Brian Echols knew he was about to be in trouble after playfully chasing his 4-year-old son, Power. At full speed with his little legs churning, Power Echols was a split second from crashing into his 3-year-old sister, who had just walked around a corner.
This was the moment when Brian Echols, who played cornerback at Michigan State, knew he had a player.
“I was expecting this full collision, he glimpsed at her, jump stepped, slide, slitter and kept going,” Brian Echols said. “I kept looking around like nobody’s going to believe me.”
Anyone who has watched Power Echols play for North Carolina this season can believe it. The sophomore linebacker has been a bright spot on defense even as it struggled early. Echols leads the team with 46 solo tackles and is second on the team in total tackles with 58.
What stands out about Echols is his motor. He always appears to be running at full speed, even when the play is dead and he’s just returning to the huddle. He has an internal drive to want to be great.
Echols and his dad developed a tradition of watching NFL films together, and the elder Echols highlighted some of the great defenses and players of all time. Brian Echols made sure Power knew at Carolina he was following in the footsteps of Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor. Power Echols also became familiar with the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Steel Curtain defense, the ‘85 Chicago Bears and the likes of those great teams that played well before he was born.
It led Echols to tell his dad around the age of 12 that his goal is to ultimately wear a gold jacket — the one that NFL Hall of Famers sport.
“It’s a beautiful game if you trust the process and trust how things work over time,” Echols said. “You’ll slowly grow and get better each and every day. So I would say each day I try to get 1 percent better because great players don’t make the same mistakes twice.”
That’s why Echols embraces all the parts of football that have nothing to do with playing on Saturdays. Echols joked that he has the most fun every day during practices and that the rest of his day is “boring.”
“Football is not easy and it’s hard to love it, but when you do love it, that doesn’t look as hard,” Echols said. “It’s like it’s almost like recess and you get to play. You get to go have fun.”
UNC assistant head coach for defense Gene Chizik said coaches always want to be around players like Echols.
“I’ve been around a lot of great players over the years, I don’t know that I’ve been around somebody that — maybe he’s faking it, I doubt it — but he loves every day of football,” Chizik said. “I mean, this guy loves every single element of the game he loves — he loves all the ugly parts of football.”
The rest of his teammates see that. Echols’ impact goes beyond just making tackles. Although he’s just in his first season as a full-time starter, he’s established himself as a respected leader and a voice in the locker room.
When the defense gave up a go-ahead touchdown against Georgia State and was breaking into fragments on the sideline without communicating, it was Echols who pulled them together. And the Tar Heels got it together on the field for a scoreless fourth quarter to emerge with a win.
“He’s got amazing leadership ability; I feel like he’s coming into his own in terms of feeling like he’s earned the right to lead,” Chizik said. “Young guys have to find their leadership role, and a lot of them are reluctant because they feel like production from them as players is required to be a leader. It’s not always true, but that’s how they feel.”
Brian Echols said his son feels right at home in Chapel Hill, but he nearly had an address just to the Southwest of here.
Echols originally was going to Clemson. He had his mind made up as a junior. Even called the Tigers’ then-defensive coordinator Brent Venables to inform him of what Echols thought would be good news.
Venables and Clemson asked Echols to hold off. Brian Echols said the Tigers told him they also wanted another linebacker to commit who might have been scared off if his announcement came first.
Power Echols wasn’t going to wait around to feel valued, and Carolina is fully invested in his growth.
“It’s been fun to watch him evolve as a linebacker for us,” Chizik said. “He’s a guy that plays banged up. He plays through any circumstances good, bad or indifferent. Tremendous leader on the sideline when you talk about trying to find your way through the chaos. He’s one of those guys that’s a calming force.”
