NFL Draft prospect: North Carolina defensive lineman Jahvareer Ritzie

“Not many 300-pound men can make that play,”—UNC defensive coordinator Geoff Collins

When your defensive coordinator mentions you in a press conference, you’re playing well. When he wears you on his t-shirt, you’re doing something really special. 

Geoff Collins, a former ACC head coach now runs UNC’s defense, lifted the black hoodie he wore to his Week Two game-week press conference to display the “Ritzie: 5” t-shirt he had on underneath, in honor of pass rushing defensive lineman Jahvaree Ritzie. 

Needless to say, the 6-foot-4.5, 290-pound senior is close to his coordinator’s heart. 

“I thought he put on a show,” Collins said of Ritzie, who recorded three sacks in the Tar Heels’ opener and another two in the team’s second game. “He has tremendous ability. Tremendous young man. I’m happy for him that his production has matched his work ethic and matched his ability.”

Ritzie came to UNC in 2021, after enrolling early when COVID wiped out his senior season in high school. The four-star recruit picked the Tar Heels over Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, and Ohio State.

He’s gained 16 pounds in college without a significant loss of speed, which has put him into an odd tweener spot for the NFL. He’s listed as a defensive tackle, has taken every snap this year from a three-point stance and lines up against the center or a guard on most plays. However, he plays like an edge rusher. 

There’s very little in the way of filling gaps and clogging the middle in Ritzie’s game. He’s on the field for likely passing downs, not to stuff the run. Through four games this season, Ritzie has played 74% of passing downs for UNC’s defense (80 of 108 snaps) and just 49% of run downs (67 of 136). 

Ritzie is at his best when he doesn’t engage with the blocker in front of him. On the plays that make up his highlight film, he’s bouncing off blockers, reading the play as he floats along the line, then launching like a missile toward the ball. 

On one sack in the opener against Minnesota, Ritzie was double teamed, but neither blocker could lock him up, allowing him to disengage and peel off to the side, where he ran down the quarterback from behind on a rollout. 

“Not many 300-pound men can make that play,” Collins said. “Jahvaree has special ability.” 

Ritzie is double-teamed frequently, and he is often able to split the blocking tandem, squeezing between them. He has an excellent rip move, which seems to be his go-to, but he’s not afraid to string moves together. On one snap against the Gophers, he used a bull rush, rip and spin to get past a double team for a quarterback pressure.

That doesn’t mean he’s a speed guy who can’t knock heads. He also pressured the Minnesota quarterback by pushing the double team back to collapse the pocket on one snap. 

He’ll often rely on a quick burst of power to get his blocker moving back, which allows him to reach into his repertoire to find a way to create daylight and turn on the burners. Against Charlotte, he jerked the guard first to the left, then to the right before releasing to get to the quarterback for a sack. His other sack in that game came when he pushed the center back into the pocket, then used a spin move to meet the quarterback as he was bailing out to scramble.  

Despite his size and listed position, Ritzie struggles on power run plays. He was blown backward by the Minnesota line on a third-and-one plunge and blocked out of the frame by Ja’Quan Sprinkle, a freshman guard for NC Central, an FBS team. On the first play of the James Madison game—a long quarterback run to set up a score—Ritzie was blocked to the ground by sophomore Carter Sweazie. 

Ritzie has been praised for his work ethic and has clearly developed his array of pass rush moves while at UNC. His combination of size and speed will make him a valuable commodity in the NFL, for a staff that knows how to use him. His draft stock will be hurt, however, by the fact that he can’t just be plugged into an existing system as a defensive tackle or edge rusher. 

Right now, he’s likely headed for a late round selection or an undrafted free agent, where it will be critical to find the right situation, although if he continues to produce as a senior, he’ll definitely be able to improve his stock. He also seems a likely candidate to raise eyebrows during combine and workout season with his rare physical assets.