Offense wins games, defense wins championships.
In the first two years of head coach Mack Brown’s second stint, the North Carolina football team has seemingly already figured out the first step of that equation. Record-breaking offensive performances helped catapult the team from the basement of the ACC into conversations of a conference title, which UNC hasn't won since 1980.
On the other hand, the defensive side of the ball has been much more puzzling. In the early stages of the 2020 season, many opposing offenses ran roughshod to give UNC fans a harsh reality check of where the program stood.
But as the year went along, the Tar Heels began to tighten the screws. After allowing a season-high 53 points to Wake Forest in a come-from-behind win, the defense held three top-10 teams mostly in check and was minutes away from sealing the school’s first major bowl victory in over a half century.
After a series of scrimmages, repeated praise from Brown and finally, a strong performance in Saturday's much-anticipated spring game, it has become clear that defensive positions will dictate just how far the Tar Heels can go this fall.
“Six pass rushers we thought were really good, and there are two others that are close,” Brown said.
One player that took on a bigger role at the end of last season was linebacker Eugene Asante, who started the Orange Bowl in place of NFL Draft-bound Chazz Surratt. He parlayed that late-season momentum into a dominant performance on Saturday, as he attacked both inside and outside to collect two sacks.
Fellow linebacker Desmond Evans also turned in a standout performance this spring. At 6 feet, 6 inches and weighing 265 pounds, Evans always had the size and speed to be a force coming off the edge. But now, he has developed counter moves that allow him to break inside and become a disruptor in the backfield.
“He’s full speed ahead,” Brown said. “He's also a very instinctive football player ... I think we'll see him be an outstanding pass rusher here before he leaves.”
