A renewed sense of optimism

Kyndraus Guy, a redshirt freshman still struggling with the nuances of the North Carolina defense, ran a cut-scramble to disrupt the play from underneath and create space for the linebackers charging behind him.

Tommy Davis, a junior with 85 career tackles under his belt, attacked from the weak side to deny any cut in that direction.

True freshman Khalif Mitchell just found an opening — not his assigned opening, as it turned out — and met N.C. State’s T.A. McLendon with such a force that the ball popped loose for a game-clinching fumble and a season-altering victory last October.

“Khalif Mitchell, actually, was in the wrong gap on that play,” says senior Chase Page, sidelined for all of last season after he tore a tendon in his hand in August. “But he slid off his blocker, and he made a huge play. He caught the guy right in midair and made a hell of a play.”

The question now is whether the North Carolina front four, statistically one of the worst defensive fronts in the country for the last three years, can build from the momentum of that play and capitalize upon its suddenly deep pool of talent.

The vibe throughout Kenan Stadium, for what it’s worth, feels suspiciously like optimism.

“We’ve turned the corner,” Davis says.

“We want to get that ball,” Guy says.

“We can’t wait to go out there and just start dominating,” Mitchell says.

Part of the optimism comes from the way the front four performed down the stretch last season. But part of the optimism also comes from a depth the defensive line hasn’t seen in years.

The return of Page, his familiar No. 95 clogging gaps and wreaking havoc at the line of scrimmage, certainly helps. But the emergence of the youngsters — Guy, Mitchell and Hilee Taylor, among others — as potentially dominant forces makes for a confidence on the defensive line not seen since the days of Julius Peppers and Ryan Sims.

“You’re never going to be a very good run-defense team unless you have studs up front,” says Coach John Bunting. “We have guys that I think are capable of doing it.”

One guy in particular — Kyndraus — is primed for a monster season on the interior.

“Every defense wants to stop the run,” says the sophomore, who had 14 tackles a season ago. “Last year, we wanted our guys to learn so fast. Me in particular, I wasn’t ready for it. Now, since we have more experience, we’re coming off the ball more. We want it.”

Make no mistake, the recent history is ugly. The Tar Heels haven’t averaged fewer than 215 rushing yards allowed since 2001, and their national rank in that category has finished with three digits for three straight seasons.

But the pieces might finally be in place to put the days of North Carolina’s water-through-a-sieve rush defense in its past.

“We haven’t really had a lot of talent there in the past couple of years,” Page says. “Maybe a guy was talented but he was young and inexperienced, or maybe the guy was experienced but maybe he wasn’t as physically talented as he needed to be.”

The dramatic victories and the embarrassing losses of last season did wonders for the development of the young players who will be expected to contribute right away.

“We’re still young,” Mitchell says. “We’re not that old. But the thing about it is, we’re so much more mature. We’re stronger, faster, and we can play a lot smarter.”

And as long as the entire unit can stay healthy — Page, Davis and sophomore Kentwan Balmer all missed practice time last week with minor injuries — they might just become the studs for which Bunting has been searching.

“These people, they know more about the position,” Davis says. “We had a lot of (missed assignments) last year, and we’ve cut that number down tremendously.”

Then again, if Mitchell’s heroics against N.C. State are any indication, a missed assignment or two might not be so bad.

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.