Tag: Cedric Gray

Cedric Gray tabbed a semifinalist for prestigious linebacker award

The Tar Heels haven’t wowed as an overall defensive unit, but linebacker Cedric Gray has. He’s a semifinalist for a top linebacker award.

Not a lot has gone right for UNC on the defensive side of the football this year.

The Heels gave up over 1,000 yards combined to UVA, the ACC’s worst team and Georgia Tech, a team formerly under .500 who seems to have found its stride. Carolina rebounded last weekend, limiting Campbell to single digits in a 59-7 thumping, but that doesn’t hide the fact its defense is inconsistent.

Despite all the question marks on UNC’s defense as a whole, there is a lot of individual talent on the unit.

Perhaps the leader of Carolina’s defense is Cedric Gray, the likely early-round, 2024 NFL Draft Pick who leads UNC with 85 tackles.

Gray was recognized again for his stellar play on Monday, Nov. 6, being named a semifinalist for the Butkus Award. This prestigious honor, named after legendary Chicago Bears linebacker Dick Butkus, is given annually to the most impactful linebacker in college football.

Gray, who finds himself on this list with fellow ACC linebackers Payton Wilson (N.C. State) and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (Clemson), has at least six tackles in each game this year. Undoubtedly Carolina’s best tackler, Gray has three games with double-digit tackles, including a season-high 18 in the home loss to UVA. He’s also deflected three passes, forced two fumbles and intercepted a pass.

The next closest Tar Heel on the tackling list? Fellow linebacker Power Echols, who has wrapped up ballcarriers 70 times.

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Cedric Gray moves into UNC football record book

Linebacker Cedric Gray moves up on the UNC football all-time tackles list after the Campbell game.

The North Carolina Tar Heels football program ended an ugly losing streak by beating Campbell at home on Saturday. It was a much-needed win for the Tar Heels after losing to Virginia and Georgia Tech in disappointing fashion.

While UNC’s offense was clicking throughout the game, the defense also stepped up and made sure Campbel never got closer than seven points. And a big reason why was the play of Cedric Gray.

The linebacker finished the game with 9 total tackles, tying Power Echols for the lead in the 59-7 win. And with that, he made some history.

Gray has moved into 10th place all-time in tackles for the Tar Heels’ football program, hitting 333 all-time.

The linebacker has really elevated his game since arriving on North Carolina’s campus including a breakout season a year ago. He’s continued that momentum into this season and has developed into one of the best linebackers in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

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UNC vs. Campbell: Game preview, info, prediction and more

The Campbell Fightin’ Camels provide UNC’s football team a much-needed chance to reset on Saturday afternoon. What exactly will Carolina do?

UNC’s next football opponent, Campbell, couldn’t have come at a better time.

The Tar Heels’ once promising season – they started 6-0 – took a dark turn. UNC lost two consecutive games to opponents it had no business losing to – UVA two weekends ago, followed by Georgia Tech last Saturday. The Cavaliers and Yellow Jackets combined for over 1,000 yards against Carolina, with 576 of those coming on the ground.

This is the same UNC defense that had been shutting opponents down in the second half, sacked South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler nine times in Week 1 and had been generating turnovers seemingly every game.

The Tar Heels return home to take on the Camels at 12 p.m. Saturday. While Campbell’s no slouch at 4-4, it’s an FCS school. When UNC last played an FCS opponent, it pulled away from Florida A&M and hung 56 points on them in the 2022 opener.

Despite the disappointing defensive performances over their past two games, the Tar Heels still have one of the nation’s best offenses. UNC quarterback Drake Maye has thrown for 300+ yards in each of the losses, while starting running back Omarion Hampton has reached over 100 yards in both games.

Campbell could create some chaos in Chapel Hill, though, with four players reaching the 250-yard marker. Those same four players have multiple touchdowns, led by six from NaQuari Rogers.

Camels quarterback Hajj Malik-Williams isn’t too shabby either, passing for 2,085 yards, sporting a 16-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio and completing nearly 74 percent of his passes.

