Tag: jahvaree ritzie

UNC generates six sacks, holds Virginia to under 100 yards in first half of football

Just how good was UNC’s first-half defense against Virginia?

Through one half of football Saturday afternoon, the North Carolina Tar Heels are outplaying Virginia in just about every aspect.

There’s one surprising area that UNC (3-4, 0-3) is particularly outplaying the Cavaliers (4-3, 2-1) in: defense.

North Carolina took a 24-6 lead into the half, holding Virginia to a pair of Will Bettridge field goals. That wasn’t even the most impressive part of the Tar Heels’ surprising performance, though.

UNC generated six first-half sacks against the Cavaliers, with the final one coming from top edge rusher Kaimon Rucker, to end the half. North Carolina limited Virginia to just 77 first-half yards, two weeks after allowing Georgia Tech to gash its defense for 500 yards.

Six different Tar Heels have sacks: Rucker, season sack leader Jahvaree Ritzie, defensive end Des Evans, defensive back Alijah Huzzie, defense lineman Beau Atkinson and linebacker Amare Campbell, who is a captain for today’s game.

Virginia made it all the way down to UNC’s 1-yard line on its first drive, after its own defense forced a punt. A bad snap and two incomplete passes later from Anthony Colandrea, the Cavaliers had to settle for a field goal.

On Virginia’s second scoring drive, star wide receiver Malachi Fields caught a 34-yard pass that got him down to North Carolina’s 12-yard line. After a 2-yard Colandrea run and an incomplete pass, the Cavaliers settled for a field goal – again.

Outside of Virginia’s two scoring drives, the Tar Heels forced a negative yardage total of -14. We didn’t see a ton of big plays from the Cavaliers in the first half and, while that could easily change in the second half, we’re very encouraged.

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Jahvaree Ritzie earning national attention after two games

Jahvaree Ritzie is playing so well, he’s being featured in national college football news.

The college football world didn’t know much about UNC defensive tackle Jahvaree Ritzie during the 2023 season.

Just two weeks into the 2024 campaign, Ritzie is quietly becoming one of the top defensive tackles in the nation.

Ritzie put himself on the national radar during North Carolina’s 19-17 win at Minnesota in Week 1, sacking Golden Gophers quarterback Max Brosmer three times. In the Tar Heels’ long-awaited return to Kenan Stadium last weekend, Ritzie added two more sacks to his total.

Through two weeks of college football, Ritzie’s five sacks lead the entire ACC.

Ritzie has been performing so well, he was featured in USA Today’s First and 10, which details the top 10 storylines from each week of the college football season.

“NFL scouts call it a money year – a final season when players reach their ceiling, knowing they’re playing for NFL money,” USA Today’s Matt Hayes wrote. “College coaches call it development. Some players simply take longer to reach their potential.”

“Welcome to the argument, North Carolina DT Jahvaree Ritzie, who had eight career starts and 2½ career sacks in three previous seasons as a cog in the middle of the defensive line. Now he leads the nation in sacks (five) as an interior lineman, no less. The obvious grand (and ridiculous) statement is Ritzie is on pace for 30 sacks.”

“The North Carolina single-season record for sacks is 16, set by Lawrence Taylor in 1980. If UNC plays 13 games (12 games plus a bowl game), Ritzie needs to average a sack a game to tie Taylor’s record.

With NC Central coming to town Saturday, Ritzie should add another sack or two to his total.

Will Ritzie be able to continue his insane early-season production, furthering cementing himself as a defensive force?

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Jahvaree Ritzie amongst national leaders in which defensive category?

Jahvaree Ritzie’s hot start for UNC has him amongst college football’s most productive lineman early in the 2024 college football season.

After playing in a rotation last year, Jahvaree Ritzie is taking full advantage of his starting opportunity for the UNC football program so far in 2024.

Ritzie’s defensive prowess has North Carolina at 2-0 already, with a close Week 1 win at Minnesota and a more comfortable victory against Charlotte last weekend.

