CHAPEL HILL, N.C. --- Communication issues plagued the North Carolina offensive line and led to six sacks and 13 quarterback hurries in Friday night's 17-10 loss to Virginia Tech. On Monday, UNC head coach Mack Brown and offensive coordinator Phil Longo cited the absence of starting center Brian Anderson and the failed experiment of moving Asim Richards to left guard and Joshua Ezeudu to left tackle as reasons for Carolina's struggles.
The two issues are connected. With Richards moving to guard, he played next to Quiron Johnson, who received his second career start at center. The two had only worked together for a fews weeks which resulted in communication issues and the aforementioned breakdowns in protection against an active Virginia Tech defensive line.
"With Brian Anderson out we were not the same," Brown said. "We had miscommunication on the offensive line. We moved Asim Richards in and then he and Q had not worked together as much, so we had some miscommunication issues. And we thought Virginia Tech's crowd was a factor. They did a super job in making it hard to hear."
Richards had never played guard before in college and all of a sudden he was starting at left guard in the season opener in front of one of the loudest crowd in his career to date. Brown said the move was made to put Ezeudu in a position to shine. "I think our best offensive lineman is Josh Ezeudu and I thought he would be a superstar at tackle," Brown said, owning the decision to have Richards and Ezeudu swap positions.
"We did not play well on the offensive line. They played great last year at times. And Brian Anderson is our leader. He is the most vocal leader. Josh Ezeudu is some(what) of a leader. And we really missed Brian. We missed him a bunch. That is not an excuse, that is a fact. So we need him back. Q had only played offensive center one time and I was the reason we moved Josh to tackle and Asim Richards to guard a couple of weeks ago. We thought Brian was going to play and then they hadn't worked together as much and it was really loud. We'll probably go back and move Josh inside and Asim back outside until at least Brian gets back because I think that was part of the communication issues. That is my fault."
Longo's thoughts echoed his head coach. They sorely missed Anderson as a leader and communicator. Anderson was available but only played two snaps at center vs. the Hokies.
"I think Brian Anderson not playing was obviously an issue for us..." Longo said. "I think the youth and the injuries play a part, if I'm just being honest about it. When you have injuries, you have to move some people around. We moved Asim and (Ezeudu) around last week. We had (Quiron Johnson) playing center, he's usually the backup center and rotating guard. So I think when you do that, you need to be prepared. You've got guys out of position or playing different positions than they’re used to. And we just have to be prepared to do that. I think that's the job of our staff to make sure that we're where we need to be mentally before the game on the weekend."
Johnson played 142 snaps at center in 2020, 84 of which came in a start against Wake Forest. The former walk-on played 117 snaps at guard last season. The Pro Football Focus grades indicated that Johnson and Richards were a major liability in the interior of the offensive line for North Carolina vs. Virginia Tech.
Johnson finished with a 48.4 pass-blocking grade and 51.7 run-blocking grade (out of 100). Richards had a 39.7 pass blocking and 45.5 run-blocking. For comparison purposes, Ezeudu notched a 75.8 pass-blocking grade and a 84.8 run-blocking grade and starting right tackle Jordan Tucker had a 81.8 pass blocking and 71.7 run-blocking grade.
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September 07, 2021 at 02:40AM
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UNC Offensive Line Must Correct Communication Issues After Opening Struggles - 247Sports
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