Veteran UNC linebacker Tomon Fox is poised to pass legend Lawrence Taylor’s sack mark
North Carolina linebacker Tomon Fox has heard most of the stories of Lawrence Taylor’s undergraduate days in Chapel Hill, including the one about him allegedly throwing a vending machines off a sixth floor balcony.
Most of those tales are wild; some of them may even be true.
None of them take away from how dominant he was on the field.
And to be clear, when Fox says he wants to emulate Taylor, that’s not the part he’s talking about.
Fox is currently tied with Taylor on the Tar Heels’ career sack list with 21, fifth overall. Greg Ellis, who had 32.5 sacks from 1994-97 is the current leader. He’s followed by Julius Peppers, who had 30.5 sacks; and Marcus Jones and Quinton Coples, who are tied for third with 24.
“It’s a great honor just to be mentioned with him,” Fox said. “He changed the game of football, the defensive side of football, singlehandedly. I want to be able to have that same kind of impact that he had.”
Understanding his impact
That’s the part UNC coach Mack Brown is trying to get Fox to truly understand: the impact.
Brown has been stressing the need for Carolina to get quarterback sacks and pressure from its front four without always having to bring extra bodies or blitzing.
Fox could be a game changer in that respect. But most of the Tar Heels don’t go tracking down footage of players — even Hall of Famers like Taylor — whose careers ended before they were born.
“We’ve tried to help him (understand), I’m not sure he does even though Lawrence is a first-round pick and his picture, it’s huge in our locker room,” Brown said. “When he breaks that record, I hope it’s soon, we’ll have Lawrence call him and talk to him. We’re actually going to show him some L.T. video from Carolina and from the NFL between now and the Virginia Tech game.”
Taylor was first on the list with 21 career sacks when he left UNC in 1980 to begin his career with the New York Giants. He did it on the strength of a 16-sack season in 1980 — a school record that still stands. Fox could leave Chapel Hill, as Taylor did, at the top of the list if he can produce a career-best 12 sacks this season.
In the right position
Fox, who had a career-high seven sacks last season, believes the defense will be able to turn up the pressure on offenses thanks to better depth on the defensive line and inside linebackers.
“We’re gonna have way more depth than we ever had in those two positions,” Fox said. “Last year, the inside linebackers we just had mostly (Jeremiah) Gemmel and Chazz (Surratt) playing the entire season. But now I can even see some of the freshmen getting some reps this year just because they’re able to catch on quick to the plays and they’re very athletic people. As far as the d-line we have a lot more size this year, a lot more depth so then some of the older guys upfront they’ll be able to rotate more.”
Fox speaks of older guys like he isn’t the oldest. He’s in a position to move up the sacks chart because he decided not to leave Carolina with the rest of his graduating class. Fox took advantage of the NCAA eligibility waiver form last fall. Because of the uncertainty the COVID-19 pandemic had on the season, it essentially allowed a do-over for seniors like Fox. He’s now a graduate student, preparing to play his sixth season for the Heels. (Fox played just two games his freshman year in 2016 before a knee injury sidelined him the rest of the season.)
All of his experience has helped Fox to be part coach to the younger linebackers, like Desmond Evans behind him.
“Tomon Fox is a professional, right,” UNC defensive coordinator Jay Bateman said. “He shows up every day, he takes care of his body. He’s prepared. Physically he competes every day and so I think it’s very easy to be with the outside linebackers and say, ‘Hey, do it like Tomon.’”
Gemmel said Fox’s decision to return to school showed that he believes in this team.
“Tomon isn’t coming back just to come back,” Gemmel said. “He could have gotten picked up by a (NFL) team last year if he really wanted to. He decided to come back because all his years at Carolina, he wants to leave with some hardware, and I think that’s what we’re going to do this year.”
This story was originally published August 13, 2021 at 2:35 PM.