By R.L. Bynum

CHAPEL HILL — UNC’s 35–3 win over East Tennessee State on Saturday gave Coach Bill Belichick the chance to play deep into his roster, and the snap counts and Pro Football Focus ratings from the game show just how far that rotation extended on both sides of the ball.

On offense, no player finished with a higher grade than tight end Jelani Thurman, who posted a 94.2 rating over 34 snaps, the best mark on the team by a wide margin. Thurman’s offensive rating through two games of 90.6 also leads the team, and is third among tight ends in the country.

Thurman’s day matched his production on the field, where he caught four passes for 71 yards and a touchdown.

Belichick also singled out Thurman’s growing role in the passing game, noting how much space a tight end of his size can create against a defense unaccustomed to covering it.

“It’s made a huge difference. Jelani’s been a real weapon for us,” Belichick said. “Anytime you get a good player in the middle of the field where he has the options to go down the field or go across or go outside, he just has a lot more space to work in than a permanent receiver does, and obviously he’s a big target, and he’s good with his hands.”

Behind Thurman, wide receiver C.J. Sadler started and graded out at 80.2 over 23 snaps, and quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. finished at 78.1 over 38 snaps in his three quarters of work before giving way to Miles O’Neill.

Thurman also led the team in run blocking grade at 83.5, followed by reserve left guard Trey Blue at 80.9, with a 75.3 overall rating in 13 snaps.

The starting offensive line saw its share of playing time and production.

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Left guard Andrew Threatt led the starting five with a 75.6 rating over 42 snaps, while center Christo Kelly (71.4) and right tackle Shaq McRoy (70.9) rounded out a group that helped UNC pile up 99 yards on one scoring drive, 92 yards on another and finish with a lopsided edge in total offense. Left tackle Jordan Hall, in 42 snaps, had the lowest grade among the starting offensive linemen at 64.3.

Reserve left guard Cristian Alvarez and McRoy led the team in pass-blocking grade at 83.6 each.

Jaylen McGill and Demon June, who shared time in the backfield with 17 and 14 snaps respectively off the bench, both finished at 72.7. June’s three touchdowns on just seven carries made him one of the more efficient backs on the roster even before factoring in the grade, and his snap count shows how little the coaching staff needed to lean on him to get that kind of production.

Given that June was so efficient running, you may wonder why he didn’t get more snaps. One possible answer is his pass-blocking grade of 50.6, the lowest among running backs with double-digit snaps.

O’Neill, who was 3 of 6 passing for 22 yards with an 80.8 passer rating, finished at 53.3 over 17 snaps, the lowest mark among the offensive reserves who played more than a few snaps.

On defense, the top performers were concentrated up front.

Defensive end Jaylen Harvey (top photo) graded out at 89.1 over 36 snaps, the best mark among the starters, and nose tackle Xavier Lewis was close behind at 86.5 over 40 snaps. Both combined for two sacks apiece, and their pressure up front was part of what allowed Carolina to extend its scoreless streak to six quarters before giving up a fourth-quarter field goal.

Safety Greg Smith, who intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble, turned in a 76.9 rating over 42 snaps, while nose tackle Nicco Maggio graded at 75.0 over 31 snaps.

Among the reserves, defensive tackle Isaiah Johnson stood out with an 87.4 rating over 27 snaps, a number that rivaled anything posted by the starters. Defensive end Leroy Jackson, who played 42 snaps in relief duty, finished at 78.6, and linebacker Peyton Seelmann, who led the team with 10 tackles and forced a fumble, graded at 77.1 over 31 snaps.

Seelman led the unit in run defense rating at 90.3, followed by Johnson at 90.1

That kind of production from players working in a rotational role reflects the depth Belichick has built on that side of the ball, particularly up front, where UNC was without an injured Melkart Abou Jaoude (right hand) for the game.

“I think the players that played in the first three quarters gave us a pretty solid effort,” Belichick said. “I think we definitely improved from last week in our execution, our communication, just in our ability to operate without some of the hiccups that we had in Ireland. That’s like it should be, and I think that’ll improve here over the next couple of weeks.”

Not every reserve had as smooth an afternoon.

Linebacker Calvin Thomas finished with the lowest grade on the team at 47.5 over 17 snaps, and DJ Forkpa was close behind at 47.2 over just four snaps, but the small sample size should be factored in.

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Snap counts, PFF ratings

Exclusively special teams

Player	Pos.	Snaps
Aeron Burrell	K	14
Gannon Burt	LS	8
Jacob Horvath		6
Jonah Rodriguez		6
Dujuan Davis		1
Jaden Jefferson		1
Rowan Byrne		1
Dayton Sneed		1

Photo by Daniel Walker