CHAPEL HILL — Defensive coordinator Jay Bateman hasn’t been raising his voice to certain volumes he has reached previously with the North Carolina football team, because his unit’s practice performances have been turned up to better levels.
“We are communicating and we are, I think, executing much higher than we did at any point last year right now,” he said. “I know this, I yell a lot less in practice.”
Whether the No. 10 Tar Heels deliver something to shout about on defense this season will be determined across the course of the coming months. They’re working through preseason camp, toward their season opener Sept. 3 at Virginia Tech.
It’s the third year for North Carolina in Bateman’s 3-4-5 system that employs three defensive linemen, four linebackers and five defensive backs. The Tar Heels return all but one starter on defense from last season, and figure to be improved on that side of the ball, potentially by a significant measure.
“I think we’ve really created layers of depth,” Bateman said, “and we’ve got kids that deserve to play, so we’ve got to find roles for them where they can be successful.”
Here’s a look at five breakout players to watch on North Carolina’s defense. We’ll start up front with the bigger bodies and work our way back to the secondary.
Myles Murphy, defensive lineman
On a defensive line that looks like it will be anchored by experienced starters Tomari Fox and Raymond Vohasek, the 6-foot-3, 305-pound sophomore Murphy, a heavily recruited prospect out of Greensboro Dudley, might be the wild card.
He contributed last season as a true freshman, appearing in all 12 games for the Tar Heels, and since has made considerable strength gains in the weight room.
Murphy could play inside at defensive tackle alongside Vohasek, or shift outside to defensive end, Fox’s preferred spot. Murphy showed up on occasion as last season progressed, chipping in one sack and two tackles for lost yardage. He seems primed to do much more damage in 2021.
“If you ask me a couple guys that have really stood out to me from (last) fall to this fall camp,” Bateman said, “Myles Murphy, for sure. Super talented, moving him around, doing a lot of stuff.”
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Desmond Evans, outside linebacker
While North Carolina has a pair of so-called super seniors at outside linebacker in Tomon Fox and Tyrone Hopper, who are with the Tar Heels for an extra year as allowed by the NCAA after the COVID-19 pandemic affected last season, the highly regarded sophomore Evans is viewed to have one of the most promising futures on the team.
He arrived in Chapel Hill out of Lee County as an elite five-star recruit, the state’s top-ranked high school prospect and the jewel of North Carolina coach Mack Brown’s 2020 signing class. He started three times and played in 10 games last season during his true freshman year, forcing a fumble in the Tar Heels’ defeat of rival North Carolina State, and supplying five tackles and a sack in their beatdown of Duke.
A physical specimen, Evans has packed on about 25 pounds to his 6-foot-5 frame, increasing his weight to 265 pounds. Bateman said Evans benefits from the relationship he has with Tomon Fox, who sets a veteran example.
“I think Des says, ‘OK, I want to be like Tomon,’ ” Bateman said. “ ‘I want to be a guy who’s respected like he’s respected amongst our football team.’ Des has got a lot of ability, and I think Tomon sees that and says, ‘I’m going to do everything I can to help this kid.’ Those two are playing at a pretty high level right now.”
Jeremiah Gemmel, inside linebacker
Labeling the senior Gemmel, the quarterback of North Carolina’s defense, as a breakout player to watch in some ways undersells the production he has provided across the 25 straight starts he has made in the last two seasons, while ranking second on the team in tackles during each of those years.
But former star linebacker Chazz Surratt, who became a third-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL Draft, cast a wide shadow for the Tar Heels’ defense. And his departure could further spotlight Gemmel’s value.
Gemmel has compiled 163 tackles during the last two seasons. Earlier this week, Brown called him one of the best leaders in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and the most underrated player in the league. Brown also pointed to the NFL interest Gemmel has generated.
“When the pro scouts come in, they talk about Jeremiah all the time,” Brown said. “They were high on him last year. But we’ve had 26 of the 32 teams represented already in preseason at our practices, and he’s a buzz for the NFL.”
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Ja'Qurious Conley, defensive back
After Conley’s true freshman season last year included appearances in 10 games at nickelback and a starting assignment in the Orange Bowl, Bateman said North Carolina coaches approached him during the offseason about a position change in the secondary to safety.
“We said we think your future, both as a college player and as an NFL player, is at safety,” Bateman said. “He’s almost 220 pounds. So we moved him back there.”
The sophomore Conley, a freak athlete who plays with force and can deliver punishment, finished last season in a promising way. He collected six tackles, with two of them for losses and one sack, in the Tar Heels’ blasting of Miami in the regular-season finale. Then in the Orange Bowl, he had five stops against Texas A&M.
Conley also contributed a combined 13 tackles across a three-game stretch against Duke, Wake Forest and Notre Dame last season. Bateman said North Carolina veteran safeties Trey Morrison and Don Chapman have embraced Conley’s switch to the position and helped him along.
“He has done a great job so far,” Bateman said. “I anticipated fall camp still being a little bit of a learning curve with him, but he has done a great job. I’m really proud of him, and I think he’s a real difference maker when he’s playing safety.”
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Tony Grimes, defensive back
The sophomore Grimes said he’s feeling “more like a college athlete” with the 29 pounds he has gained. He arrived in Chapel Hill at 169 pounds last August, having reclassified and skipped his senior year of high school. He’s up to 198 pounds now, furthering the belief that big things are coming.
Grimes played in all 12 games and started four times last season as an 18-year-old true freshman. His interception reeled in at Miami in the regular-season finale and chase-down sack from behind on Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond in the Orange Bowl became moments that met the expectations and reputation he earned coming out of Virginia Beach, Va., as the nation’s top-ranked cornerback recruit in high school.
Some analytics sites and preseason preview publications have Grimes listed among the best cornerbacks in college football for the approaching season. Bateman already places Grimes in exclusive company with the Tar Heels, comparing his communication skills and demanding manner to Gemmel’s leadership style.
“To see the growth that he’s made from last year to now,” North Carolina cornerbacks coach Dré Bly said of Grimes, “him being more comfortable in his technique and understanding routes is pretty cool to see. I told Tony he’s nowhere near the finished product. It’s far, far away.”
Adam Smith is a sports reporter for the Burlington Times-News and USA TODAY Network. You can reach him by email at asmith@thetimesnews.com or @adam_smithTN on Twitter.
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This article originally appeared on Times-News: ‘He’s a buzz for the NFL’: Five breakout players to watch on UNC’s deeper defense
