Tony Grimes preaches importance of communication on defense

Tony Grimes believes improved communication along the North Carolina defense will lead to a better showing for the unit in 2022.

As the Tar Heels prepare for a hopeful-rebound this season, Grimes preached the importance of communication on defense during a press conference.

“It definitely makes it a lot easier,” began Grimes. “It definitely makes it a lot easier like, learning the coverage more. Learning where your support is. Where you’re supposed to have help at. Learning better concepts from the offense, as well. You know, saying more. When you’re in man, sometimes you got your back turned against the quarterback. All the time, you really can’t see. But you can really break down concepts, study little picks and you know, get to the end zone.

“I’m pretty sure we got that communication handled. So, communication will not be a problem this year. Everybody knows on the defense that in order to win, in order to be successful, we got to talk. Period.”

Last season, North Carolina gave up over 418 yards per game, stumbling into a losing record thanks to a bowl loss. Tony Grimes is hoping improved communication will help lead to a better season for his unit, and his team as a whole.

Tony Grimes talks about new defense under Gene Chizik

Moreover, head coach Mack Brown made a change in the offseason, hiring Gene Chizik as North Carolina‘s new defensive coordinator. Chizik is already making an early impact in Chapel Hill, especially if you ask junior Tony Grimes. The cornerback already seems to be having a good time working with his new DC.

Grimes said some of the best things Chizik brings to the table come from off the field. Structure and accountability are two of the main thing, with the North Carolina star raving during his summer press conference.

“I want to say we’re very blessed to get Coach Chizik,” Grimes said. “One thing he is bringing to the table is our structure. He’s making sure we all got our head on right, that this is what we want. That we’re on a winning page. The one thing he strives himself for is accountability. Just holding ourselves accountable. Every and each one of our players, he gives us a task, tells us to do something, and we’ll do it. He’s fine nit. Making us buy in.”

Grimes was then asked to get more specific, wondering what kind of different schemes the Tar Heels will run under Chizik. The cornerback did not give too much away but he said there will be a lot more variety in their play-calling this season.

“Gives us a lot more chances to make plays, I’ll tell you that, in the secondary,” Grimes said. “He’s giving us more of zone coverage. More of man as well but he’s getting into zone coverage more than we ran last year.”