For that matter, neither is Kareem Martin, Sylvester Williams, Quinton Coples or a host of other North Carolina defensive linemen who have since left Chapel Hill and gone on to make a name for themselves in the NFL.
Instead, the present Tar Heel defensive front is looking to pick up the pieces after being one of the key culprits on a unit that ranked last in the ACC in almost every meaningful statistical category a season ago.
But the crop of UNC linemen that takes the field on Sept. 3 against South Carolina will be a much deeper, more focused and more physical group than the one Tar Heel fans grew accustomed to in 2014.
“I think that it’s been a work in progress,” said defensive coordinator Gene Chizik about the defensive line. “But I think that there has been some major, major improvement since the spring.”
For the line to return to its former glory, the Tar Heels need that improvement to remain steadfast — but this group knows it cannot rely on just one superstar.
They must rally around each other, Chizik and new, ultra energetic defensive line coach Tray Scott to create the formidable front line that Chizik’s new 4-3 defensive scheme requires.
“I think I have a good seven or eight guys that, really, I wouldn’t mind putting any one of them in there,” Scott said. “And that’s from tackle to D-end, and I like it like that. We need quality depth.”
Much of that depth will come in the form of underclassmen, including two defensive tackles, Jeremiah Clarke and Tyler Powell, that Scott singled out as his standout performers throughout fall and spring camp.
