2022 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

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2022 North Carolina Tar Heels football
North Carolina Tar Heels logo.svg
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Head coach
  • Mack Brown (14th season)
Offensive coordinatorPhil Longo (4th season)
Offensive schemeAir Raid
Defensive coordinatorGene Chizik (1st season)
Co-defensive coordinatorCharlton Warren[1] (1st season)
Co-defensive coordinatorTommy Thigpen[2] (4th season)
Home stadiumKenan Memorial Stadium
(capacity: 50,500)
Seasons
← 2021
2023 →
2022 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Atlantic Division
  0 – 0     0 – 0  
Clemson   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Florida State   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Louisville   0 – 0     0 – 0  
NC State   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Syracuse   0 – 0     0 – 0  
  0 – 0     0 – 0  
Coastal Division
Duke   0 – 0     0 – 0  
  0 – 0     0 – 0  
Miami (FL)   0 – 0     0 – 0  
North Carolina   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Pittsburgh   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Virginia   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Virginia Tech   0 – 0     0 – 0  
Championship: December 3, 2022
As of March 24, 2022; Rankings from AP Poll

The 2022 North Carolina Tar Heels football team will represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a member of the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tar Heels are led by head coach Mack Brown, who will be in the fourth season of his second stint at North Carolina and 14th overall season at the university. The team will play their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium.

Personnel[]

Coaching Staff[]

North Carolina Tar Heels coaches
Mack Brown Head coach 4th of second stint, 14th overall
Phil Longo Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach 4th
John Lilly Tight end coach 3rd
Jack Bicknell Jr. Offensive line coach 1st
Lonnie Galloway Assistant Head Coach/Wide receivers coach 4th
Larry Porter Running back coach/Special Teams Coordinator 2nd
Gene Chizik Assistant Head Coach for Defense 1st
Charlton Warren Co-Defensive Coordinator/Defensive backs coach 1st
Tommy Thigpen Co-Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers coach 5th
Tim Cross Defensive line coach 4th
Dre Bly Cornerbacks coach 4th
Brian Hess Strength and conditioning 4th
Natrone Means Offensive analyst 2nd
Sparky Woods Senior advisor to head coach 4th
Darrell Moody Senior advisor to head coach 4th
Reference:[1]

Roster[]

2022 North Carolina Tar Heels Spring Football Roster

Quarterback

  • 6 Jacolby Criswell – Sophomore (6'0, 232)
  • 10 Drake Maye – Redshirt Freshman (6'5, 216)
  • 14 Jefferson Boaz – Sophomore (6'7, 250)
  • 15 Conner Harrell – Freshman (6'1, 195)
  • 16 Russell Tabor – Redshirt Freshman (6'3, 205)

Running Back

  • 4 Caleb Hood – Sophomore (5'11, 227)
  • 21 Elijah Green – Sophomore (5'11, 198)
  • 23 George Pettaway – Freshman (5'11, 190)
  • 24 British Brooks – Senior (5'11, 226)
  • 26 D.J. Jones – Junior (5'10, 202)
  • 33 Kamarro Edmonds – Redshirt Freshman (5'11, 235)

Wide Receiver

  • 2 Gavin Blackwell – Redshirt Freshman (5'11, 170)
  • 3 Antoine Green – Senior (6'2, 207)
  • 5 J.J. Jones – Sophomore (6'2, 210)
  • 8 Kobe Paysour – Redshirt Freshman (6'1, 180)
  • 11 Josh Downs – Junior (5'10, 171)
  • 20 Brooks Miller – Redshirt Freshman (5'11, 167)
  • 28 Cyrus Rogers – Redshirt Freshman (5'11, 178)
  • 29 Jeffrey Saturday – Junior (5'10, 183)
  • 83 Justin Olson – Junior (6'2, 189)
  • 85 Landon Stevens – Sophomore (6'2, 201)
  • 86 Thomas Flynn – Redshirt Freshman (6'3, 210)

Placekicker

  • 90 Todd Pledger – Redshirt Freshman (6'5, 195)
  • 95 Jonathan Kim – Senior (6'0, 208)
  • 96 Teagen Lenderink – Redshirt Freshman (6'2, 178)
  • 98 Noah Burnette – Sophomore (5'9, 175)

