UNC Football position preview: Linebackers

For the next UNC Football position preview, we take a look at the linebacker position and where the Tar Heels stand as camp has wrapped up

As we continue to countdown the days until the 2018 college football season opener, we have reached the linebacker position in our North Carolina Tar Heels’ football preview.

With the departures of Andre Smith and Cayson Collins, the Tar Heels will have some big shoes to fill at linebacker this year. Going into training camp, there’s essentially one starting spot claimed with Cole Holcomb but the others are still in a battle for starting jobs.

Holcomb can play both inside and out, leaving some flexibility and an opening for other players to step up and take a job. If someone can emerge in the middle, it will shift Holcomb to the outside.

But for now, that’s still up in the air.

2017 Review

Going into the season, there were high hopes for the linebacker position at UNC. Those hopes took a big hit when Smith went down with a season-ending knee injury against Louisville.

From there, Holcomb stepped in and filled the middle linebacker spot and actually played well. He led the team in tackles last season and returns as one of the top players on defense.

While Holcomb was a bright spot, overall it was a pretty disappointing year for the linebacker unit and it showed often. UNC struggled against the run early and often in the season, failing to make stops when the back got to the second level at times.

With Andre being out of the lineup, Jonathan Smith also had a chance to play more.

He appeared in 11 games, starting 4 of them and earned some experience that could translate to this season. Smith will look to build on his playing time and be a key contributor on defense.

Strong side linebacker Dominique Ross also returns this season after playing in seven games after being injured last season. In 2016, Ross played in 13 games as a true freshman showing some positive signs for the future.

Depth chart

Here’s how we project things to stand right now:

MLB

Starter: Jonathan Smith

Backup: Matthew Flint

OLB

Starter: Dominique Ross

Backup: Jeremiah Gemmel

OLB

Starter: Cole Holcomb

Backup: Allen Artis

As you can see above, two freshmen are listed as backups in Flint and Gemmel. Both are important pieces to the future of this program and both have reportedly stood out in training camp so far according to Inside Carolina.

If there’s an injury to either of the three starters, Flint or Gemmel could see themselves having to step in and play right away.

The depth chart will be something to monitor early for the Tar Heels, especially the rotation that Fedora and defensive coordinator John Papuchis use this year.

What to expect in 2018

Overall I think this linebacker unit will get better collectively if they can stay healthy. That wasn’t something they did last season, losing Smith for the entire year. But when that happened, it opened up an opportunity for other players to get some experience.

Holcomb and Smith can use that experience this year, hopefully anchoring down the middle of the defense for the Tar Heels.

Smith will be one of the biggest keys this season as he allows Holcomb to shift over to the weakside linebacker spot and play on the edge. So far in training camp, Smith has made an impression and carved up a role for himself in the middle according to IC.

A good solid anchor in the middle is the start to a good unit overall.

On the edge, Holcomb should be the player you saw last year and could lead the team in tackles once again. He’s solid against stopping the run, despite the team finishing 112th in the nation last year.

Stopping the run should be one of UNC’s priorities and it helps to have a good linebacker core.

Ross is an interesting player in the way that we saw flashes from him right away in his freshman year. He has the talent to be a playmaker on the strong side but can he put it all together for a full season?

Th bottom line is if UNC can stay healthy at linebacker, it will go a long way to improving this defense as a whole.

Who will make the biggest impact?

I’m going to go with the guy starting in the middle.

Smith will be looked upon to be a key contributor this year and I think he responds with a really good season. The linebacker finished seventh on the team last season with 40 tackles but I think that number goes up to around 65-70 this year.

The linebacker’s quickness in the middle will help in pass coverage and he can come up and stuff the run. UNC

Look for Smith to have a productive year for the Tar Heels in 2018 and while he may not put up eye-popping numbers, he will be stout in coverage and against the run.