North Carolina is set to get a major piece of its defense back just in time for the season’s toughest home test.
Melkart Abou Jaoude is expected to be available Saturday at noon against No. 3 Notre Dame, according to multiple reports, with ESPN’s Pete Thamel first on the news. That gives the Tar Heels their top pass rusher for a matchup that will put real stress on a Carolina front trying to slow down one of the nation’s best teams.
Abou Jaoude had missed the last two games with a hand injury suffered in the opener against TCU in Dublin, where he still managed to register a sack. Without him, the Tar Heels’ defensive line - their most reliable unit through the first three games - had a harder time getting home, especially in the loss to Clemson.
Bill Belichick didn’t offer much detail on the injury during Monday’s press conference, but he did indicate the redshirt senior was moving in the right direction.
“Hopefully, he’ll be back out there soon … He’s getting better every day,” Belichick said.
Because Notre Dame is not an ACC opponent, North Carolina was not required to release an availability report.
The timing could hardly be better. Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr will be working against a Carolina defense that lines up in a 3-4, with Abou Jaoude and Jaylen Harvey coming off the edge and Xavier Lewis - who has six sacks and is third in the country - creating pressure from the interior.
Abou Jaoude’s return matters because of the kind of impact he’s already shown he can make. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound redshirt senior from Newton, N.J., transferred from Delaware last year and quickly became one of the ACC’s most disruptive defenders.
He led the league with 10½ sacks, added 12 tackles for loss and 47 total tackles, and earned second-team All-ACC recognition from both the coaches and the Associated Press. He was also the first Tar Heel to hit 10 sacks in a season since Kareem Martin in 2013.
His biggest surge came late in the year, when he piled up eight sacks over three games and picked up ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors after a two-sack, forced-fumble outing in a 27-10 win at Syracuse. Belichick has repeatedly pointed to the traits that make Abou Jaoude so valuable.
“Melkart is a little bit of a quieter guy, but very well respected because of his work ethic, his toughness and his consistency,” Belichick said last season.
How many snaps he’ll handle in his first game back is still unknown.
Saturday also opens a three-game run against undefeated opponents for North Carolina. After Notre Dame, the Tar Heels head to Pittsburgh, which improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the ACC after a 35-33 win Friday night at Virginia Tech.
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