Ritzie has a Tar Heels-best five sacks and tackles for loss through two games, as he is one of many beneficiaries from new defensive coordinator Geoff Collins’ pressure-heavy scheme. UNC is still giving up big plays in the secondary, but the defensive line is doing its job.

On a line where Kaimon Rucker is supposed to be the unit’s most productive star, it’s Ritzie shining the most through two games.

Ritzie’s five sacks, which not only lead his teammates, are best in the ACC and second in the nation – only to New Mexico’s Christian Ellis.

Ritzie nabbed his first three sacks in the season-opener at Minnesota, then tacked on two more against Charlotte. His 2024 figures already passed his previous career totals, which included just 2.5 sacks combined from 2021-2023.

It’s tough for anyone to keep up Ritzie’s level of production, but it’s also a level of play I see Ritzie continuing through much of the season. With North Carolina facing NC Central this coming Saturday, I see Ritzie continuing his breakout season and adding to his sack total.

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Jahvaree Ritzie making presence felt early in 2024 season

Jahvaree Ritzie is off to a monster start for the UNC football program with two sacks on the year.

The North Carolina Tar Heels have opened up the 2024 season with two straight wins to start 2-0. And a big reason why has been their defense.

In week 1 against Minnesota, the Tar Heels made a statement in that second half by slowing down the Gophers and holding them to one touchdown the entire game. While Charlotte fared a little better, it was still a good performance.

And at the center of that was defensive lineman Jahvaree Ritzie.

Through the first two games, Ritzie has five sacks as he’s been an anchor on UNC’s defensive line, getting pressure and wrapping up the quarterback in the backfield. He’s the first UNC player to have a two-game stretch of five sacks since Kareem Martin in 2013.

https://twitter.com/UNCFootball/status/1832546209598468525

With two sacks on Saturday, Ritzie helped UNC’s defense do a good job against Charlotte. With the Tar Heels missing Kaimon Rucker due to an injury, they needed someone to set up in his place.

For North Carolina, the key to success on defense this year will be getting to the quarterback and so far this year, they are doing a heck of a job. But after next week’s game against NC Central, things get tougher and they are going to need that consistent pass rush.

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Tar Heels roll past Charlotte to move to 2-0 on season

The UNC football team shook off some early hiccups in Saturday’s home opener and beat Charlotte by a comfortable margin, thanks to a well-rounded effort.

Even with a couple of early hiccups in their 2024 home football opener against Charlotte, the North Carolina Tar Heels played significantly better than last week at Minnesota.

After trading scoreless drives to open the day, UNC scored on three straight possessions to break away from the 49ers in a 38-20 victory.

UNC finished its day with 490 yards, significantly better than the 252 it registered in Week One.

Charlotte nearly punched back with a couple of touchdowns, driving deep into the North Carolina red zone on its second and third possessions, thanks to a couple of long drives led by starting quarterback Max Brown.

The Tar Heel defense, like it did last week against Minnesota, stood tall and limited the 49ers to a pair of field goals. Jahvaree Ritzie continued his strong start to 2024, recording two sacks and becoming the first Tar Heel with five sacks in two games since Kareem Martin in 2013.

Conner Harrell, who will be North Carolina’s starting quarterback for the remainder of 2024, finished his day with two touchdown passes – one to Bryson Nesbit and another to Christian Hamilton – and a rushing touchdown. He looked a lot more comfortable on Saturday, particularly after being thrust into fourth-quarter action in relief of Max Johnson last week.

Nate McCollum also added a rushing touchdown on a 37-yard, second-quarter end-around.

Omarion Hampton looked like his usual self for UNC, running for 80 yards through two quarters, but he left the game early with an undisclosed injury. True freshman running back Davion Gause played extremely well in relief of Hampton, picking up 109 yards and scoring his first collegiate touchdown.

Hampton wasn’t the only injured Tar Heel, as star edge rusher Kaimon Rucker was announced out before the game. He has a lower-body injury that will require him to miss a couple weeks.

