We continue our look at the defensive side of the ball by looking at the position room that has been the most stable for the team defensively under Mack Brown, the linebackers.
With Cedric Gray now in the NFL, senior Power Echols takes over as the leader of the defense. He is coming two strong seasons alongside Gray, totaling 206 total tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, two interceptions and three passes defensed over that span. He had some struggles with missed tackles that have to be cleaned up and needs to take another step in coverage, but he should be a steady force for Geoff Collins first defense in Chapel Hill.
Sophomore Amare Campbell will be the starter alongside him after a promising freshman year. In just 128 snaps last season, he racked up 14 total tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sacks and one interception and looked like he is more than capable of handling how much has been on the plate of the Tar Heel linebackers the last few years. He needs to clean up his tackling a little bit, but this starting job is in good hands.
The question in this room is whether or not they can find some much needed depth to help limit the wear and tear on the two starters. None of the guys competing for these rotational roles have played more than 13 snaps on the defensive side of the ball in their careers, but there is potential here.
Redshirt freshman Caleb LaVallee is the best bet to become a part of the rotation. He was another guy who the staff was pleased with in the spring after playing an important snap against Clemson and cracking the two deep in the bowl game against West Virginia. If he carries that success from April over to fall camp starting this weekend, he’ll have a great chance to claim one of the two rotational roles that the staff is envisioning.
Sophomore Michael Short is in a similar spot after showing the staff enough last year to earn a special teams role and a spot in the two deep during the bowl game last year. He took a step forward in the spring and if he can build on what he showed the staff then, he will have a shot to earn one of the rotational roles.
Ashton Woods is the true freshman to keep an eye on here after a promising spring camp as an early enrollee. Unfortunately, an injury kept him out of the spring game, but he should be back in full for the start of fall camp. With his complete skill set and aggressive downhill attitude, he has a real chance at one of the rotational roles if he can impress the staff again over the course of the next month.
Sophomore walk-on Cade Law will also factor into this battle for rotational reps after he surprised back in April. He was the best of the backup group in the spring game and he’s hoping to carry that momentum over and prove he is worthy of playing meaningful snaps.
Law’s brother, Crew, and fellow true freshman Evan Bennett will both be going through their first practices when fall camp begins meaning both will be focused more on learning than competing. Both could be factors on special teams, but it feels unlikely they factor into the rotational battle.
Junior Gibson Macrae and sophomore CJ Murphy are the other two walk-ons for the unit and will likely be reserved to special teams if anything at all.
Projected Depth Chart
MLB
#23 Power Echols, Sr.
#34 Caleb LaVallee, RFr.
#55 Cade Law, So.
#44 Crews Law, Fr.
#47 CJ Murphy, So.
WLB
#17 Amare Campbell, So.
#30 Michael Short, So.
#25 Ashton Woods, Fr.
#32 Evan Bennett, Fr.
#53 Gibson Macrae, Jr.
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