By R.L. Bynum
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — Timir Hickman-Collins played only 15 defensive snaps in North Carolina’s 38–21 victory at UConn on Saturday, but the linebacker made them count more than anyone else on the roster, according to Pro Football Focus.
His 93.7 defensive grade was the highest on the team, built on a 90.3 coverage mark, an 80.8 pass-rush grade, a 76.4 tackling grade and a 73.2 run-defense grade. UConn targeted him twice on passes, and he allowed no catches; he also returned an interception for a touchdown, and he forced a fumble.
The defensive front was just as effective.
Defensive tackle Leroy Jackson graded out at 83.5 over 38 snaps, with an 84.6 run-defense grade, three tackles, three assists and two stops. Melkart Abou Jaoude (72.8) led the team with five pressures, including a sack, a hit and three hurries, while Peyton Seelmann (72.1) recorded two sacks and a 79.5 pass-rush grade. Xavier Lewis (71.7) added four pressures, a 16.7-point improvement from the 55.0 he posted against Miami. As a group, North Carolina pressured UConn 22 times and finished with three sacks.
The plan against UConn quarterback Osborne was to keep him in the pocket and trust the rush to get home.
“We knew he was a running quarterback. He’s a very good quarterback, but we wanted to keep it in the pocket, and we knew our [pass rush] was going to get there eventually, so we just kept on going at it,” Hickman-Collins said.
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Derek McDonald also bounced back. After a season-low 50.1 grade against Miami, the middle linebacker earned a 63.8 with an 81.5 tackling grade, five tackles, two assists and three hurries.
In the secondary, safety Javion Butts (82.7) and cornerback Jalon Thompson (80.4) had the best coverage numbers. Butts, who played 44 snaps and earned an 84.1 coverage grade, was targeted three times and gave up one catch for 4 yards. Thompson (79.9 coverage) was targeted twice and allowed one reception for 10 yards.
Greg Smith added a 72.1 overall grade over 62 snaps. UConn completed 17 of 34 targets (50.0%) for 245 yards, though cornerbacks Jaiden Patterson (51.0) and Kaleb Cost (55.9) were targeted seven times each, and Kenton Dopson III (39.8) had the lowest grade on the defense.
On offense, running back Benjamin Hall posted the highest grade among North Carolina’s regular contributors at 80.7. He earned an 85.6 run grade and an 87.5 passing-game grade over 25 snaps. Jaden Jefferson’s 82.1 was the top mark on the offense, but came on a single snap. Demon June (70.4) and Jaylen McGill (67.2) also graded well in the backfield rotation.
Quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. earned a 72.9 offensive grade after completing 29 of 38 passes (76.3%) for 255 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He averaged 2.46 seconds to throw and finished with a 109.0 NFL passer rating. From a clean pocket, he completed 21 of 27 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns with a 77.6 grade. UConn pressured him on 14 dropbacks, and his grade dropped to 58.6 in those situations.
Edwards was at his best when he stayed out of play action. He completed 19 of 24 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown with an 89.2 grade on non-play-action throws. On play-action throws, he went 10 of 14 for 69 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, with a 37.2 grade.
Most of his production came near the line of scrimmage. He completed 10 of 11 passes behind it for 99 yards and 16 of 19 passes from 0–9 yards for 115 yards and two touchdowns (80.2 grade), but only one of his four attempts between the numbers at 10–19 yards connected.
Tight end Jelani Thurman said the offense’s growth came from correcting early-season mistakes.
“As the season progressed and as we went back and went to the drawing board, we were able to fix things and pick our passing game up, but also our running game and all aspects of the game,” Thurman said.
Thurman’s 72.2 grade over 65 snaps included a 79.7 mark as a receiver. Carson Sneed (69.3) had a 75.7 receiving grade in 20 snaps, and Jordan Shipp (65.9) posted a 67.4 receiving grade over 72 snaps.
Up front, tackle Andrew Threatt (81.3) and guard Cristian Alvarez (73.2) had the top pass-blocking grades among the starters, and Aidan Banfield (74.7) was strong in pass protection in limited snaps.
Boomer Helton’s 78.3 run-blocking grade over 19 snaps was the best on the team. Left tackle Jordan Hall improved to 59.3 after a season-low 54.8 against Miami, while Trech Kekahuna fell to 53.3 after a season-high 71.4 the week before.
Thurman said the blocking is the key to the offense’s ceiling. “If we make 100% of our blocks, we can look out for a good outcome,” he said.
Snap counts
Offense
| Starters | Pos. | Snaps | Offensive grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Threatt | RT | 76 | 54.4 |
| Jordan Hall | LT | 76 | 59.3 |
| Billy Edwards Jr. | WB | 76 | 72.9 |
| Christo Kelly | C | 76 | 61.5 |
| Shaq McRoy | RT | 75 | 46.6 |
| Jordan Shipp | QB | 72 | 65.9 |
| Cristian Alvarez | RG | 69 | 59.9 |
| Jelani Thurman | TE | 65 | 72.2 |
| Boomer Helton | LWR | 48 | 62.7 |
| Jaylen McGill | RB | 22 | 67.2 |
| Jordan Washington | TE | 12 | 44.6 |
| Reserves | Pos. | Snaps | Offensive grade |
| Trech Kekahuna | WR | 49 | 53.3 |
| Demon June | RB | 29 | 67.2 |
| Benjamin Hall | RB | 25 | 80.7 |
| Mason Humphrey | WR | 23 | 53.0 |
| Carson Sneed | TE | 20 | 69.3 |
| Shamar Easter | TE | 10 | 65.2 |
| Aidan Banfield | LG | 7 | 66.2 |
| Peter Pesansky | RB | 4 | 59.3 |
| Jaden Jefferson | WR | 1 | 82.1 |
| Eidan Buchanan | RG | 1 | 60.0 |
Defense
| Starters | Pos. | Snaps | Defensive grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jaiden Patterson | RCB | 67 | 51.9 |
| Peyton Seelmann | WLB | 63 | 72.1 |
| Greg Smith | FS | 62 | 72.1 |
| Kaleb Cost | SCB | 62 | 55.9 |
| Melkart Abou Jaoude | RE | 57 | 72.8 |
| Derek McDonald | MLB | 56 | 63.8 |
| Jaylen Harvey | LE | 52 | 65.4 |
| Coleman Bryson | FS | 41 | 68.4 |
| Leroy Jackson | RT | 38 | 83.5 |
| Isaiah Johnson | NT | 38 | 67.9 |
| Calvin Thomas | ROLB | 12 | 71.1 |
| Reserves | Pos. | Snaps | Defensive grade |
| Javion Butts | FS | 44 | 82.7 |
| Xavier Lewis | LT | 36 | 71.7 |
| Jalon Thompson | LCB | 32 | 80.4 |
| Kenton Dopson III | LCB | 20 | 39.8 |
| Timir Hickman-Collins | WLB | 15 | 93.7 |
| Donovan Hoilette Jr. | LE | 13 | 69.4 |
| Calvin Thomas | ROLB | 12 | 71.1 |
| Nicco Maggio | NT | 9 | 70.6 |
| David Jackson III | LOLB | 8 | 68.4 |
| Emmanuel Nwaiwu | LOLB | 7 | 61.9 |
| Ade Willie | SCB | 5 | 62.6 |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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