CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina’s coordinators met with the media Monday as they do every week, and among the topics discussed were closing the book on the win over NC State, assessments of certain position groups, the freshmen, Virginia and much more.

Number 15 UNC (4-1) travels to Virginia (1-4) to take on the Cavaliers on Saturday night for an 8 pm kick.

Here are the full pressers for Phil Longo and Jay Bateman as well as some notes and pulled quotes from what they had to say:

*Longo has run quite a few prolific offenses at various levels of college football, but he hasn’t had a running back tandem quite like Michael Carter and Javonte Williams until now. Carter has run the ball 74 times for 584 yards and three touchdowns while Williams has run it 82 times for 562 yards and 10 scores. In addition, the pair has combined to catch 21 passe for 332 yards and two touchdowns. So, combined, they have 1,478 yards and 15 TDs on 177 touches, which is an average of 8.4 yards a touch.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to have two really good running backs (at Sam Houston State) in the backfield, those two seasons we had multiple 1,000-yard rushers, we had over 40 rushing touchdowns both of those seasons, and we were in that 3,600-3,900 rushing yards a season area,” Longo said. “We lived in that world because of those two guys. And obviously, those two seasons we were able to throw the ball successfully, we just threw it a little less and it was all because of establishing a run game.

“That was at the FCS level, that was at Sam Houston State. So, I’d say relative to the level, they were really good for that level. At this level, obviously, I don’t think we had two explosive backs at Ole Miss. We were blessed with one really good one each year that I was there, but to have a guy like Javonte and Michael Carter on the same team at this level able to do what they do.

“And I think either one of them could probably carry the load if we only had one of them on the roster. But to have both of them, to see what both of them are doing when they’re splitting time with the other one is special.”

*Balance has been one of the themes regarding UNC’s offense this season. The Tar Heels have run for 1,245 yards and 15 touchdowns and have passed for 1,411 yards and 10 scores. Amazingly, UNC has 62 first downs on run plays and 64 on pass plays.

It’s not that Longo looks to have those numbers even out each week, as he explained.

"This whole approach doesn't change from week to week,” he said. “And I bore you saying this, but we're always gonna take what they give. I mean, some of you are smiling, you know I'm gonna say that. We're always gonna take what they give and, if it's 70 runs or 70 passes, it doesn't matter...

“I go into a game thinking we definitely need to establish physicality up front, we need to establish the run game. We definitely want to stretch the secondary. How much do we do either one of those? Really, it comes down to what the defense decides to employ to stop us. So, as the game goes on, you take what they give us and, if that means we're gonna run the ball for over 300 yards, so be it. A W's a W. If that means we're gonna throw for over 300, that's fine.

“What we need to do is put our plan together, make sure our guys know the plan on Saturday and then it's all about their execution.”

*Virginia has some quality players on defense, especially among its front seven. They are big, too. Longo has respect for the Cavaliers, who are ranked No. 61 in the nation allowing 420 yards per game and No. 60 allowing 31.6 points per contest, and may think they’re better than those number reflect. It should also be noted that UVA has already played No. 1 Clemson and No. 12 Miami on the road this season.

“We actually feel this is gonna be one of the better defenses we see,” Longo said. “It's a really good example of the win-loss record not really representing, or being indicative, of how good this defense is. Both d-ends are really good football players, 91 (DE Mandy Alonso) is somebody you've got to know where he is on the field.

“They do a really good job running to the football in the box. We had a physical contest up front with them last year. It was an athletic contest in the secondary. We tried to take advantage of some individual matchups, we were able to do that on some downs and were not on others. They do a good job pressuring the quarterback and they're probably the most multiple schemed (defense) that we have seen this year.”

*In three of UNC’s last four games, its opponents have scored inside the final 54 seconds of the first half with two touchdowns and a field goal. Boston College converted a 30-yard field goal as the clock expired, so the Eagles got to UNC’s 13-yard-line, Florida State scored a TD with 12 seconds left before halftime and NC State crossed the goal line with 54 seconds left before the intermission.

What has been the problem with UNC giving up so many late scores to close out the first half in three of its five contests so far?

“I think, Florida State, I did a bad job as a d-coordinator getting us the right calls,” Bateman explained. “I think against NC State, we got them into a third-and-eight, we had exactly the route we thought we were gonna get and we didn't defend it very well. So, I think the bigger challenge for us right now is getting our kids to understand the importance of the last five minutes of the half.”

So how is it addressed in practice?

“We do it every Wednesday and we do it in preseason camp,” Bateman replied. “I’ve got to do a better job of getting it emphasized because we’re not getting it done right now.”

*Seven true freshmen played on defense during the win over NC State, combining for 107 snaps. Now, this doesn’t include special teams, it’s just defense. The breakdown: Desmond Evans 25; Myles Murphy 24; Tony Grimes 15; Ja’Quarious Conley 13; Kaimon Rucker 12; Clyde Pinder 12; and Cameron Roseman-Sinclair 6.

What are Bateman’s thoughts about his youngest defenders performed?

"I thought Myles did terrific, I thought he was really disruptive,” he said. “A couple of plays he really got a lot of push on the pass rush and that's something I think he can do. For a young kid, he's got a lot of skill as a pass rusher and I think that'll continue to improve. But, I thought he played really hard.

“Clyde, it was really his first chance to play. And I think the key thing with Clyde and Kaimon Rucker, when we put those two in, it wasn't like the last two series of the game when the game was in hand. The sack fumble that Desmond recovered, those two guys were in for that snap. I think Clyde did a nice job when he was in there. And, Desmond, you're gonna see Des just play more and more and more every week I think at this point.”

*The Tar Heels won’t have to worry about Bryce Perkins this weekend in Charlottesville, but Bateman says there’s still plenty UVA does that will challenge his team. Through five games, Virginia is No. 46 in the nation in total offense averaging 411.6 yards per content (164 rushing, 247 passing), but its only No. 75 in scoring, as the Cavs are scoring just 23.8 points per game. They are No. 87 in third-down conversion percent (32.9) and No. 80 in red zone offense.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for (UVA) Coach (Bronco) Mendenhall and their staff, they do a lot,” Bateman said. “I don’t think I’ve seen anybody play as many quarterbacks as they’ve played this year. Some at the same time. You’re out there and it’s like, ‘wait a second, isn’t that kid a quarterback, too?’

“It’s a challenge. It’s a lot of formations, it’s a lot of plays. I think number five (Brennan Armstrong), the starting quarterback’s a really good player. He missed some time. The kids that come in and play – it’s kind of a wildcat quarterback situation – they do a really nice job.

“I watched them on Friday a little bit before the NC State game and kind of new what we were getting into, and then I watched the Miami game and saw it. We spent a lot of time in the offseason on these guys and I expect it to pay off. But they create a real challenge for you.”

*Jacob Turner contributed to this report.