Carolina's defense has developed an edge in camp. Here's how the Tar Heels are doing it.

CHAPEL HILL — Before heading out for Friday’s practice, Mack Brown put a quote of the day on the board.

“Pressure only comes when you don’t know what you’re doing,” it read.

For Jake Lawler and the Tar Heel defense, it hit close to home as the group is beginning to see the fruits of its offseason labor as they’ve adjusted to the new scheme installed by defensive coordinator Jay Bateman and gotten used to a new staff.

“Defensively, we’re fast; we’re really fast,” Lawler said. “We still have the same players, but it’s a different mentality and I think that’s been kind of instituted by the new staff and us amalgamating as a team, coming together and really figuring things out. We’ve been playing so fast and it’s awesome to see.”

Like anything else in life, the level of talent doesn’t always have a direct correlation to execution and success. That’s been obvious for a Carolina defense that hasn’t nearly produced at the level of recruits the program has landed in recent seasons.

In 2018, the Tar Heels ranked 105 nationally in total defense and 106 in scoring, which were both only slightly worse than the numbers it posted in 2017. Run defense has been especially bad, ranking 111 in average yardage allowed in 2018 and 113 in 2017.

Bateman’s scheme certainly proved successful at Army, but that scheme is only as successful as the players in it getting a handle on what they’re doing.

So far, that’s the difference for a Carolina defense that has excelled through the first seven practices, operating faster than it has in recent seasons.

“That’s definitely us understanding what he wants from us and us learning the defense as a whole,” defensive back D.J. Ford said. “We’re just building on our knowledge of the defense, getting more comfortable with it, playing a little faster and playing a a litle more physical. Guys are just getting to the ball.

"I think they explain it in such a way that makes it simpler for us to understand and they allow you to be more aggressive."

Don’t just take it from them, though. Take it from senior Nick Polino, who has played multiple offensive line positions since the start of camp.

“Coach Brown kind of got onto them a little bit earlier and kind of lit a fire in them and they’ve been unleashing the house on us,” he said.

Lighting that fire is a consistent theme for a Carolina defense that has heard the not-so-subtle criticism in recent seasons. So what changes it? Since the arrival of the new staff, coaches have openly challenged the unit’s toughness.

“I think we’re just tired of the stigma behind our defense where we can’t play well, we can’t defend the run … I think we’ve just had enough,” Lawler said. “I think just as we’ve come together as a team, we’ve come together as a defense and decided this is enough and we’re done; we’re done doing that and we’re going to play how we know we can play.

“We’ve done that and that’s why we’ve had successful days.”

Especially successful days this week, as Monday belonged to the defense, before the offense rebounded on Tuesday. Polino said the advantage went back to the defense on Thursday, and although the offense had a great start Friday, he was hoping for a better finish.

Regardless of taking a few lumps along the way, Bateman’s scheme is paying off for the offense, too.

“He disguises a lot of stuff, he puts a lot of funky looks out there,” Polino said. That’s what he’s trying to do; he’s trying to create confusion, he’s trying to create misdirection and that sort of thing. You have to be really disciplined, which I think is really good for us.

“We’re rarely in a base front where the guy in front of you ends up in front of you when the ball is snapped.”

As for how big that advantage was on Friday, Ford smiled, but didn’t offer much detail.

“I’d say we more than handled our own again against the offense,” he said. “We keep bringing the good energy and we’re just trying to build on it each day and keep it going as long as we can.”

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