UNC football welcomes back anchor of its d-line. Ray Vohasek will play final season

North Carolina nose tackle Ray Vohasek revealed on Monday that he’s returning for a final season. Vohasek’s news means the Tar Heels will bring back nine defensive starters from the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

Vohasek has started a combined 24 games the past two seasons. Last year, he had 38 tackles, four tackles for loss and one quarterback sack. He initially thought he’d be preparing for the NFL draft now, but instead he decided to take advantage of the NCAA eligibility waiver for another season in Chapel Hill.

“I’ve played through some pain this year and had some issues with my body and that kind of weighed into my process of making this decision of coming back,” Vohasek said. “I’m super excited to be back in Chapel Hill and I’m really excited about what this defense has and what my room has with the young guys and everything like that.”

Vohasek said he likes the potential of the Heels’ defensive line with All-ACC second team tackle Myles Murphy, sophomores Jahvaree Ritzie and Keeshawn Silver and incoming freshman Travis

Shaw, a five-star recruit from Greensboro.

“The way the season went, obviously I don’t think anyone was happy with that, the team, fans, whatever,” Vohasek said. “I would like to win this division and leave Carolina on a good term. And really kind of bring back what Carolina was known for: having a great defensive line and dominating upfront as a unit.”

Vohasek is open to having his role changed after UNC parted ways with former coordinator Jay Bateman and brought back Gene Chizik to run the defense.

“All the guys that I know that have played for him, everyone speaks of him in very high regard and I’m a big fan of the system that he runs,” Vohasek said. “His resume, I mean it speaks for itself with two national championships... He knows what it takes to win the big games so it was a big part in that and I’m super excited to be part of his defense.”

This story was originally published February 7, 2022 at 6:09 PM.

C.L. Brown

The News & Observer

C.L. Brown covers the University of North Carolina for The News & Observer. Brown brings more than two decades of reporting experience including stints as the beat writer on Indiana University and the University of Louisville. After a long stay at the Louisville Courier-Journal, where he earned an APSE award, he’s had stops at ESPN.com, The Athletic and even tried his hand at running his own website, clbrownhoops.com.