UNC football, 'balling in Carolina blue,' racks up sacks with potent pass rush vs Stanford
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CHAPEL HILL — As UNC football’s starting quarterback, Gio Lopez doesn’t have to worry about being sacked by defensive lineman Melkart Abou-Jaoude and linebacker Tyler Thompson.
The red jersey saves Lopez in those situations, but he still hears the footsteps of that duo at the Bill Koman Practice Complex.
“There’s a couple of times I drop back to throw the ball and look to my left and I’m like, ‘Oh, probably wouldn’t have gotten that one off.’ It’s happened a couple times,” Lopez said with a smile after the Tar Heels’ 20-15 win against Stanford on Nov. 8 at Kenan Stadium.
Elijah Brown, the Cardinal’s redshirt freshman quarterback, wasn’t so lucky against Abou-Jaoude and Thompson. UNC (4-5, 2-3 ACC) had a season-high nine sacks, including six from that duo, vs. Stanford (3-7, 2-5).
“Forty on the field, one in my heart. Nine on the field, one in my heart,” UNC receiver Jordan Shipp said, referencing the jersey numbers of Thompson (40) and Abou-Jaoude (9).
“. … Them boys balling in Carolina blue, they’re No. 1 for me.”
Abou-Jaoude has eight sacks of UNC’s 18 sacks in the last three games. Thompson, who didn’t have a sack before recording two sacks at Cal, has five in UNC’s latest three-game stretch.
UNC coach Bill Belichick has consistently referred to Abou-Jaoude as one of the Tar Heels’ hardest workers. And, like Lopez, Belichick says Thompson is “a hard guy to block in practice” on a day-to-day basis.
“He’s really worked hard on his pass rush. He’s gotten a lot stronger,” Belichick said. “. … He’s explosive, he’s strong, and his techniques rushing the passer are something that he’s refined and worked out.”
When the Tar Heels are in that pinning-their-ears-back mode as a defensive line, linebacker Khmori House said “everyone is yelling” and encouraging one another to one-up the previous accomplishment.
“Go get him again, that’s what we’re saying,” House said. “Go get him again. Try to get more sacks. Try to get 10 next game.”
Thompson, Abou-Jaoude and the rest of the UNC defense will get their shot to reach that mark at Wake Forest on Nov. 15 in Winston-Salem.
Rodd Baxley covers North Carolina Tar Heels athletics for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding UNC? Send them to rbaxley@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: UNC football players who keyed sack party in win vs Stanford
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