Heel Tough Blog: Stock Report- UConn
Saturday was an important game for the Tar Heels as they traveled to Connecticut looking to pick up a victory to get things back on track towards a bowl. While it may not have been a blowout, the team picked up its first win of the season over an FBS opponent that didn’t come down to the final drive, as they beat the Huskies 38-21. As the team now turns its attention to a highly anticipated matchup in Kenan Stadium on Saturday with Louisville, here’s a look at who’s trending up and who’s trending down.
⇧Timir Hickman-Collins
There couldn’t be anyone else atop this list after the performance that he had on Saturday. In just 15 snaps on Saturday, he collected three total tackles, forced a fumble which he recovered and intercepted a pass that he took to the house for the opening score of the game. With Jonathan Agumadu sidelined for the rest of the year, the Tar Heel are going to need Hickman-Collins to play well and it feels like he has steadily progressed throughout the season so he might be ready for the challenge.
⇧Jelani Thurman
Thurman has been an absolute monster in the last two games. On Saturday, Thurman led the team in receiving, catching seven of his nine targets for 64 yards and two touchdowns. With his second touchdown catch of the night, the Mackey Award semifinalist tied the school record for touchdown receptions for a tight end with eight (Mike Chatham in 1979). He did get banged up in this game against UConn and is questionable for Saturday’s game, but one would expect him to break that single season at some point in the next few weeks.
⇧Peyton Seelmann
Speaking of linebackers that are playing their best football of the season, Seelmann is coming off what might be his top performance of the year thus far. The third-leading tackler in the ACC finished with a team-high nine total tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, two total quarterback pressures and two pass breakups. With some of the nation’s most productive running games still remaining on the schedule, the Tar Heels are going to need him to continue his high level of play. Right now, there is no reason to believe that won’t happen.
⇧Leroy Jackson
The Tar Heel defensive line had one of their best performances since the opener in Ireland on Saturday and it was spearheaded by Jackson. In 38 snaps, he finished with five total tackles and two total quarterbacks, while easily putting together the best run defense grade on the team according to PFF. It has been a strong season for Jackson, but there have been times where he and the rest of this line have gotten pushed around. Against Louisville, Jackson and the rest of the defensive line need to generate some push of their own in order to slow down that vaunted rushing attack.
⇧Benjamin Hall
Hall has been working his way back from a midseason injury and Saturday was his best game since the outburst he had against Clemson. In just 25 snaps, he carried the ball nine times for 81 yards and and an impressive 39-yard touchdown where he showed some nice speed and balance to pull away from defenders. He also caught all four of his targets for 26 yards, providing a nice pass catching out of the backfield. Being able to run the ball is the key to this offense being able to run the football and Hall is the most explosive open the team has, so he should receive his fair share of snaps.
⇧Javion Butts
The Tar Heel secondary had an up and down day against UConn, but there were a couple guys who played the best games we’ve seen them play as Tar Heels. Butts played 44 snaps on Saturday in place of the injured Peyton Waters and corralled three total tackles and registered an important pass breakup. In coverage, he was targeted three times and only allowed one of those to be caught for four yards. Regardless of when Waters returns, Butts has earned a role in this secondary down the home stretch of the season.
⇧Jalon Thompson
Another member of the secondary who played really well on Saturday was Thompson. In 32 snaps, he finished with two total tackles and pulled in his first career interception which basically sealed the game for the Tar Heels. With the inconsistencies of Kenton Dopson II and Tre Miller’s season looking like it may be done, Thompson should get even more snaps down the stretch here.
⇧Melkart Abou Jaoude
It hasn’t been the season that Abou Jaoude was hoping for following a breakout 2025, but a lot of that has been due to him battling through an early season hand injury. Saturday was his best performance since the season opener as he racked up three total tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack, his first since that first game. The hope is that this performance combined with him getting healthier will allow him to finish the season strong and help this Tar Heel defense become a more reliable unit.
⇧Jordan Shipp
Shipp just continues to chug along with consistent performance after consistent performance. On Saturday, he hauled in five of his seven targets for 55 yards and a touchdown, his fourth straight game with a score. We know he is atop the scouting reports for opposing teams, but he just finds ways to get open and we expect that to continue.
⇧Demon June
June has found some nice consistency over the last few weeks and had another strong outing in this one. He carried the ball a team-high 15 times for 60 yards, picking up some important first downs along the way, and also caught two passes for 31 yards. The Tar Heel running game has been a big reason why this offense has become more sustainable in recent weeks and they should continue to utilize June, especially in important short yardage situations.
⇧Andrew Threatt
Threatt came into this banged up and put together one of his better outings of the season. While his run blocking great may not have been high, he still had a good day in pass protection, allowing just one pressure the entire day. For someone that has struggled with allowing pressure on the quarterback this season, this was a step in the right direction. Hopefully he can build on this starting this weekend and carry it down this home stretch.
⇧Billy Edwards Jr.
The starting quarterback of the Tar Heels receives heavy criticism every week and while it wasn’t quite as good as Miami, he was still able to parlay that outstanding performance in another strong outing. Edwards finished the day 29 of 38 for 255 yards and three touchdowns after throwing an interception on the opening drive. He is in a three game stretch where he has put together his three best passing performances of the season and he is a big part of why the offense has thrived so much in those games.
⇩Jaiden Patterson
There weren’t many who struggled on Saturday, but Patterson was atop that list. While he did not miss a tackle, which has been an issue for him all season, he had a rough night in coverage. He was targeted seven times and allowed four of them to be caught for 91 yards and a touchdown. The Tar Heels luckily didn’t need him to be better against UConn, but he has to play one of his best games of the season on Saturday against an explosive Louisville passing game.
⇩Jacqawn McCoy
McRoy has had a really solid year, but he struggles on Saturday in Hartford. While he graded out rather average in run blocking, it was the pass protection that doomed him in this one. He may not have allowed a sack, but he allowed a team-high five quarterback pressures and was flagged once in what was his worst performance of the year. The Tar Heels need him to bounce back and put together one his best performances of the year against a Louisville edge rusher group that is fearsome.
⇩Kaleb Cost
Cost’s rollercoaster career continued against UConn this past Saturday. After being a big part of the reason that the team kept Malachi Toney in check for most of the game the previous week, he allowed six of his seven targets to be caught for 74 yards, 40 of which came after the catch. They will need a good Cost game on Saturday to hold the Louisville offense in check.
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