UNC’s ultimately going to win this game by a wide margin, but Campbell has the talent to keep it close early.

Four Tar Heels earn ACC Player of the Week honors

Despite across-the-board production from the UNC football team in Saturday’s big win over Miami, only four players earned ACC weekly honors.

Another week, another Tar Heel victory.

This time, the UNC football team scored 24 second-half points and held off a late charge from Miami, for a 41-31 win.

Tar Heels star wide receiver Devontez Walker stole the show with his 6-catch, 132-yard, 3-touchdown performance. Quarterback Drake Maye tossed four touchdowns and went without an interception for the third straight game. Running back Omarion Hampton nearly reached the 200-yard mark and looked like his early-season self, while the defense allowed 17 point through three quarters.

As they deserve for their roles in the victory, Hampton, Maye and Walker were all named ACC Players of the Week. UNC linebacker Cedric Gray joined them on the list.

Though Walker proved his talent at Kent State last year, we hadn’t seen Saturday’s level of production from him in a UNC uniform yet. He caught six passes for just 43 yards against Syracuse the week before.

The guy Tar Heel fans thought Walker was going to be – he was on Saturday.

Hampton put the college football world on notice in UNC’s Week 2 comeback win over App State, gouging the Mountaineer defense for 234 yards and three touchdowns.

His production dipped the following three games, failing to reach 100 yards in each of them, but returned against Miami with 197 rushing yards and two total touchdowns.

Maye struggled a bit to start his redshirt sophomore campaign, throwing four interceptions in his first three games.

He’s rebounded since to put up Heisman Trophy winner-like numbers since, with two 400-yard outings and eight passing touchdowns in his last three outings. Maye set a season-best against Miami with four of those eight passing TDs.

Gray was a tackling machine against the Hurricanes, leading all players with 10 tackles (7 solo), one of them going for loss. He also deflected a Tyler Van Dyke pass.

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UNC Football: Helmet stickers for statement victory over Miami

The UNC football team made a statement with its 41-31 home victory over Miami last night. Which players stood out in the convincing win?

How about them Tar Heels?

The 12th-ranked UNC football team is still loving life, this time after a convincing, 41-31 primetime victory over Miami Saturday night in Kenan Stadium.

Trailing by three at halftime, Carolina star receiver Devontez Walker caught his second of three touchdowns and gave his team the lead for good (20-17). Despite allowing 31 points and nearly 500 yards, the Tar Heel defense didn’t allow a second-half score until just over the fourth quarter’s halfway mark. Omarion Hampton enjoyed his first 100-yard outing since Week 2 against App State, as the sophomore from Clayton, N.C. torched the Hurricane defense for 197 yards.

In a larger outlook, UNC’s win might just move it into the AP Poll Top 10. It beat a ranked team, in rather dominating fashion, while 11th-ranked Alabama barely squeaked by a struggling, unranked Arkansas squad and 10th-ranked USC was spanked by Notre Dame.

The AP Poll won’t come out until later today, but it’s always fun to speculate how far up the rankings Carolina moves. Do they even jump an Oregon team that Washington took care of yesterday?

While we wait to find out, let’s take a deeper look into which Tar Heels earned our Helmet Stickers for this week’s victory:

Cedric Gray on having that ‘dog’ mentality for UNC’s defense

UNC’s Cedric Gray met with the media following the Tar Heels’ 41-31 win over Miami talks dog mentality and cleaning up mistakes.

The UNC football program is off to a great start. With half of its regular season finished, it stands firm among the best schools in the nation with a 6-0 record.

A large part of the North Carolina Tar Heels success this season is their revamped defense led by senior linebacker [autotag]Cedric Gray[/autotag]. Saturday night, Gray and the defense showed the nation their new style of play in their prime-time dismantling of the Miami Hurricanes 41-31.

