Players to Watch For: Scouting North Carolina
Earlier this week, we gave you the keys to a Syracuse upset in the season opener. The uniqueness of defensive coordinator Tony White’s 3-3-5 alignment will need to capitalize on any moments of confusion it can create in the mind of North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell. The offensive line must give Syracuse slinger Tommy DeVito time to find weapons like Taj Harris and Aaron Hackett past the sticks. If the Orange can keep it close, they may be able to steal this one on the road.
Now, we’ll take you behind enemy lines as we shine a spotlight on the Tar Heels your Syracuse Orange have had their eyes on throughout the week.
SAM HOWELL - QB
Sam Howell didn’t play like a true freshman in 2019. The nineteen-year-old threw more touchdown passes (38) than future NFL first-round draft pick Trevor Lawrence (36). His 3,641 passing yards were second in school history behind former second-overall pick Mitch Trubisky (3,748). He only got better as the lights grew brighter, throwing for three scores or more in North Carolina’s final five games. Howell played with the comfort and confidence of a seasoned vet, and he’s yet to participate in his first presidential election. That calm under pressure was what stood out to Syracuse DB Andre Cisco.
“I think he's a very poised quarterback on film,” Cisco said during a virtual press conference Tuesday. “There's a lot of plays he sits in the pocket well, he scans the field well. I think when you play a quarterback like that, you gotta be in coverage for a few more seconds than usual because he's not gonna panic as much as a lot of other quarterbacks I've seen. I respect that.”
Howell wasn’t only composed in his first season. He was fearless.
Fifteen of his 38 touchdown passes were from 30-yards or more downfield, five more than any other quarterback in 2019. The only times Howell’s poise turned to panic were when he had a guy in his face. Pass rushers had a noticeable effect on the signal callers first-year performance, converting their pressure into sacks 24.5 % of the time, according to Pro Football Focus. PFF also charged Howell with sole responsibility of 11 sacks, fourth most in the FBS.
Like Cisco said, staying with receivers a few seconds longer in coverage could mean all the difference between a 40-yard bomb and a four-yard loss. Should Howell start to look his age, though, he’ll be fine turning around and handing it off to one of two badass ball-carriers.
MICHAEL CARTER & JAVONTE WILLIAMS - RB
Having a single thousand-yard rusher signifies a stellar rushing attack. Having two suggests you’re pretty much unstoppable. No one stopped Michael Carter and Javonte Williams last season. Carter’s 1,003 yards rushing and William’s 933-yards on the ground put the pair just 67-yards short of reaching the 2K mark.
Syracuse senior Andre Cisco knows that if the Tar Heel air assault doesn’t bite them, the ground game likely will.
“I think they have two good running backs,” Cisco said of Carter and Williams. “They both work well together. They could make it hurt. We've got to be mindful of them.”
Syracuse defenders will have to keep their eyes on them as well. North Carolina is known to leverage their prowess on the ground into more success through the air via play-action passing. North Carolina offensive coordinator Phil Longo dialed-up play-action on almost 50% of his pass plays a year ago. The disguise served Howell well as he averaged 10-yards per attempt following a fake hand-off.
Williams and Carter ranked fifth and sixth respectively in ACC rushing yards per game. Having to contend with two top six rushers simultaneously is kind of unfair, but try to look on the bright side: At least they don’t have to deal with more than one quarterback, right?
Prepare to be surprised.
CHAZZ SURRATT - LB
In high school, Chazz Surratt won two state championships for East Lincoln (Denver, N.C.) throwing the football. Now, he makes life hell for opposing quarterbacks as North Carolina’s starting linebacker and lead tackler. Surratt’s 66 solo tackles in 2019 merited his selection to first-team All-ACC.
Anyone who can make that kind of transition and excel immediately is a person operating on sheer resiliency. Surratt’s grit didn’t go unnoticed in the Orange quarterback room.
“He's a good football player,” said Syracuse QB Tommy DeVito about his UNC counterpart. “You can tell he's hard-nosed, he wants the ball and you can't ask more of a linebacker.”
Surratt was everywhere last season, including the backfield. His 6.5 sacks were tied for most on the team with fellow linebacker Tomon Fox.
TOMON FOX - OLB
If DeVito is going to keep an eye on Surratt, then someone’s going to have to look out for Tomon Fox. Fox compiled 41 tackles last season, nine of which were behind the line of scrimmage. His best game came against Miami when he recorded a single-game career high three sacks.
The 255-pound senior will be gunning for DeVito off the edge as the Heels’ preeminent pass-rusher. That means he’ll likely draw a steady dose of one-on-one match-ups with Orange OT Airon Servais. Luckily for DeVito, Servais has been analyzing tape on Fox like it was the Zapruder Film.
“He's a guy that I've been able to watch a lot of film on,” Servais said with the kind of excitement only a true football junkie could muster.
“I’m really looking at a lot of his pre-snap antics. 'How is the weight in his feet? How is he lined up on the ball? Is he off the ball?' Trying to gather as much information as I can, even before the ball is snapped. So I can kind of have an idea of how he's going to play a specific play that we run.”
This heavy-weight bout between Fox and Servais might be the one to decide the game. A clean pocket will be absolutely imperative for the Orange to keep up in a potential shootout.
Odds-makers have North Carolina as 21-point favorites and set the over/under at 63.5. Syracuse defeated UNC 40-37 in the most recent head-to-head match-up on Oct. 20, 2018. Kickoff is set for noon on Saturday, Sept. 12.
