Heels’ defense cut out the middle man altogether with a scoop-and-score. Defensive lineman CJ Mims halted Richmond running back Jamaal Brown near the line of scrimmage and wrestled the ball free. Nearby, Gbayor was able to gather the loose football and return it for a 62-yard touchdown, before leaping into the UNC student section in celebration.

“I was just trying to get to the ball,” Gbayor said. “CJ was there first, CJ hit the guy, and it was a little loose. So you give CJ that, and as it was falling out, I just took it and scored.”

Although the level of competition UNC’s defense faced last week at Charlotte and on Saturday against Richmond hasn’t been full of firepower, these are encouraging signs for a unit that struggled so mightily against TCU in the season opener.

Lopez, while talking about Carolina’s offense taking time to come together, complimented the defense for meshing as a unit during these last two weeks. Whether UNC’s defense has made legitimate improvements figures to be a lingering question as the Tar Heels start preparing for another power-conference opponent in Central Florida going into next weekend.

“If you practice consistently, then that’ll show up in the games,” Belichick said, referring to his team’s defense. “And if you don’t, then eventually it won’t. So let’s keep stressing those things in practice. Our communication is better, playing with each other, starting to get a better feel and anticipation for the way we can play off each other and so forth. Hopefully, it’ll continue to improve with each week. That’s our goal. It’s just keep getting better every week.”