UNC’s Chazz Surratt goes to the Vikings in the NFL Draft
The Minnesota Vikings picked North Carolina linebacker Chazz Surratt in the third round of the NFL Draft on Friday night.
The 6-foot-2, 229-pound native of Denver, N.C., is the second Tar Heel taken in the draft. Running back Javonte Williams was picked in the second round by Denver.
Surratt had as dramatic a position change as anyone who will be drafted. He played quarterback his first two seasons at UNC, and, if not for the coaching change, his football career may have ended with college. Instead, he blossomed at linebacker, leading the Tar Heels in tackles the past two seasons.
UNC coach Mack Brown recalled when he was hired, he was excited that Surratt was going to be in the competition for quarterback. But he said Surratt had other ideas.
“I get here and he comes to see me and says, ‘Coach, I want to play linebacker,’ and I said, ‘Well, we need a quarterback,’” Brown told reporters last month before UNC’s pro day. “And he said, ‘I want to play in the NFL. That’s my dream and I have a lot better chance to play in the NFL at linebacker than I do quarterback.’”
Surratt’s words turned out to be prophetic. He was first team All-ACC at linebacker both seasons, finishing as the runner up for ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. He had the Heels’ defensive play of the season as a junior, when he intercepted a pass at the goal line to preserve a win over rival Duke.
The 2021 NFL draft will be a special time for Surratt’s family as his brother, Sage, played wide receiver for Wake Forest and will likely be picked also.