How Jamie Collins Sees Defensive Growth, Big-Game Readiness

North Carolina inside linebackers coach Jamie Collins met with the media at the Kenan Football Center on Thursday ahead of the Wake Forest matchup this weekend.

To hear what he had to say, check out the video is below.

Partial Transcript

On Belichick praising Khmori House’s maturity…

Sep 6, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels linebacker Khmori House (7)) during the first quarter against the Charlotte 49ers at Jerry Richardson Stadium. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

You know, it shows that you know that you can grow and you can move on and you can mature. And, you know, over time, right? Long season, it's getting late in the year, you know, it's on the right to mature and, you know, grow so it was just good for him, you know, that he can, you know, understand and put that together.

On the pass rush …

UNC — Oct 25, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels defensive lineman Isaiah Johnson (94) sacks Virginia Cavaliers quarterback Chandler Morris (4) in the second quarer at Kenan Stadium. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

I was just talking about is the work understanding the past rushes and, you know, the quarterback and the offensive line, and just, you know, putting in that work and trusting each other, believing in each other, to back in, and everybody else doing their job, right? If the quarterback getting the ball out in one second, no one is second to quarterback in one second.

So it's everybody doing a job, you know, everybody rolling in the same direction. And that's the situation, you know, we, you know, been racking up the sacks because we all been playing together. We all been doing our job, you know, we all been running the same direction. So kudos to, you know, the guys up front, you know. But at the end of the day, it's a team sport, you know, and that's what we're doing. We playing team ball.

On Andrew Simpson’s ability to rush the passer…

Sep 6, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels linebacker Andrew Simpson (2) celebtates his sack along with linebacker Tyler Thompson (40) during the second half against the Charlotte 49ers at Jerry Richardson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Drew can do a lot. He can rush, he can cover, you know, he runs the games up front. It's interchangeable, but you know, he's just, you know, he's a quicker guy. You know, he's experienced, you know, he got the experience doing it. And I feel like he's just, he's the perfect guy for that role.

And you see how many sacks he got, he got four sacks. It's a lot of sacks. And, you know, kudos to him. You know, hats off to him. Once again, he's experienced guy. He deserve it, you know. He's been busting his balls, you know. And we'll take that any day of the week.

Everyone here wants to go to the league. As a coach, how do you balance developing players for team success versus showcasing individual skills that scouts look for when evaluating talent for the draft?

Dec 12, 2022; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New England Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins Sr. (99) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

You talking about the league. They don't talk about the league. We talk about work every single day. We talking about your job, doing your job, you being fundamentally sound. We don't talk about going to the league like it's cool."

"We don't talk about that because, right? Because we have to focus every week. You know, we got a game to play every week, and we got practice every day. And once again, you you what you worry about the league for.

You can't tap it. You can't catch, you can't run like we work. We work on fundamentals every single day. We talk about fundamentals every single day. Talk about you being great every single day, doing whatever you gotta do to be the best you you don't talk about going to the league.

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