Punter

  • 91 Ben Kiernan – Senior (6'0, 215)
  • 92 Cole Maynard ― Redshirt Freshman (6'2, 172)
  

Tight End

  • 18 Bryson Nesbit – Sophomore (6'6, 220)
  • 80 Will Crowley – Junior (5'11, 240)
  • 81 John Copenhaver – Sophomore (6'3, 235)
  • 82 Kendall Karr – Sophomore (6'3, 255)
  • 88 Kamari Morales – Junior (6'2, 242)

Offensive Line

  • 52 Jonathan Adorno – Junior (6'4, 301)
  • 54 Chance Carroll – Sophomore (6'2, 295)
  • 55 Zach Rice – Freshman (6'6, 315)
  • 57 Cayden Baker – Sophomore (6'5, 316)
  • 60 Carter Kulka – Redshirt Freshman (6'5, 255)
  • 61 Diego Pounds – Redshirt Freshman (6'7, 330)
  • 63 Ed Montilus – Senior (6'4, 309)
  • 64 Malik McGowan – Sophomore (6'3, 330)
  • 65 Corey Gaynor – Graduate (6'4, 309)
  • 68 Brian Anderson – Graduate (6'3, 294)
  • 69 Quiron Johnson – Graduate (6'2, 313)
  • 70 Noland Brown – Junior (6'0, 295)
  • 72 Asim Richards – Senior (6'4, 320)
  • 73 Eli Sutton – Redshirt Freshman (6'8, 308)
  • 76 William Barnes – Senior (6'4, 312)
  • 77 Wisdom Asaboro – Junior (6'8, 332)
  • 78 Trevyon Green – Freshman (6'7, 355)

Defensive Line

  • 4 Travis Shaw – Freshman (6'5, 360)
  • 5 Jahvaree Ritzie – Sophomore (6'5, 284)
  • 6 Keeshawn Silver – Redshirt Freshman (6'6, 320)
  • 8 Myles Murphy – Junior (6'4, 300)
  • 10 Desmond Evans – Junior (6'6, 261)
  • 41 Kedrick Bingley-Jones – Sophomore (6'4, 313)
  • 51 Raymond Vohasek – Graduate (6'3, 300)
  • 52 Jahlil Taylor – Senior (5'11, 290)
  • 56 Tomari Fox – Senior (6'2, 290)
  • 98 Kevin Hester Jr. – Junior (6'4, 306)
  

Jack

  • 7 Noah Taylor – Graduate (6'5, 235)
  • 12 Beau Atkinson – Freshman (6'6, 240)
  • 17 Chris Collins – Senior (6'4, 243)
  • 34 Gabe Stephens – Redshirt Freshman (6'4, 204)
  • 87 Colby Doreen – Sophomore (6'4, 228)

Linebacker

  • 11 Raneiria "Rara" Dillworth – Sophomore (6'2, 198)
  • 19 Ethan West – Sophomore (6'3, 244)
  • 23 Power Echols – Sophomore (5'11, 225)
  • 24 Malaki Hamrick – Freshman (6'4, 200)
  • 25 Kaimon Rucker – Junior (6'1, 262)
  • 32 Sebastian Cheeks – Freshman (6'3, 220)
  • 33 Cedric Gray – Sophomore (6'1, 225)
  • 36 Jalen Brooks – Sophomore (6'0, 236)
  • 45 Jake Harkleroad – Junior (5'10, 210)
  • 53 Gibson Macrae – Redshirt Freshman (6'2, 211)

Defensive Back

  • 0 Ja'Qurious Conley – Junior (6'1, 205)
  • 1 Tony Grimes – Junior (6'0, 197)
  • 2 Don Chapman – Senior (6'1, 187)
  • 9 Cam'Ron Kelly – Senior (6'1, 215)
  • 13 Obi Egbuna – Senior (5'10, 190)
  • 14 Dontae Balfour – Redshirt Freshman (6'2, 175)
  • 15 Ladaeson DeAndre Hollins – Senior (6'2, 199)
  • 16 DeAndre Boykins – Sophomore (5'11, 197)
  • 18 Christopher Holliday – Sophomore (6'3, 221)
  • 21 Dontavius Nash – Redshirt Freshman (6'1, 172)
  • 27 Giovanni Biggers – Senior (6'1, 193)
  • 28 Tymir Brown – Redshirt Freshman (5'10, 176)
  • 29 Storm Duck – Junior (6'0, 194)
  • 38 Val Edwards – Junior (6'2, 200)

