Mack Brown calls on several players to step into leadership roles

The North Carolina defense is mourning the loss of linebacker Noah Taylor to injury for the rest of the season. With the veteran linebacker exiting the lineup, Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown knows he’ll need new defenders to step up into the leadership role on the field that Taylor occupied.

Fours years into his return to Chapel Hill, Brown says he and his staff have had plenty of time to recruit and develop depth to sustain losses such as Taylor. So Brown is expecting some other players in the front seven to seize the extra playing time.

“So yeah, we talked a lot this week about it it’s our responsibility to recruit the right guys. And we’ve been here four years, so we should have enough players and it’s our responsibility to develop them,” Brown said this week when discussing the Taylor injury. “It doesn’t always sound good for coaches, because those are things that coaches get criticized for.”

Brown pointed to a few specific names that he wants to see take a step up now that Noah Taylor is down for the count.

“But we’ve said it’s time for Kendrick Bingley-Jones to step up and play. Malaki Hamrick’s just gotten here. I mean he’s a real puppy, but he got to help us. Chris Collins been here along time and he’s got to step up and take some of that leadership role that Noah had that was so good.”

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No way to completely replace Noah Taylor’s presence on defense, but Mack Brown is counting on some other pieces to chip in and piece together the hole Taylor left behind. Because, according to Brown, Taylor is an impossible presence to replace as a leader. And even since his injury, Brown says he’s continued to be an exemplary leader from the sidelines. Impressive stuff from the young man.

“Noah’s been out here coaching him every day. I’m so impressed with that young guy. His heart has to be broken that he got hurt. It’s before the NFL draft, it’s right before he played his his buddies at Virginia. I mean, there’s so many boxes that that checks that are tough for him to handle. And he’s more upbeat this week than I am. So I just am so impressed with him, with everything he does. But I do think the biggest thing is that it’s a fact these guys get hurt. It hurts our team, but in truth, you can either lay down and have excuses or have somebody step up and play. And we’re not going to use that as an excuse. We got to step up and play.”