Gray, who has been a vocal leader for UNC’s defense, is used to having big games against Miami. In the press conference following the win, he revealed that his mom texted him Saturday morning telling him that he plays so well against Miami, believing he will have another good one.

Safe to say she was right. Last season, Gray had 13 tackles against the Hurricanes. In 2021, Gray had a six tackle and two interception game, and last night, Gray shined again with ten tackles, one interception, and a fumble recovery.

Gray was all smiles meeting with the media, rocking his signature shirt. Gray, who had a scary moment in the game after getting the wind knocked out of him, explained how he and Drake Maye shared a moment about staying on the field after the hit.

“Me and him(Drake Maye) just have this dog mentality,” Gray said. “Like he said, you going to have to drag us off the field. It is going to take a lot to really take us off the field because that is just how we are built.”

Despite a good win, it showed some areas for improvement, which Gray echoed what the team needed to clean up.

“The first thing is that our penalties were awful today. We had far too many penalties. We shot ourselves in the foot on offense and defense. On the first drive, Miami scored they had 45 penalty yards, which is unacceptable. It’s hard to play like that. That is the very first thing that I noticed that we can clean up as a team. We will come back, we will watch the film. Fix our mistakes like we do every week and move on.”

Seeing a leader still call out a glaring issue after a big win is always great. It shows the team is not complacent with just winning and is determined to prove it is no fluke.

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Tar Heels announce captains for primetime football clash vs. Miami

Corey Gaynor, Cedric Gray and D.J. Jones were named the UNC football squad’s captains ahead of its primetime ACC clash against Miami (FL).

There’s been anticipation building all week in Chapel Hill.

The UNC football program is ranked 12th in the entire country. Carolina hasn’t been that far up the AP Poll since 2021, when it had a 10 next to its name before the opener against Virginia Tech.

The ranking is exciting in itself, but the opponent taking on UNC at 7:30 p.m. tonight is equally as exciting. 25th-ranked Miami (FL), a team which the Tar Heels have four consecutive wins against, is looking to avenge a heartbreaking loss against Georgia Tech last week.

To sum it up, UNC beating a ranked team would go a long way towards winning an ACC crown and, possibly more.

As we prepare to kickoff in front of a national audience on ABC, let’s take a look at the Tar Heel team captains: starting center Corey Gaynor, starting linebacker Cedric Gray and running back-turned-defensive back D.J. Jones.

Gaynor is part of an offensive line doing a stellar job protecting Drake Maye, as opponents have sacked Maye just 13 times through five games.

There’s a lot of different players on this year’s defense who you could consider the “leader,” but the unit’s clear-cut, top dog is none other than Gray. He leads the Tar Heels with 42 tackles – half of which are solo, has a team-leading six quarterback hurries, 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 of his team’s 11 sacks.

Jones has appeared in all five games for Carolina this year. He has four tackles and 0.5 for loss.

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UNC Football: Helmet stickers for win over Syracuse

The UNC football team obliterated Syracuse, 40-7, yesterday afternoon in Chapel Hill. Check out who won our helmet stickers for the win.

It seemed like everything was working for the UNC football team on Saturday afternoon, as it dominated Syracuse, 40-7, in a convincing win that showed it’s among the ACC’s top teams.

Carolina quarterback Drake Maye is looking more and more like a Heisman Trophy contender each week, as he nearly set a career high in passing yards against an Orange defense that played well coming in. Tar Heels wide receiver Nate McCollum delivered his second 100-yard performance in as many weeks. Omarion Hampton nearly broke 80 yards rushing and the UNC defense, among college football’s worst last year, held Syracuse to a season-low in points.

There were so many UNC players and units deserving of helmet stickers, but we’ve decided to narrow in on a select few. Let’s take a deeper dive into this article and see who captured them:

Gene Chizik likes improvement, response from his defensive players

Outside of the App State game, UNC’s defense has been fairly impressive so far in 2023. Defensive coordinator Gene Chizik agrees.

I said this after the UNC-App State thriller two weeks ago – the Tar Heel defense goes together like toothpaste and orange juice.

