Blue and Gold Illustrated

Oct. 9, 2017

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 9, 2017 35 the more physical defensive lines very well," Jones explained. "They don't really have a grinder up front, so they struggle at the point of con- tact. Louisville and Duke are more physical up front than California and Old Dominion, so that worked against what this group does well." North Carolina averaged 235.5 yards per game on the ground against California and Old Domin- ion, but it was limited to just 67.5 yards per game in losses to Louisville and Duke. The Tar Heels also gave up six sacks in those two games, in- cluding four against Duke. "Things got so ugly versus Duke that North Carolina started holding back a tight end and running back to help with pass protection, some- times only sending two receivers into routes," Jones said. "Almost half of North Carolina's rushing yards ver- sus Duke came on a 56-yard touch- down run by [redshirt freshman quarterback Chazz] Surratt." One of the few bright spots for North Carolina in the early going has been the play of Surratt. He com- pleted 64.3 of his passes in the first four games, racking up 847 yards and five scores through the air. He added 117 yards and four scores on the ground. "Chazz Surratt has been pretty good all things considered," Jones said of the athletic left-hander. "He can beat you with his legs and arm. He's not fast like [Louisville quar- terback] Lamar Jackson, he's a dif- ferent style of runner, certainly more physical." Surratt is 6-3 and 215 pounds while Jackson — the reigning Heisman Tro- phy winner — checks in at 6-3 and 211 pounds. Anyone watching the two quarterbacks can see what Jones is talking about, because Surratt is clearly the more physical player and appears much thicker than Jackson. "He throws the ball really well within about 25 yards," Jones said of Surratt. "The staff has had him try to throw over the defense only a couple of times, and he looked good when doing so, but with the limitations at wide receiver, I am not sure we will see him do that for awhile." A quarterback must be as dedi- cated to perfecting his craft off the

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