From OnlineAthens.com
August 28th, 2016 10:10 AM
Before Georgia turned all of its attention to North Carolina, Nick Chubb said last week he had watched “just a little film” of the Tar Heels’ defense but more in-depth study was still to come.
The Bulldogs’ star running back will probably like what he sees when he turns on the video to view more ahead of Saturday's season-opening game.
North Carolina was gashed for a whopping 645 yards rushing in its last game, a 49-38 loss to Baylor in the Russell Athletic Bowl.
Tar Heels coach Larry Fedora admitted alarm bells went off after that showing, which was 89 more rushing yards than any other team surrendered in a game on the FBS level last season.
A considerable amount of offseason time was spent trying to address went wrong in that last outing.
“A lot,” Fedora said. “We spent a lot of time in eight-man front stuff this spring because we didn’t do a lot of that last year. Most of the time we played with two high safeties and we know we’re going to have to get an extra safety in the box if we’re going to stop the run and they took advantage of it.”
North Carolina gave up a total of 1,272 rushing yards in its final three games to Baylor, Clemson and N.C. State.
It contributed to the Tar Heels ranking 121st out of 127 FBS teams against the run, allowing 247.4 yards per game.
“I think we can be three times better,” senior cornerback Des Lawrence said. “It’s just a lot more speed on the field, a lot more girth up front. There’s a lot more bigger guys up front this year. People were fascinated by how many yards we gave up, but if you look at most of those drives they didn’t end well for the offensive team. That’s one of the things we worry about. We only worry about the points being on the board.”
That girth on the defensive line comes from the likes of 6-foot-5, 310-pound junior Nazair Jones and 6-6, 300-pound sophomore Jalen Dalton.
Despite the issues stopping the run, North Carolina still tied a program-record with 11 wins.
“Yeah, we gave up a bunch of yards and people ran the ball at times, but they didn’t score,” Chizik said. “In the majority of the games, we won. That’s all it’s about is winning.”
Chizik, the former Auburn head coach who later did analyst work for the SEC Network, guided a defense in his first season to the most improvement in points per game allowed of any power five conference program. A season after North Carolina allowed 39.0 points per game, it gave up 24.5 per game last season.
The Tar Heels’ defense has added more to the system this offseason.
“We were able to expand even more,” Chizik said. “Spring (2015) it was just base. We didn’t put anything else just base so our guys had a good understanding of that. This year we were able to move into a lot of different other packages so our guys understood the base and then they were able to understand the other packages we got into.”
Said Lawrence: “He’s going to allow those guys to get after it a little bit more and play to their strengths. It’s going to be a lot more fun for those guys up front and I’m sure they’re ready to get after it.”
Georgia should have something to prove in the running game itself after finishing sixth in the SEC in rushing last season at 183.5 yards per game, down considerably from the 257.8 yards per game in 2014 when it led the conference.
“I want to be known for this year for going back to that smash-mouth football, be able to run it up front,” senior offensive tackle Greg Pyke said. “It all comes down to us and that’s a good challenge for us to have.”
Of course, the drop-off in the run game came after Chubb’s season ended early due to a knee injury, but he is poised to return. Michel is questionable after breaking his left forearm July 4 weekend. Freshman Elijah Holyfield is coming off an ankle injury.
“Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, Holyfield. I don’t know who all the other ones are,” Fedora said, “but they’ve got a stable of them. If they’re playing running back at the University of Georgia, they’re dang good. What do we got to do? We’ve got to be in our gaps, get off blocks and we’ve got to tackle.”
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August 28th, 2016 10:10 AM
Before Georgia turned all of its attention to North Carolina, Nick Chubb said last week he had watched “just a little film” of the Tar Heels’ defense but more in-depth study was still to come.
The Bulldogs’ star running back will probably like what he sees when he turns on the video to view more ahead of Saturday's season-opening game.
North Carolina was gashed for a whopping 645 yards rushing in its last game, a 49-38 loss to Baylor in the Russell Athletic Bowl.
Tar Heels coach Larry Fedora admitted alarm bells went off after that showing, which was 89 more rushing yards than any other team surrendered in a game on the FBS level last season.
A considerable amount of offseason time was spent trying to address went wrong in that last outing.
“A lot,” Fedora said. “We spent a lot of time in eight-man front stuff this spring because we didn’t do a lot of that last year. Most of the time we played with two high safeties and we know we’re going to have to get an extra safety in the box if we’re going to stop the run and they took advantage of it.”
North Carolina gave up a total of 1,272 rushing yards in its final three games to Baylor, Clemson and N.C. State.
It contributed to the Tar Heels ranking 121st out of 127 FBS teams against the run, allowing 247.4 yards per game.
“I think we can be three times better,” senior cornerback Des Lawrence said. “It’s just a lot more speed on the field, a lot more girth up front. There’s a lot more bigger guys up front this year. People were fascinated by how many yards we gave up, but if you look at most of those drives they didn’t end well for the offensive team. That’s one of the things we worry about. We only worry about the points being on the board.”
That girth on the defensive line comes from the likes of 6-foot-5, 310-pound junior Nazair Jones and 6-6, 300-pound sophomore Jalen Dalton.
Despite the issues stopping the run, North Carolina still tied a program-record with 11 wins.
“Yeah, we gave up a bunch of yards and people ran the ball at times, but they didn’t score,” Chizik said. “In the majority of the games, we won. That’s all it’s about is winning.”
Chizik, the former Auburn head coach who later did analyst work for the SEC Network, guided a defense in his first season to the most improvement in points per game allowed of any power five conference program. A season after North Carolina allowed 39.0 points per game, it gave up 24.5 per game last season.
The Tar Heels’ defense has added more to the system this offseason.
“We were able to expand even more,” Chizik said. “Spring (2015) it was just base. We didn’t put anything else just base so our guys had a good understanding of that. This year we were able to move into a lot of different other packages so our guys understood the base and then they were able to understand the other packages we got into.”
Said Lawrence: “He’s going to allow those guys to get after it a little bit more and play to their strengths. It’s going to be a lot more fun for those guys up front and I’m sure they’re ready to get after it.”
Georgia should have something to prove in the running game itself after finishing sixth in the SEC in rushing last season at 183.5 yards per game, down considerably from the 257.8 yards per game in 2014 when it led the conference.
“I want to be known for this year for going back to that smash-mouth football, be able to run it up front,” senior offensive tackle Greg Pyke said. “It all comes down to us and that’s a good challenge for us to have.”
Of course, the drop-off in the run game came after Chubb’s season ended early due to a knee injury, but he is poised to return. Michel is questionable after breaking his left forearm July 4 weekend. Freshman Elijah Holyfield is coming off an ankle injury.
“Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, Holyfield. I don’t know who all the other ones are,” Fedora said, “but they’ve got a stable of them. If they’re playing running back at the University of Georgia, they’re dang good. What do we got to do? We’ve got to be in our gaps, get off blocks and we’ve got to tackle.”
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