UNC football: Chazz Surratt drawing attention at Senior Bowl

UNC football fans know all about linebacker Chazz Surratt. He was the guy that started his college career as a backup quarterback, but made the switch to the defensive side of the football half-way through his time in Chapel Hill. And it greatly benefitted both Surratt and the Tar Heels. Now, Surratt is on the cusp of the 2021 NFL draft where he will be selected by day two at worst, and he hasn’t done anything to diminish his stock during this week’s Senior Bowl preparation.

Surratt is a bit small for an NFL linebacker, and that could mean he eventually moves to the safety position; but that us obviously based on the team that chooses him. Surratt, though, has the athletic ability, speed and skill set to do that.

Leading up to Saturday’s Senior Bowl, many took notice that Surratt could basically be good at whatever position he wanted to play. Sports Illustrated’s Zack Patraw said as much in his recent analysis of Surratt.

"“Surratt showed that he has the athleticism to cover running backs out of the backfield and the speed to stick with them,” Patraw said. “He didn’t flash anything that we weren’t aware of already but he did confirm the type of athlete that we knew he was.”"

UNC football fans will be proud of Chazz Surratt

Yes, Tar Heel fans all know that Surratt is a great athlete. Transitioning from quarterback to linebacker is one thing, but doing it with great success and even improving one’s potential draft status is another. Surratt went from backup quarterback to a linebacker that had 91 tackles and six sacks in 11 games in 2020 after having 6.5 sacks and 115 tackles in 13 games in 2019.

The Palm Beach Post stated Surratt might help even make the talented Dolphins defense even better. Surratt’s ability to come in and make a difference at the NFL level is agreed upon by most general managers and talent evaluators throughout the league.

"“Surratt plays fast and with intensity and fearlessness. A competitive youth chess player, he’s also smart. In short, he’s the type of player a coaching staff spending a week with in Mobile could fall in love with. Surratt is our top defensive player of interest that the Dolphins will work with at the Senior Bowl.”"

Maybe Surratt is just 6-feet-2-inches tall and 230 pounds. And he probably can’t add much to his frame without losing some of the athleticism that makes him special. But he also probably doesn’t need it to make an NFL team. Size is one thing, but speed might be even more important in today’s NFL.

Surratt is a great tackler, terrific play-maker and has speed to make up ground that lots of other defenders cannot. Soon, an NFL team’s fanbase will know it, too. At the next level, Surratt will be a favorite of whatever team takes him, just as he is of UNC football fans now.