CHAPEL HILL — When younger brother Sage Surratt chose to opt out of the college football season and not play for Wake Forest in this time of coronavirus, while instead preparing for the NFL Draft, such a move also became a consideration for North Carolina linebacker Chazz Surratt.
A consideration but not a temptation.
“It was definitely a thought,” the older Surratt said this week, “but as far as me, I wanted to become a better linebacker and play with my team. I thought we were going to have a special year going into it. I knew we were going to be really talented.
“So I wasn’t really too close. I wanted to get better, more polished at linebacker before I came out to go to the league. So that was really my thought process. I think we were kind of at two different directions on our thought process going into the season.”
Four months later, with hindsight available and this season unlike any other presumably approaching a conclusion, Surratt calls the decision a sound one as the Tar Heels (6-3) meet visiting Western Carolina (0-2) of the Football Championship Subdivision in their home finale Saturday afternoon.
It’s Senior Day, his last game at Kenan Stadium and a moment to say farewell that arrives by way of a transformative ride, from North Carolina starting quarterback who struggled with inconsistencies and injuries to North Carolina standout linebacker who possesses the promise of a pro career at the position.
“It’s been a journey,” Surratt said. “It’s been up and down. I’ve had some tough times here. I’ve had some great times here.”
He’s coming off one of the most complete performances across his two seasons as a linebacker, in the view of Tar Heels coach Mack Brown and defensive coordinator Jay Bateman, after supplying seven tackles and a quarterback sack during last week’s 31-17 showdown loss to No. 2 Notre Dame.
Bateman said this week what Surratt put on display, while charged with spying Fighting Irish quarterback Ian Book and contending with running back Kyren Williams, amounted to “Chazz playing linebacker like he’s going to have to play at the next level” in the NFL.
“I thought he did a really good job of taking on blocks, holding the point, not trying to run around things and just make every play,” Bateman said. “Because sometimes Chazz gets frustrated and tries to go make every play, and I understand that. That’s what you want out of a player. But I thought he did a really good job of doing his job fundamentally. I thought he played like a linebacker fundamentally really well.”
Saturday’s game against Western Carolina of the FCS, a step lower on the Division I scale than the bowl level, marks North Carolina’s only non-league matchup of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s modified scheduling format.
A significant regular-season finale awaits the Tar Heels next weekend at No. 9 Miami, with the ACC finishing order, postseason implications and bowl destinations likely to be impacted by the outcome.
Surratt leads North Carolina in tackles (75), solo stops (40) and sacks (6) through nine games this season. He compiled 115 tackles, 14½ tackles for losses and 6½ sacks last season in 13 games, while finishing as the runner-up for ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors, all accomplished in his first year playing linebacker since the ninth grade at East Lincoln High School.
He’s projected to be taken as early as the second round in the 2021 NFL Draft, or perhaps as late as the fifth round.
“I don’t regret my decision at all,” he said. “I’m happy I got to come back and be with my teammates. It’s been a good year. We’ve kind of hit some bumps in the road, but overall I think I’ve gotten better and our team has gotten better over the course of the year. We just want to finish it off strong with these last two games, and see where that takes us.”
This article originally appeared on Times-News: As Senior Day arrives, Chazz Surratt backs decision to stick with UNC this season