Long Snappers

  • 61 Drew Little – Senior (5'11, 236)
  • 62 Spencer Triplett – Sophomore (6'3, 235)
  • North Carolina Tar Heels Football Roster as of 2/22/2022[2]

Offseason[]

Coaching Changes[]

The Tar Heels finished a disappointing 6–7 in 2021, after being ranked inside the top ten to begin the season. Immediately following the season-ending loss to South Carolina in the Duke's Mayo Bowl, head coach Mack Brown stated that changes needed to be made, though did not specify at that time whether any coaches would be let go. A week later, on January 7, co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach Jay Bateman and special teams coordinator/outside linebackers coach Jovan Dewitt were let go from the coaching staff.[3][4]

The following day the school announced the hires of Gene Chizik and Charlton Warren to fill the vacant positions on social media. Chizik was named Assistant Head Coach for Defense, and Warren co-defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach. Both Chizik and Warren were on staff in Chapel Hill under former head coach Larry Fedora during the 2015 and 2016 seasons, and were instrumental in turning around a defense that had struggled mightily in the 2014 season, leading to a combined 19 wins during their first stints in Chapel Hill.[5]

Running backs coach Larry Porter was elevated to Special Teams Coordinator following Dewitt's departure, while continuing his responsibilities with running backs.

On February 28, 2022, a day before the beginning of the Tar Heels' spring practice, offensive line coach Stacy Searels left the team to take the same position with Georgia.[6]

The next day, as spring practice kicked off, it was reported by The Athletic's Bruce Feldman and other sources that the Tar Heels were targeting Louisville OL coach Jack Bicknell Jr. for the vacant position, though nothing official was announced by either school.[7] Carolina officially announced Bicknell's hiring on March 3, 2022.[8] Bicknell and offensive coordinator Phil Longo had previously worked together when they were at Ole Miss.

Departures[]

NFL Draft[]

Main article: 2022 NFL Draft

Several Tar Heels have declared for the 2022 NFL Draft. Cornerback Kyler McMichael, offensive linemen Jordan Tucker, Marcus McKethan, and Joshua Ezeudu, linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel and star quarterback Sam Howell all entered their names into the draft pool. Due to COVID-19, the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to all college athletes, and all could have returned for another year at Carolina. Sixth-year players Tomon Fox and Garrett Walston, and fifth-year running back Ty Chandler, will also enter the NFL Draft. All three players used the extra year of eligibility for the 2021 season.

Outgoing Transfers[]

Thirteen players elected to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal prior to the season.

Name No. Pos. Height Weight Hometown Year New school
Eugene Asante 7 LB 6'1" 220 Chantilly, VA Junior Auburn
Khafre Brown 1 WR 6'0" 190 Charlotte, NC Sophomore South Florida
Beau Corrales 15 WR 6'3" 210 Georgetown, TX Graduate† SMU
Stephen Gosnell 12 WR 6'1" 205 Pilot Mountain, NC Sophomore Virginia Tech
Josh Henderson 23 RB 5'11" 215 Princeton, NJ Junior Indiana
Tyrone Hopper 42 LB 6'4" 245 Roswell, GA Graduate† Missouri
Trey Morrison 4 DB 5'9" 190 Norcross, GA Graduate† Oklahoma
Alex Nobles 97 LB 6'2" 250 Rocky Mount, NC Senior[3] TBD
Clyde Pinder 55 DL 6'0" 300 Seffner, FL Sophomore South Florida
Cameron Roseman-Sinclair 3 DB 5'11" 180 Charlotte, NC Redshirt Sophomore TBD
Emery Simmons 0 WR 6'1" 195 Hope Mills, NC Junior Indiana
Trevion Stevenson 26 LB 6'4" 240 Hampton, VA Redshirt Freshman Norfolk State
Kristian Varner 93 DL 6'6" 300 Hiram, GA Sophomore Georgia Southern

† Elected to use extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA in response to COVID-19.

