North Carolina outside linebackers coach Ty Nichols had plenty to say Monday as the Tar Heels turn their attention to Clemson and a trip into Death Valley on Saturday.
For Nichols, the focus is less on the setting itself and more on getting his room ready to handle it. UNC is headed into one of the sport’s toughest road environments, and the numbers reflect how difficult that trip has been: the Tar Heels are 7-20 all time at Clemson, with their last win there coming in 2001.
When asked how he prepares his players for that kind of atmosphere, Nichols pointed straight to the basics.
“For us in the room, it's just about going back to the preparation, the pre-snap process: what are they looking at, where are my keys?” he said.
“The noise is the noise; we can't do anything about the noise, but we can get them dialed into it to block out the extra stuff outside of that. As far as the crowd noise and stuff, that's a fun gameday environment for our guys to go get to play in.”
Nichols is in his second season leading the outside linebackers, and the early returns have been strong. The Tar Heels have been getting after quarterbacks, with Jaylen Harvey and Melkart Abou Jaoude standing out as edge rushers who spend plenty of time working with the outside linebackers.
He also had praise for his coaching partner on the defensive side, inside linebackers coach Jamie Collins, a former NFL linebacker who won a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots under Bill Belichick. Collins, too, is in his second year on UNC’s staff, and Nichols clearly enjoys the collaboration.
“As long as I don't stand next to him at practice, it's great,” Nichols joked after being asked what Collins is like to coach with. “One of the most athletic guys I know, an All-Pro linebacker. It's awesome to get to pick his brain, just being a player in this system.
“He was the adjuster for the Patriots: he played a lot of the outside linebacker role as long as inside linebacker. Any time you can be around somebody who is that elite at what they did … it helps me grow my game as well.”
Nichols also spoke about defensive lineman Isaiah Johnson, whom he knew well from his time at Arizona. Johnson spent his first two seasons with the Wildcats before transferring to UNC, and Nichols had a direct line on his value because he served as a graduate assistant and analyst working with linebackers and defensive linemen at Arizona from 2022-24.
“Big Zay, I love that guy,” Nichols said. “Recruited him out of high school when he was [at Arizona], so I've known him since he was 17 years old. Just a really great kid who works hard.
“During my time at Arizona, I spent a lot of time with him because he was on the scout team early on there. I knew what he was: super powerful, explosive, a hardworking guy. When we got here to UNC and he entered his name in the transfer portal, I knew he'd be a great fit here.”
With defensive coordinator Steve Belichick on medical leave, head coach Bill Belichick has taken over defensive playcalling. Nichols said that hasn’t changed the level of hands-on coaching from the head coach, because that’s simply how he operates.
“You can't keep coach [Bill] Belichick off the field from coaching; that's who he is,” Nichols said. “That's what he does. That's the best part about being around him: he'll coach anybody on the field from offense to defense to every position.”
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