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CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina held its second football practice of fall camp Saturday, and this one took place inside Kenan Stadium and was open to the fans and media.

Afterward, three Tar Heels met with the media to field questions about how things have gone for them so far, their thoughts on the season, what they have worked on, their position groups, and much more.

Here are videos of their interviews along with some notes and pulled quotes from what Antoine Green, Ed Montilus, and Jahvaree Ritzie had to say:

As fifth-year wide receiver Antoine Green approaches the season, he does so finally having turned the corner over the second half od last season. Dealing with a horrible injury in 2018, it took Green some time before everything was aligned again. He caught 31 passes for 612 yards and five touchdowns last season. For his career, Green has 47 receptions for 912 yards, and eight scores.

*So how is Green approaching this season after finishing strong last season and having plenty of expectations from the staff this fall?

“My mindset this year is to be intentional with everything that I do, and help everybody else around me,” he said. “So, I’m looking to be a resource for all the younger dudes in the receiving room, outside the receiving room, and help the defense out as much as I can.”

*Green said true freshman Andre Greene is “going to be a dawg,” so naturally he was asked to elaborate more on the 6-foot-5 Virginian, who had a 6.0 rating and was the No. 44 overall prospect nationally in the class of 2022.

“For the first part, he’s real physical. Ever since he cut on film from yesterday, I can tell he’s real intentional with his hands, he knows what he’s doing.”

*Greene appears to glide, running faster than he might appears simply because of the stride, but of course, he certainly gets open quickly and moves down the field with great speed. Green (no “e”), agrees.

“He’s got some speed on him, he definitely does,” Antoine said.

*Green spent the last three seasons working with Sam Howell, but not Jacolby Criswell and Drake Maye are battling for the starting quarterback job, so what has Green seen from them about their performances to how they are handling their situation?

“There isn’t a big difference, (though) they definitely have something that’s lethal about them,” he said. “And I think all three of them – Conner (Harrell), Jacolby, and Drake – are great players.”

Senior offensive guard Ed Montilus has a strong hold on the starting left guard spot after going in and out of the rotation the last few years. In fact, Montilus has started 15 of the 35 games in which he has played, and last season was in for 350 offensive snaps. Overall, the Florida native has played 1,260 snaps in his career.

*Three full-time starters from last year’s offensive line, each of whom were also three-year starters for the Tar Heels, are gone, but Miami transfer Corey Gaynor has stepped right in as a leader and the starter at center. Montilus said Gaynor has been a big addition.

“He’s been a big part of the spring and throughout even the summer of leading the guys,” Montilus said. “The guys seeing him practice the way he does, lead the way he does.”

It isn’t just Gaynor, Montilus said Brian Anderson and William Barnes are also leading as well. As for himself?

“I’m not really the most vocal guy of the older guys, but I try to lead by example whenever I can.”

*Montilus was in full-grind mode this offseason, knowing this is his final shot, though he could still choose to use the COVID year and return for the 2023 season, though that decision has not yet been made. As for the summer, it was all about getting better.

“Try to work on my foot work,” he said. “I’ve been in the weight room doing jump ropes after the workouts. I’ve worked on being more patient. A lot of times I kind of get over my toes a bit, so I’ve stayed back more.”

*Can Montilus tell a difference by who is at quarterback behind him? UNC often uses a silent cadence, but not always, and certainly right now, Maye and Criswell are barking the cadence most of the time. That is part of their current process. But can Montilus sense who is back there?

“Honestly, no, they both throw really good balls,” Montilus said. “I can’t really tell who is back there half the time… They probably sound different there (cadence).”

*As the entrenched starter at left guard, what is Montilus’ mindset going into this season?

“I know I can’t blow this opportunity away,” he said. “Every day, every practice, I’ve got to bring it and put my full energy, everything I’ve got. And I’ve got to show the young guys that even a guy like me, with his career not as good being a starter at one point, losing his job at another point, and now seeing that I’ve earned it back and stuff; I just want to prove to those guys that if things go wrong, it can always work back to where it needs to be.”

Jahvaree Ritzie is just a true sophomore, but he enters the season with some considerable expectations from the staff and himself. Extremely confident, Ritzie views himself as one of the main players along UNC’s defensive line, but also as a mentor to the younger players, even though he is actually still a young player.

Ritzie played 296 defensive snaps last season seeing action in all 13 of Carolina’s games.

*Ritzie has a very high ceiling for his football career, and showed flashes a year ago. But much more is expected this fall, so how is he approaching this season, which requires a much different mindset than this time a year ago?

“That’s a good question,” he replied, smiling. “I say every day-by-day just take it step-by-step. There is nothing I’m really concerned about, I just get what I need to get done every single day. I don’t worry about the next day, I don’t worry about yesterday, I just worry about what’s on my plate this day.”

It sounds like a bunch of cliches, but that is how so many athletes approach things, especially football players early in fall camp.

*The defensive line is quite deep and rather talented. UNC Coach Mack Brown said Friday the group could easily go nine deep. So what is the mentality of the group?

“The mentality is learn and attack,” Ritzie said. “Every single day is learn what you need to know and then go make that play and do what you’ve got to do on the field. Keep learning, keep growing, and go make those plays and keep attacking. Don’t hold back anything; that’s our mentality is don’t hold back, just go.”

*More on the deep group along the d-line.

“All the guys, we just make one unit. No one’s separated, I’m not separated from the team or the d-line, it’s like we’re all one unit. We build on each other, we make each other grow every day. It’s one unit, so we just keep pushing each other every day.”

*Ritzie combines the size (6-foot-4, 290 pounds) with speed and quickness to play multiple roles along the defensive line. But where has he been working through the first two days of fall camp, which was also his focus getting ready for camp? Is he more in or at three-technique?

“Right now, I’m at tackle, because we’re letting the young guys learn the in spot, but in the season I’ll be playing both, it will even out,” he said.