^ Walk-on

Additions[]

Incoming Transfers[]

Name No. Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Prev. school
Corey Gaynor 65 OL 6'4" 308 Graduate Parkland, FL Miami (FL)
Spencer Rolland
OL 6'6" 285 Graduate Saint Paul, MN Harvard
Noah Taylor 7 OLB 6'5" 235 Graduate Silver Spring, MD Virginia

Recruiting Class[]

North Carolina signed 17 players in the class of 2022. The Tar Heels' class finished 10th in both the 247Sports and Rivals rankings. Nine signees were ranked in the final ESPN 300 top prospect list.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Zach Rice
OL 		Lynchburg, VA Liberty Christian Academy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 285 lb (129 kg) Oct 21, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 92
Travis Shaw
DL 		Greensboro, NC Grimsley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 310 lb (140 kg) Aug 21, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 86
Tychaun Chapman
WR 		Virginia Beach, VA Landstown 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Dec 19, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 84
Andre Greene Jr.
WR 		Richmond, VA St. Christopher's 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Nov 17, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 84
George Pettaway
RB 		Suffolk, VA Nansemond-Suffolk Academy 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sep 22, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 84
Sebastian Cheeks
LB 		Evanston, IL Evanston Township 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jul 28, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 83
Omarion Hampton
RB 		Clayton, NC Cleveland 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jul 22, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 82
Tayon Holloway
DB 		Virginia Beach, VA Green Run 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Dec 25, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 81
Malaki Hamrick
EDGE 		Shelby, NC Shelby 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Feb 26, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 81
Marcus Allen
DB 		Marietta, GA Walton 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jun 30, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 80
Deuce Caldwell
LB 		Mauldin, SC Mauldin 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jun 25, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 78
Beau Atkinson
EDGE 		Raleigh, NC Leesville Road 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jun 16, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 78
Bryson Jennings
EDGE 		Midlothian, VA Clover Hill 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (100 kg) Jul 15, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 78
Trevyon Green
OL 		Colonial Heights, VA Life Christian Academy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 340 lb (150 kg) Jan 21, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 78
Conner Harrell
QB 		Alabaster, AL Thompson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jul 4, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 77
Will Hardy
DB 		Norcross, GA Greater Atlanta Christian 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Dec 13, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 77
Justin Kanyuk
OL 		Bethel Park, PA Bethlehem Catholic 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 290 lb (130 kg) Jun 27, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 76
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: #10  247Sports: #10
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Rivals commits". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  • "ESPN commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  • "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 2, 2022.

Preseason[]

Award Watch Lists[]

Schedule[]

Main article: 2022 Atlantic Coast Conference football season
DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResult
August 27TBD*
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
TBD
September 3TBDat *
TBD
September 10TBDat *
TBD
September 24TBDNotre Dame*
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
TBD
October 1TBDVirginia Tech
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
TBD
October 8TBDat Miami (FL)
  • Hard Rock Stadium
  • Miami Gardens, FL
TBD
October 15TBDat Duke
TBD
October 29TBDPittsburgh
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
TBD
November 5TBDat Virginia
TBD
November 12TBDat
TBD
November 19TBD
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
TBD
November 25TBDNC State
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry)
TBD
  • *Non-conference game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Source:[9]


Rankings[]

Further information:
Ranking movements
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP
Coaches
CFPNot releasedNot released


Notes[]

^ Warren and Thigpen are officially co-coordinators, but will serve under Chizik, the Assistant Head Coach for Defense.

References[]

  1. ^ "Football Coaches". University of North Carolina Athletics.
  2. ^ "2022 Football Roster". goheels.com. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  3. ^ Straka, Dean (January 7, 2022). "North Carolina parting ways with defensive coordinator Jay Bateman after three seasons, per reports". 247Sports.com.
  4. ^ Barnes, Greg (January 7, 2022). "BREAKING: UNC OLB/ST Coach Jovan Dewitt Not Returning in 2022". InsideCarolina.
  5. ^ "Carolina Football Adds Chizik, Warren To Defensive Staff". GoHeels.com. January 8, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  6. ^ Barnes, Greg (February 28, 2022). "OL Coach Stacy Searels Leaving UNC for Georgia". InsideCarolina. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  7. ^ Bruce Feldman [@BruceFeldmanCFB] (March 1, 2022). "SOURCE: Louisville OL coach Jack Bicknell Jr. is expected to become the new O-line coach at UNC..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Carolina Football [@UNCFootball] (March 3, 2022). "Join us in welcoming new offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. to the Carolina football family" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ^ "2022 North Carolina Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com.
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