North Carolina football is rich with Charlotte-area talent
| North Carolina Athletics |
| North Carolina State linebacker Power Echols (right), a Chambers High School graduate, will take over the leadership role on the Tar Heels' defense as a senior. |
Power Echols has the North Carolina defense under his control.
The 6-foot, 225-pound linebacker is ready to take over as the primary leader after recording 102 tackles, four quarterback pressures, two forced fumbles and an interception as a junior. His plan is simple: lead by example.
“First of all, to lead, you have to follow first,” Echols said. “There's been a lot of people that have come before me that have come before me. I've always been on the younger side in my career, so it's big for me to look up to older people at a young age and see how they lead. So before I ask someone to do something, I want them to see me do it myself. I never ask someone to do something that I wouldn't do myself.”
One of the players Echols looked up to a season ago was fellow linebacker Cedric Gray, now with the Tennessee Titans. Now, Echols is in charge of the team's defense and feels ready for the task.
“The most difficult thing was [Gray] “I've been a very vocal leader,” Echols said, “I've always been kind of a lead by example type, but I'm trying to be more vocal and have a space to speak up and be more vocal, just advocating for what needs to be done and really just being myself.”
Along with Echols, the Tar Heels have several players from the Charlotte area, including freshman wide receiver Jordan Shipp (Providence Day) who caught the eye of head coach Mack Brown. Brown said the receiver corps has great depth, but Shipp might have the best handle on the team.
“I'm very excited about not only Jordan Shipp, but also Javarius Green (Crest) and Alex Taylor (Greensboro Grimsley),” Brown said. [freshmen] Christian Hamilton (Hickory Ridge) hasn't played much either. They have some older guys with really good games: Nate McCollum, JJ Jones, Kobe Paysall. The older guys need to take control and the younger guys need to develop. But Shipp has great handles. He runs really good routes and is a great player. [Jones]He has to learn from him.”
The Tar Heels have a new defensive coordinator in Geoff Collins, who was the head coach at Georgia Tech for four years before joining the North Carolina staff, and Brown and Echols said the team has embraced the change well and has a good relationship with Collins.
“(Collins) has energy,” Brown said. “He's a guy that brings guys together. He was successful at the highest level as a defensive coordinator at both Mississippi State and Florida and did a great job at Temple. When we interviewed him, he'd watched all of (our) games. He knew what our players did that season and he knew the players' names. He's a fun guy and I'm excited to get started.”
“Coach Collins brings a different passion and edge to practice every day,” Echols said. “He's someone who guides his players and truly cares about them. I don't think it's hard to give your all to a guy like him.”