When college football fans look at Carolina’s defense, the struggles are the easiest thing to notice.

UNC allowed nearly 500 yards to App State on Sept. 9 this year, though the Mountaineers are consistently one of college football’s best among non-Power 5 schools.

Carolina finished with one of the nation’s worst defenses last year, which was somewhat surprising given all the talent (Desmond Evans, Kaimon Rucker, Cedric Gray) they have.

Outside of this year’s App State game, the UNC defense has looked significantly better.

The Tar Heels generated nine sacks and held South Carolina to a negative rushing yard total in a 31-17, Week 1 victory. Last weekend at home, UNC held Minnesota to three second-half points and quarterback Athas Kaliakmanis to 11 total completions, in a 31-13 home triumph.

Carolina’s improved defensive performance has caught the eye of defensive coordinator Gene Chizik, who pointed to comfort level and the ability to respond well to adversity.

“I think it’s just execution,” Chizik told 247Sports’ Evan Rogers on Monday. “One of the things that I really like about our defense is that we’ve got really good leadership, so it really doesn’t matter what happens in the games, good or bad. I feel like they’re built to respond. The overall difference (this season) is maybe a comfort level in the defense in your second year, I think that’s number one. Number two, we have very smart guys that totally understand where they’re fitting and what their job responsibilities are.”

Rucker and Florida State transfer Amari Gainer already have multiple sacks each, part of a UNC defense that has 10 through just three games. Carolina registered 17 all of last year.

Power Echols, Don Chapman and Armani Chatman all have one interception apiece. Echols, Gray, Chapman and Gio Biggers give Carolina four guys with double-digit tackles.

Most impressive about the defense, however, is its ability to shut down the opposition late in games. Excluding the App State game this year, UNC’s opponents have scored a combined six points in the second half.

The Tar Heel defense will get a tough test this upcoming weekend, as it opens up ACC play at Pitt on Saturday at 8 p.m. The Panthers have nearly 1,000 yards of offense through three games.

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Saints’ scouts got a good look at Drake Maye in North Carolina-South Carolina

The New Orleans Saints’ scouts got a good look at Drake Maye in UNC-South Carolina. They were one of 19 NFL teams in attendance:

The New Orleans Saints’ college scouting department got a fast start to their 2024 NFL draft prep. And they were one of many pro teams on hand for one of the week’s most anticipated matchups: North Carolina’s rout of their major rival South Carolina.

The Tar Heel Tribune’s R.L. Bynum reports that the Saints were one of 19 NFL teams credentialed for seats in the press box at Bank of America Stadium. UNC quarterback Drake Maye was the marquee prospect, and there’s a good chance he lands in the NFC South next April. With the Arizona Cardinals going all in to tank for the first overall pick (and USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams), Maye is a more realistic target for needy division rivals like the Atlanta Falcons or Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But Maye had an up-and-down night in the Tar Heels’ big win. He completed 24 of 36 passes for a respectable 269 yards but threw as many interceptions as touchdown passes (2). He’ll need to protect the football more effectively to keep pro coaches off his back, even if he has a talented enough roster around him to get away with it at the college level.

He was hardly the only NFL prospect on the field. North Carolina senior linebacker Cedric Gray led his team with 9 tackles (3 solo, 1.5 tackles for loss) and 1.5 sacks, though junior tight end Bryson Nesbit was limited to 3 catches for just 22 receiving yards.

And let’s not forget the other sideline. Gamecocks quarterback Spencer Rattler didn’t turn the ball over while completing 30 of his 39 pass attempts for 353 yards, but he also didn’t take advantage of scoring opportunities. His favorite target was senior wide receiver Xavier Legette, who broke out with the best game of his career — totaling 9 receptions for 178 yards, more than he’s ever had in an entire season. He’s listed at 6-foot-3 and 227 pounds and did a great job using his size to fight for contested catches. He might be someone to keep tabs on as the college football season (and the long march towards the 2024 NFL draft) continues.

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