Why North Carolina edge rusher Beau Atkinson could have a breakout season

As a senior at Raleigh’s Leesville Road High, Beau Atkinson chose North Carolina over Miami and Michigan, a four-star recruit wanting to join Mack Brown’s football program at UNC.

Atkinson redshirted his freshman year, the defensive end looking to add weight and improve his mobility.

Atkinson did that, putting on 20 pounds. He played in all 13 games for the Tar Heels last season, getting his first real feel for college football – of being on the field with “live bullets flying,” as he put it.

Atkinson goes into his sophomore season listed as the backup to Des Evans. But the two are hotel roommates during fall camp – imagine two 6-foot-6, 265-pound guys crammed into one room – and may have hatched up a defensive plan of sorts in their off time.

What about Evans on one end and Atkinson on the other, with rush end Kaimon Rucker positioned at, say, linebacker? How about that threesome together?

“That would be an issue with me and Beau both out there. That would be crazy,” Evans said last week.

Not that Geoff Collins, the Heels’ new defensive coordinator, isn’t listening. He might have something like that in mind, too, for a few spot situations. Or not.

“That would be a pretty scary pass-rush look,” Atkinson said Saturday.

Evans, a senior, can see Atkinson getting more snaps and having a bigger impact on defense this season, even if some of those snaps might come at his expense.

“Beau’s worked very hard. He’s dedicated,” Evans said. “He’s going to be one of the top pass rushers to come to UNC, for real. I see that. I’m not going to lie.”

Pro Football Focus (PFF) rated Atkinson fourth among Power 5 freshman edge rushers in 2023 — Miami’s Reuben Bain Jr. had the highest grade. Atkinson had 229 defensive snaps, according to PFF; Evans, in comparison, had 571 snaps and Rucker 872.

Atkinson is one of those “motor-always-running” kind of players that coaches appreciate. On the first day of fall practice, No. 12 was as vocal as anyone at the Koman Practice Complex, loudly and enthusiastically urging on the defense.

“He’s very intense,” linebacker Amare Campbell said Saturday. “In the weight room he does these little pre-lift (routines) where he gets really amped up.

“He’s a great player. He’s 6-6, he can run, he can pretty much do anything. He’s a great athlete and he’s smart, very smart.”

Atkinson, an All-ACC Academic selection last year, said he continues to work on his explosiveness off the line. He’s agile and he’s quick, but wants to be quicker.

Atkinson said Collins’ defensive approach is “attack all the time,” which suits him and his football mentality. He said working with defensive line coach Ted Monachino also has helped him with the mental side of playing the position.

Monachino spent 16 years in the NFL, coaching such pass rushers as Terrell Suggs, Khalil Mack and Elvis Dumervil while winning a Super Bowl as a Baltimore Ravens assistant. He joined the UNC program as a defensive analyst in March 2023 but was elevated to defensive line coach for 2024.

“At times last year, like when I was first learning the defense, I may just learn my job,” Atkinson said. “Being able to understand what’s going on around me all the time, even on the back end, it can open up a lot more things, and he’s been very, very helpful with that.”