Heel Tough Blog: Stock Report- Pittsburgh
The Tar Heels entered Saturday looking for the first ranked win under Bill Belichick and the first win against a ranked opponent on the road since 2020. Despite a slow start on both sides of the ball, the team would scrap their way to a huge 21-17 over the No. 25 Pittsburgh Panthers. As the team now prepares for a trip to Durham to try and win back the Victory Bell, here is a look at who we have trending up and trending down around Tar Heel football.
⇧Shamar Easter
After the best performance of his Tar Heel career a week ago, Easter was quiet for the first three quarters of the game on Saturday before making the biggest play of the season to this point. He did a good job of creating separation on a post route down the right hash, allowing Billy Edwards to drive one into him on the first play of the Tar Heel opening drive of the fourth quarter. After catching the ball, he would turn on the jets and pull away from the Pittsburgh defensive packs to give the Tar Heels the lead back after Pittsburgh took the 17-14 lead just moments before. Easter has slowly become an option that quarterback Billy Edwards seems to trust and the expectations are that he will be more involved in this offense as the year goes along, especially if teams find a way to limit Jordan Shipp or Jelani Thurman.
⇧Jordan Shipp
Speaking of Shipp, he had another productive day despite likely being atop the scouting report for Pitt’s defense heading in. He was the most targeted pass catching option on Saturday (9) and hauled in six of those targets for 93 yards, which was a team high. To add to the legend of the day, he did all of this with a 102 degree fever according to his mother, Marie Peppers, on Facebook. Right now, it’s hard to find a lot of receivers playing more consistent football, especially in the ACC.
⇧Xavier Lewis
Lewis had his quietest game of the season against Notre Dame, but bounced back in a big way on Saturday. He finished with a career-high 12 total tackles, which was also tied for the team lead on the day, and did register one of the team’s four tackles for loss. He was once again the Tar Heels most impactful pass rusher, registering a 0.5 sack and four total quarterback pressures on 43 pass rushing reps. Lewis remains the Tar Heels most consistent defensive player and continues to be one of the more special stories in college football this season.
⇧Tre Miller
Miller got the start after some struggles against Notre Dame and played his best game as a Tar Heel. He finished with four total tackles, but really shined in coverage, allowing just one of his four targets to be caught for a mere two yards. He had two important pass breakups and pulled down his first career interception where he made a nice play on the ball. Unfortunately, on the return, he suffered an ankle injury that has him doubtful to return this season according to Noah Weiskopf of TarHeel247.
⇧Derek McDonald
McDonald has had some big games in terms of total tackles this season, but this may have been his most efficient performance of the year on Satruday. He finished the tied for the team high in total tackles with 12, registering 1.0 tackles for loss, but did not miss a single tackle for just the second time this season. He was targeted in coverage, but allowed just 42 yards on the six catches he allowed. With a stiff test coming against Duke’s tight end room, the hope is that McDonald can limit the yards when he is targeted like he did against Pitt.
⇧Jaiden Patterson
Patterson has faced some challenges this season, but he put together a very strong showing against Pitt. After struggling with missed tackles against both Clemson and Notre Dame, he finished with five total tackles and didn’t miss one for the first time since Week 2. In coverage, he allowed just two of his five targets to be caught for 21 yards and had one pass breakup. The Tar Heel need this version of him to show up against Duke and keep these struggling receivers quiet for another week.
⇧Ade Willie
Willie came in and played 60 snaps in place of the injured Kaleb Cost and was one of the biggest bright spots defensively. He was active around the football, finishing with five total tackles and he was even more impactful in coverage. He allowed just two of his four targets to be caught for five yards, which could be considered arguably his best performance in coverage of his entire college career. The hope is that he can build on that success moving forward with it looking like ihe could be starting for the next handful of weeks.
⇧Nicco Maggio
With starting defensive tackle Isaiah Johnson a no go against Pitt, the Tar Heels needed someone to step up in his place and that was exactly what Maggio did. In 42 snaps, he finished with just two total tackles, but registered three defensive stops and did bat a ball down at the line of scrimmage. He may not have been as impactful as Johnson has been in that spot this season, but he held up nicely and will be able to help depthwise once Johnson returns.
⇧Timir Hickman-Collins
Hickman-Collins only saw 13 snaps in this game, but was incredibly impactful in those limited snaps. He finished the game with six total tackles, including 0.5 a tackle for loss and 0.5 a sack, averaging almost a tackle every other snap. It might be a limited sample size, but you have to tip your hat to him for that performance and now the question is, can he build on that and become a reliable rotation option for the team?
⇧Cristian Alvarez
The offensive line as a whole has struggled, but Alvarez, who was thrust into starting duty at right guard after the injury to Jordan Hall shuffled the line, has been solid. He was alright in run blocking on Saturday, but had a great day in pass protection, failing to allow a single pressure on the quarterback in 31 pass block reps. Considering this was a low end 3✮ prospect that was a late addition who didn’t arrive till the summer, it is amazing how successful he has been so far. Even when Hall returns, there should be some consideration given to keeping Alvarez as the starter at right guard.
⇩Rest of the Offensive Line
While Alvarez deserves praise, the rest of the unit does not. The unit wasn’t perfect in pass protection, especially left tackle Andrew Threatt, but it didn’t hinder this passing offense from making plays. The bigger concern was what we saw in run blocking. While the PFF grades weren’t that ugly outside of right tackle Jacqawn McRoy (42.2), it felt like the group simply could not get push up front and was getting manhandled at times. While Duke brings with them another stiff run defense, we need to see more from this group in that area of the game on Saturday.
⇩Kenton Dopson III
The true freshman corner played significant snaps early in the Pitt game and Panthers offensive coordinator Kade Bell made a point of going after him. In just 14 coverage snaps, he was targeted six times and allowed five of them to be caught for 76 yards. With Tre Miller's severe ankle injury that will put him on the shelf indefinitely, the Tar Heels will need Dopson to show more resistance than he did on Saturday.
⇩Calvin Thomas
Thomas got the start in place of the injured Jaylen Harvey and had some true freshman growing pains. His lack of size showed up in run defense and he was quiet on the pass rushing downs, too, failing to register a single quarterback pressure. With Harvey’s return, Thomas may not be counted on as much as he was Saturday, which might actually be best for both sides.
⇩Benjamin Hall
Hall may have led the Tar Heels in rushing against Pitt, but this was not a performance to write home about. On 12 carries, he was only able to muster 25 yards, averaging just 2.1 yards per carry. He also really struggled in pass protection, allowing one sack and three total quarterback pressures in nine pass block reps. Simply put, the Tar Heels need more from their lead running back.
⇩Aeron Burrell
Burrell seemed to have settled into a groove at punter after the TCU struggles, but he had a rough day on Saturday against Pitt. He punted six times for an average of 36.8 yards per punt and two of his attempts failed to travel 30 yards. With Duke possessing a dangerous offense and one of the best punters in the nation on the other side, the Tar Heels need a bounce back performance from Burrell.
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