In just one week’s time the UNC football team will be in Charlotte for their season opener against South Carolina.

Under the lights at Bank of America Stadium and nationally televised on ESPN, the Tar Heel defense – led by senior linebackers Jeff Schoettmer and Shakeel Rashad – will have a prime opportunity to let the cameras capture their good side in the first game under new defensive coordinator Gene Chizik.

The complete overhaul of the team’s defense, which has carried on all throughout the offseason, has asked numerous players to take on different roles and positions as they learn Chizik’s new scheme. During that process, Head Coach Larry Fedora showered praise on his senior leaders for their efforts in trying to make the transition a success.

“There’s two guys right now, and that’s Jeff Schoettmer and Shakeel Rashad,” Fedora said recently at the team’s media day. “I mean, those guys right now, they’re giving everything they’ve got in what [Chizik] expects from them in practice, meetings, their mentalities–everything they’re doing.”

Although Chizik might be new in Chapel Hill, he’s not blind to the fact that there will be growing pains trying to turn around a defense that allowed more points per game than all but nine of the 128 NCAA Division I teams a year ago. Should this group run into struggles this season, he expects Schoettmer and Rashad to work together in order to find the solutions.

Senior Jeff Schoettmer has been a fixture in the Tar Heel defense throughout his entire career. (Elliot Rubin)

Senior Jeff Schoettmer has been a fixture in the Tar Heel defense throughout his career. (Elliot Rubin)

“Those guys have to be in a position when things aren’t going good to step up to the plate,” Chizik said after practice on Wednesday. “We’re gonna have some ups and downs in a game—just like we are the whole year. And that’s where they gotta step up to the plate and be the voice on the field.”

Having built a close relationship during their three years on campus together, Schoettmer and Rashad have certainly learned each other’s strengths and weaknesses. So when it comes to making the type of vocal impact on the team that Chizik is looking for, Schoettmer expects he and his buddy will each contribute in their own way.

“I think I’m more the vocal leader on the field, and he’s more the guy that rallies everyone together off the field,” Schoettmer says. “We kinda complement each other real well, in that sense.

“But he’s not afraid to speak up on the field as well. If he sees something from the sideline, he’s always the first one to come to me and point out ‘Hey Schoett, this is what they’re doing, this is what we need to be doing’, and I’m the guy that relays the message to the rest of the defense.”

As the middle linebacker, Schoettmer is the man who quarterbacks that side of the ball–something that’s always been his job in his time as a Tar Heel.

Rashad, on the other hand, has spent his offseason adjusting to a brand new role playing as a traditional outside linebacker after three years as a hybrid defensive end under the old coaching regime.

“It was a big change for me,” Rashad said. “I had to change my size and I had to change how I think in certain situations.”

The man they call "Shakkie Robinson" is transitioning well to his new role as a full-time outside linebacker. (UNC Athletics)

The man they call “Shakkie Robinson” (42) is transitioning well to his new role as a full-time outside linebacker. (UNC Athletics)

After shedding 10 pounds, he and Schoettmer are now each listed at 6-foot-2-inches and 235 pounds–making them just about clones of one another. The only thing Rashad needs to be more like Schoettmer at this point is a long blonde mane atop his head–something that is highly unlikely to ever happen.

But so far he’s done exceptionally well with the position switch, saying that, “It’s been fairly smooth–with the guys like Jeff [Schoettmer] at linebacker helping me out, with our whole coaching staff helping me out, helping me learn it.

“A lot of people had to change positions. A lot of guys are learning new stuff, and everyone’s there to help out with it.”

Since last season concluded with a disappointing 40-21 loss to Rutgers in the bowl game, much of the talk about this football team has centered on its defensive shortcomings—something Schoettmer is itching to silence.

“For the past eight, nine months we’ve been hearing all the negative things about last year, and how bad we were as a defense,” Schoettmer said Wednesday. “So that’s kind of lit a fire underneath us. We understand that we’re a completely new defense.”

Rashad, who wears number 42 and sports the nickname “Shakkie Robinson” to match, is just as excited for this group to get started in its attempt at redemption next week.

“All over the locker room, all over the stadium, people are excited,” Rashad said about next week’s opener. “It’s a big game. We feel like we’ve got a lot to prove, and it’s a great stage to do it on. To come out and just say ‘Hey, North Carolina defense. We’re back.’ “