North Carolina has another winnable game next weekend, hosting the FCS North Carolina Central Eagles.

Will injuries to Hampton and Rucker, UNC’s two best players, cause them to struggle? Or can the Tar Heels improve to 3-0 and get their stars some much-needed rest?

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UNC defensive tackle Jahvaree Ritzie earns honor after week 1

Jahvaree Ritzie’s Week 1 breakout game at Minnesota gained himself some well-deserved national recognition.

Jahvaree Ritzie was undoubtedly the greatest defensive difference-maker in the UNC football team’s 19-17 victory over Minnesota last week.

Ritzie, who played largely as a reserve during his first three years as North Carolina, registered three tackles for loss and sacked Golden Gophers quarterback Max Brosmer three times. When Ritzie wasn’t stuffing the stat sheet, he was bowling through Minnesota’s offensive line and disrupting the offensive rhythm.

Arguably Thursday’s greatest beneficiary in new defensive coordinator Geoff Collins’ pressure-heavy scheme, Ritzie was named the Outland Trophy Player of the Week.

Despite allowing the Gophers to march down the field and set up a game-winning field goal try, the Tar Heel defense showed major improvements from the past two seasons.

As a team, UNC limited Minnesota to under 250 yards. Kaimon Rucker, Amare Campbell and Kaleb Cost joined Ritzie in the sack parade, while NC State transfer Jakeen Harris was the lone player with 10 tackles.

The Outland Trophy is given annually to the nation’s best interior lineman – on both sides of the ball.

Ritzie’s National honors follow his ACC Player of the Week honors. Ritzie played all 13 games last year as a reserve, recording just 25 tackles, a half sack, half-TFL, one pass deflection and one forced fumble, but started half of North Carolina’s 2022 games.

What kind of performance will Ritzie deliver for an encore in Saturday’s home opener?

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North Carolina defensive tackle earns Outland Trophy Player of the Week

North Carolina defensive tackle Jahvaree Ritzie named Outland Trophy National Player of the Week.

The North Carolina Tar Heels and Minnesota Golden Gophers played one of the best games in Week 1 of the college football season. The Tar Heels won late in the game on a missed field goal by Minnesota. Much of the reason the Tar Heels won the game was due to their defense. The defense was anchored by defensive tackle Jahvaree Ritzie, and he was rewarded for it.

Ritzie was named the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week. This award is selected by the Football Writers Association of America. The award is fairly new to College Football players and the official description on their website is as follows:

This is the second season for the FWAA to select an Outland Trophy National Player of the Week as part of the NCFAA’s weekly national honors from 12 awards. The recipient of the 2024 Outland Trophy will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards, live on ESPN on Dec. 12. The official presentation to the winner will be made at the Outland Trophy Awards Dinner sponsored by Werner Enterprises and produced by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee in Omaha, Neb., on Jan. 22, 2025.

The graduate student from Kernersville, NC posted 25 tackles last season and had two of those in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl game. In this game against Minnesota, he was terrific, as he came away with a career-high three sacks and six tackles in the win.

North Carolina will host Charlotte on Saturday in Week 2 action.

Tar Heels featured amongst USA Today’s Week 1 college football overreactions

13 wins within a conference is usually pretty good news. Such wasn’t the case for North Carolina and the ACC in Week 1 of the college football season.

I don’t think anyone in the ACC expected 2024’s start to college football season.

Florida State, Clemson and Virginia Tech, all preseason contenders for an ACC Championship, are a combined 0-4. Neither Georgia Tech or Boston College, atop the ACC with a win each, have won a conference title since 2009.

Our very own North Carolina Tar Heels, a 2-point road underdog at Minnesota last Thursday, won by two after a missed field goal as time expired. Noah Burnette and Jahvaree Ritzie earned ACC Player of the Week honors for their heroic efforts: Burnette converting all five of his kicks, plus Ritzie recording three sacks and tackles for loss apiece.

Overall, 13 ACC teams won, with UNC fortunate to be included in that lucky number.

