Brown Pleased With Newcomers From Saturday's Scrimmage

CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina held its first scrimmage of fall camp this past Saturday, and following practice Monday, head coach Mack Brown updated how things went for the Tar Heels.

Carolina opened fall camp July 29 and held its ninth practice Monday, so the scrimmage Saturday was its eighth practice, and second time the team was in full pads. The Tar Heels first put on full pads for half of Thursday’s practice.

UNC begins its season August 27 at home versus FCS member Florida A&M.

Below are notes from what Brown said about the scrimmage, and below that is video of his full 33-minute Q&A session with the media inside the Koman Practice Complex:

Note: Brown didn’t offer many details about the scrimmage during his opening statement, but did field several questions about it. Most of this report is based off of that, so if he didn’t discuss a group or player, it’s because he wasn’t asked about it or them.

**************************************************************************************

Remember, for just $8.33 a month, YOU CAN BE A TAR HEELS INSIDER, TOO!!!

***************************************************************************************

*Brown was pleased overall with how the scrimmage went.

“The scrimmage recap was really good,” he said. “We had a lot of competition. We had about a hundred plays in the heat on the turf, we pushed a lot of guys. And what we’ve done, and it’s one reason we don’t want you out here yet, the guy that plays the best is moving up and the other is moving down.

“So, we’ve got a lot of unsettled questions right now about who’s going to play, and we’re trying to find the guys that play hard every day. You can’t say, ‘I had a bad day,’ then you lose the game. Can’t say, ‘It’s my bad,’ we know it’s your bad. So, play.”

*Green was the only player injured during the scrimmage, so along with junior defensive back Ja’Qurious Conley and defensive tackle Jahlil Taylor, the Heels are healthy from an injury standpoint.

“The scrimmage was good,” Brown said. “The only three guys right now that wouldn’t be ready to play for fall would be Jahlil Taylor, Ja’Qurious Conley, and Antoine Green. Everybody else is still on schedule to be able to play in the opening ballgame.”

*One player the staff has no concerns about is junior receiver Josh Downs, who set school records with 101 receptions and 1,335 receiving yards last season, to go with eight touchdowns. Downs has picked up in fall camp where he left off last season, showing his form in the scrimmage.

“He overcame a third-and-18 with a seam down the middle, where our safeties didn’t play it well on Saturday, and then he caught another seam in the middle and out-ran everybody for about a 30-yard touchdown,” Brown described, before noting that was all the staff needed to see from their star player. “And then we said, ‘Come here.’”

*UNC’s football twitter account posted a variety of videoclips Sunday, and it showed quite a few players stepping up, among them true freshman running back Omarion Hampton. He and fellow newbie in the backfield, George Pettaway, have made an impression throughout camp, and certainly stood out during the scrimmage.

“I would say the two freshmen backs,” Brown responded, when asked who jumped out at him during the scrimmage. “They were explosive on Saturday, and I’m surprised that they looked that good that early. Both of them jumped out.

“Omarion made a couple of runs; he bounced out real fast a few times. And not to compare them to these two yet, but the players - speed plays that George Pettaway can make, power plays that Omarion can make, he’s 220 (pounds) and runs 4.4. He gets downhill, he’s loaded.”

*With Antoine Green out for some time, it helps that true freshman wide receiver Andre Greene is already showing he may end up getting plenty of game reps because his skill level is high and potential is unlike most receivers Carolina has had in some time. He also showed out Saturday.

“Andre Greene would be the other one,” Brown said, when adding to his praise of Pettaway and Hampton. “He made a catch like this (left arm stretched out) the other day in pre-practice, and I said, ‘Yeah, good. That’s what we want.’”

*UNC had a full ACC officiating crew at the scrimmage, and the defense was flagged just once, but the offense "had too many penalties," Brown said.