LB Zach Brown led the way in a poor performance by UNC
In what was one of the uglier bowl game performances to date, UNC showed in Shreveport only to get mollywhopped by the Tigers. The Tigers ran the ball well and came away with a big victory but most of the key prospects to watch under performed in this one.
North Carolina
83 WR Dwight Jones
-Great timing on his jump to go up after the ball in mid air
-Good concentration to keep his eyes on the ball
-Impressive body control to come over the DB to get the ball
-Powerful runner
-Fights through arm tackles on WR screen
-Took his eyes off the ball and just plain dropped it
-Looked fantastic early in the game but then got sloppy in both his routes and his effort
-Seemed to get disinterested for some reason, almost to suggest he had done enough after his first drive
-Game had all the early makings of a blow up game for Jones but he disappeared after early domination
90 DE Quinton Coples
-Needs to get more aggressive when fighting through blocks, too often he would sit back and watch the play
-Good first step to beat OT to a spot and get into backfield for a TFL
-Working through blocks effectively to apply pressure
-Is beginning to really learn how to use his hands and how to handle the double teams
-Not giving much in pursuit
-Still don’t see that intial burst that we saw most of last season out of his stance
-So powerful with his upper body, literally tossed the OT around
-Still a very frustrating prospect, you want to say he’s finally turning the corner but on other drives he looks contained and a shell of what he was last year.
91 DT Tydreke Powell
-Good stunt got Powell right into Franklin’s face allows the OG all day to set up
-Showing poor tech on his bull rush, getting only limited push against an interior OL he should have the advantage against
-Gets blown off the ball on QB draw play
-Again on inside running play he is struggling to hold up at the POA
-Looked slow off the ball, and over powered at the POA consistently, looked nothing like the guy we saw earlier this season v. Miami.
DT Sylvester Williams*
-Ineffective using his hands
-Slow out of his stance
-Does a good job holding up at the POA but not getting any push
-Looks a bit winded and like he’s only leaning on the offensive lineman
-Overall I thought Williams under-whelmed but he at least did his job and held the POA more times than not.
47 LB Zach Brown
-Sat in the hole and waited for WR then ducked his head and whiffed on the tackle
-Tackling way too high, needs to stay low and drive through the body
-Completely missed the hole to fill
-Can absolutely fly to the ball
-You can see the growth in the angles he chooses to take this year compared to last
-Really starting to read plays well and attacking the line of scrimmage with his athleticism
-Needs to continue to work on disengaging from blocks
-Overall Brown had possible one of the better games on UNC’s defense though its not saying much, he must continue to work on his fundamentals and remember to stay low and drive through the tackle
48 LB Kevin Reddick*
-Cleans up Brown’s missed tackle
-Good angle on rushing play to track it down
-Has to finish the play though with the tackle
-Smart player who understands how to diagnose blocking schemes and how to play angles
-Would like to see him get more aggressive in filling holes, too much waiting for the ball carrier to get to him
-Reddick isn’t a guy I’d advise to make the jump yet, he needs to work on improving his instincts and attacking the line of scrimmage more consistently. He’s still too hesitant to make a mistake.
Missouri:
28 WR TJ Moe*
-Very strong runner as a return man
-Impressive arm on the trick play to throw the TD pass to Wes Kemp
-Held without a catch the rest of the game
-Really hoped to see more of Moe because we know how good he can when he gets the ball in space.
82 TE Michael Egnew
-Not overly athletic
-Came around a TE screen and was slow to get up the field
-Ran nice route v. zone coverage to get behind CB
-Catches the ball with his hands out away from his body
-Not a great blocker
-Needs to get more physical in his routes and when blocking
-Has plenty of size but refuses to use other than on jump balls
-Should be dominating the UNC DB when split out but he’s not
-Egnew is a good athlete at TE who has soft hands and good body control but he needs to become more of a TE which means getting a little dirty sometimes
3 DE Jacquies Smith
-Athletic but offers nothing outside of his speed rush
-Does a lot of dancing in front of the OT as opposed to just getting after it
-Good fake outside and inside swim move to flush Renner and force him to run
-Must bulk up
-He can be run at because he lacks the strength to match up physically with the OT at the POA
-When he can get off the ball and use his athletic ability he’s a very good pass rusher
-Not well suited for this defensive scheme
-Smith is a raw prospect with lots of athletic ability but need a lot of work. He wasted so much movement dancing in front of the DE by the time he actually tried a move the ball was often released.
57 DE Brad Madison*
-Injured early and did not return
25 LB Zavair Gooden*
-Flows well to the ball
-Closed well on running play
-Read end around and got a TFL
-Has a natural fluidity to his game as he drops into coverage
-Makes a nice play to intercept a ball, read the QB’s eyes well
-An undersized LB who plays hard and gets after it despite his stature.