USA Today didn’t have a favorable outlook on the ACC as a whole, though, highlighting North Carolina as part of its Week 1 overreactions.

“The early returns for the league aren’t good,” USA Today’s Eddie Timanus wrote. “The league’s recent standard bearers, Florida State and Clemson, have already taken two and one ‘L’s, possible dark horse Virginia Tech was tripped up by Vanderbilt, and league newcomer Stanford put up a good fight but ultimately came up a touchdown short against TCU. Even among the squads that won there are concerns. North Carolina State got all it could handle from FCS challenger Western Carolina, North Carolina held on at Minnesota but lost its starting quarterback, and, as good as Miami looked in the Swamp, that result might say more about the state of the Florida program than that of The U.”

The Tar Heels’ greatest question is how Conner Harrell will fare as the new starting quarterback. Max Johnson is out for the season with a broken leg, for UNC to turn for its quarterback who impressed more in the spring game.

With a favorable stretch of games in September, North Carolina has a golden chance to boost the ACC’s outlook.

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UNC DC Geoff Collins supporting Jahvaree Ritzie after Thursday’s big game

North Carolina Tar Heels defensive tackle Jahvaree Ritzie received the greatest show of support from his new defensive coordinator on Monday afternoon.

After just one game, the North Carolina Tar Heels have to love the immediate impact from new defensive coordinator Geoff Collins.

Though UNC had some notable lapses against Minnesota, including allowing the host Golden Gophers to drive and set up a game-winning field goal attempt, UNC also had a few defensive heroes that impacted its 19-17 victory.

There’s arguably no greater defensive hero than graduate defensive tackle Jahvaree Ritzie, who registered three tackles for loss and sacked Minnesota quarterback Max Brosmer three times.

Ritzie surpassed his career sack total in just one game, showcasing to Tar Heel Nation he has potential to be another star along the defensive line. When Ritzie wasn’t stuffing the stat sheet, he was disrupting the Gopher offense by generating pressure.

Tar Heel Nation undoubtedly enjoyed the breakout performance, but no one enjoyed Ritzie’s big night more than Collins himself.

On Monday, Sept. 2, Collins was seen wearing a Ritzie-inspired NIL shirt.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C_bgcy5Rkot/

If you watched Ritzie’s Minnesota postgame interview, he was excited about playing under Collins’ new scheme. It’s truly amazing how just one coaching change, no matter how large or small, can unlock a player’s full potential.

Expect another big game from Ritzie on Saturday, Sept. 7 in North Carolina’s home opener against Charlotte. A big game could start with know Ritzie has the support of his defensive coordinator, which means the world for these young athletes.

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Two Tar Heels ACC Player of the Week honors

UNC football stars Noah Burnette and Jahvaree Ritzie were rewarded for Thursday night’s performances.

The North Carolina Tar Heels gutted out a 19-17 win against Minnesota last Thursday, securing a much-needed victory in its season-opener that was highlighted by a clear kicking advantage and much-improved defense.

There were four separate lead changes, with UNC taking the last lead on star kicker Noah Burnette’s fourth and final field goal try. North Carolina’s defense, which played well for most of the night, relapsed into 2023 form by allowing the Golden Gophers to set up a game-winning field goal try.

There were a few Tar Heels who stood out Thursday night: not just on the team, but in the entire ACC.

Jahvaree Ritzie, who showcased his ability as one of the country’s premier defensive tackles with a 3-sack, 3-TFL outing and Burnette, who converted his lone extra point and all of his four field goal attempts, earned ACC Player of the Week honors.

Minnesota likely scores more points without Ritzie’s impact, plus UNC only scores six points without Burnette’s leg.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C_duLtvRdcS/?img_index=1

Burnette showcased how special he was in 2023, converting 60-of-61 kicks into points. Ritzie was good in each of his first three seasons at North Carolina, but last Thursday showed he can be a much-needed star and X-factor in Tar Heel victories.

Will Burnette and Ritzie continue to shine in this coming Saturday’s home opener against Charlotte?

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