Mack Mid-Week: Ezeudu, Antsy, Positive Testing Plan & More

CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina Coach Mack Brown met with the media via zoom following Wednesday’s practice as the Tar Heels continue preparing for Saturday’s game at Boston College (3:30 kick).

UNC’s coach discussed plenty of different topics including Josh Ezeudu’s possible availability for the game, the team’s travel plans and protocols, their prep for the game after not playing in nearly three weeks and also dealing with mid-terms this week, offensive line depth, more on roster management and much more.

Here is Brown’s interview plus some notes and pulled quote from what he had to say:

*The Tar Heels have not played a game since Sept. 12 and are hitting the road this weekend for their first time away from Chapel Hill this season, and on top of that they’re also in the midst of mid-term exams.

“These guys have been incredible,” Brown said, referring to his players. “They’ve got COVID, they’ve got social injustice, they’ve got mid-terms, they’ve got travel, which will be different for them this year. They’re lined up for their COVID test right now – their second one of the three that they have for this week.

“These guys have really been something. They’re special young people and I can’t wait to watch them play on Saturday.”

*Joshua Ezeudu has practiced this week but still hasn’t been given a full go for Saturday. He will travel with the team, go through warmups in which a decision will be made during that period before the game whether he will play or not. Ezeudu is UNC’s starting left guard but missed the Syracuse game. Brown said a couple of weeks ago Ezeudu would not have played in the Charlotte game nor would he have played had UNC found an opponent for this past weekend.

“We’re going to have to wait and see how Josh Ezeudu is in pre-game,” Brown said. “He’s not 100 percent back yet, so that’ll probably be a game-time decision.”

*True freshman Desmond Evans missed the Syracuse game, too, but when asked if the injured players from that game were ready to go versus BC, Brown only indicated that Ezeudu was still in question.

“Everybody else should be ready to go,” Brown said.

*On Tuesday, Tomon Fox said he’s sensed the players are a bit antsy leading up to what they’re dubbing as a “second opener” this weekend given it will have been so long since they previously played a game. Fox said it mirrors the vibe going into a regular opener. So, has Brown sensed the same thing?

“Yes, absolutely, there’s no question,” the coach replied. “And we’re having to look at all the things that you’d talk about in an opening game, we’re going back to it because three weeks is a long time. It’s more like an opening game or a bowl game because you’ve been off so long and you’ve just practiced and tried to keep your conditioning. I think all of that’s been done really well.

“Who knows if it’s a better advantage for them to play two weeks in a row and win or for us to have played three weeks ago and been practicing for three weeks. You would think it would be an advantage for them to play instead of being off like us, but any of those things we’re not going to use as an excuse.

“That’s why we said it was an opening game and we’re re-starting, and it seems like forever since we played Syracuse. I’ve seen Syracuse play two games since ours. So, I think we’ll all mark 2020 down as a very unique year.”

*Carolina’s coach said the players are keenly aware that they won’t know if they’re playing this weekend until they get to the stadium and have been given clearance to play the game. That’s football life in the COVID era. But he also said it isn’t just players who could suddenly be out, coaches could test positive and miss games and practices, too.

Wednesday morning, Brown acknowledged there is an established plan in place in case he tests positive, but he wasn’t willing to share it with the media, and he explained why.

“We do have a plan in place and I’m not planning on having to use it,” Brown said. “The only time I take my mask off is to eat and talk to you all (media). I’m planning on being out there. It would be disruptive to your staff in some ways if you started talking about who would take your place the 10 days that you’d be out and who would be this and who would be that.

“So we have a plan. I’ve talked to the coordinators about it and we really haven’t talked that much about it with anybody else other than the one that would be stepping in.”

*THI will have a more in-depth story later this week about UNC’s travel plans and the protocols the players must adhere to, but one of the interesting things that came out of the interview Wednesday morning is that Brown has talked to quite a few programs that have traveled trying to learn what worked for those teams and what didn’t work.

“We’ve talked to people every week that have played and asked them what’s different, ‘is there something we need to know,’” Brown said. “And we’ve gotten a few ideas… We constantly talk to people who have had positives and we try to figure out how and why. So, coaches are sharing with each other probably off the field more than ever before.

“But the decisions are all made by the medical people. The way I understand it, it’s your local health department and your medical staff.”

Brown added they have a committee that includes UNC’s team doctors as well as Rick Steinbacher and Dwight Hollier who work with the Orange County Health Department to see what needs to be done to keep everyone safe.

Note: Brown also noted that many officials are no longer using the hand-operated whistles because players complained they couldn’t hear them. So, many have gone back to the traditional whistle.

*Depth along the offensive line is an ongoing topic and will be all season. The staff wanted 10 players to work their way into positions of trust but that’s been such a struggle they’re now hoping for eight. They may have seven with the eighth one essentially sort of trusted. Make sense?

“The biggest concern that we have, really, is the depth on our offensive line,” Brown said. “And we do have some guys coming and they are getting better and we’ll get some guys healthy. The thing that hurt us the most is that Josh Ezeudu, who plays four positions for us, not being out there for the last couple of weeks and now trying to get back in.

“When he gets a hundred percent and he’s out there all the time, we’ll be a lot better off. But we still need a few of those other guys that I mentioned - some of them are real young, some of them have been hurt - it’s been a position where it hasn’t worked very well for us so far this year. So we’ve got to get some of those guys to keep coming.”

*Regarding the roster management we wrote about Tuesday, Brown was asked another question about it Wednesday, clearing up a question some had. The NCAA is allowing every player to get back this season, so seniors can return next year and true freshmen will essentially still be true freshmen. UNC has 12 seniors on scholarship so Brown said Monday they could have 97 players next season if everyone returned.

But Brown was asked Wednesday if players can return on scholarship to finish their degrees even if they aren’t playing football. Brown clarified that along with noting once a player graduates the program has no obligation to bring them back.

“The way I understand it is… If they graduate you do not have to bring them back,” Brown said. “You can, but you don’t have to. They may not want to come back, they may get in the business world, they may go to the NFL, but you could bring them back if you want to and this year doesn’t count as their year.

“I haven’t thought about why a young person would want to come back and go to school and not play. But if he has graduated, the way I understand the rule, and we can get compliance to check it for everybody, the way I understand it is they’ve graduated the university does not have to bring them back.”