CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina Football Coach Mack Brown met with the media following the Tar Heels’ 11th practice of fall camp Sunday to field questions about his team.

Among the topics that came up are the ongoing quarterback battle, progress with the defensive line, running back depth, the other guard spot along the offensive line, Thursday’s scrimmage, punting effectiveness, and much more.

The Tar Heels open the season August 29 at Minnesota. The game kicks at 8 PM EST and will air on FOX.

Above is video of Brown’s Q&A session, and below are some notes and quotes from what he had to say:

*The Tar Heels have hit more in this camp than any previous ones since Brown’s return. He says having more depth, and building on that depth, has allowed them to be more physical in this camp.

*The travel squad to Minnesota will consist of 80 players, and Brown and the staff have told the team this and are already challenging players to perform at a level that will get them to Minneapolis.

*Brown continues to express how much he likes this team, its attitude, and how it works. This goes back to the spring, when he said this more than in recent years, and he liked those clubs, too. Carolina being a together unit is definitely a repeated theme around the program right now.

“We’ve had urgency and effort just about every day. I really like this team. I like the way they work. We’ve tried to explain to them, ‘you’ve won the second most games in the ACC (since Brown’s return), so you’re close. The thing we haven’t done is we haven’t finished.

“And that’s why people get frustrated and that’s why we get frustrated. So, we’ve got to finish better, and they understand that.”

---And what does that entail?

“So, mentally and physically, they’ve got to bring it every day. That’s what we haven’t done. We’ve beaten some teams that we were not as good as, and we’ve lost to some teams that we were better than.

“So, they’ve got to bring it every day, and that’s what we’ve talked to them about in this camp that’s most important.”

*The Tar Heels held their first scrimmage of camp this past Thursday. We spoke with offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey about it Saturday, and Brown went into some detail Sunday. The Heels followed up Saturday morning with live, full-contact red zone work as well.

“I felt like the defense dominated the scrimmage on Thursday. And as it usually is, (Saturday) we had another type of scrimmage and the offense dominated it. That’s what we’ve got to do.

“We can’t come out one day with one bunch and another day with the other. We’ve got to get more consistent as we go through it.”

---The scrimmage was at 7 PM, which is the kick time CST when the Heels visit the Golden Gophers.

“It was raining, so we were lucky to get it in. But it was great to have a scrimmage with rain and wind, and all the things that can happen in a game that you can’t prepare for.”

---More positives from the scrimmage, and really throughout camp, as Brown said, “The defense is giving up fewer explosives right now than they’ve given up since we’ve been here.”

*Brown said the defensive front was outstanding in the scrimmage and was asked to elaborate on the room. He started with Ole Miss transfer Josh Harris, who started his career at NC State.

“Josh Harris has brought energy, he’s brought maturity, he’s brought leadership. He has really excited those guys, and he has been a huge plus for us inside, and he’s helping all the others grow up.

*One of the best battles of fall camp few are talking about is taking place along the line of scrimmage where junior Malik McGowan and true freshman Aidan Banfield are competing for a starting spot. Senior Jonathan Adorno, who is the second most experienced lineman, and third-year sophomore Zach Rice were in the mix at one time but appear no longer in the running for a spot in the rotation.

“We’re also looking at the possibility of (Georgia Tech transfer) Jakiah Leftwich, who is the third tackle also playing some guard. We’re trying to find the best seven (or) eight that we can get to rotate.”

Lindsey said Saturday that sometimes players look good in practice facing the second team but are exposed in a scrimmage against starters, Brown says Banfield passed the test Thursday night.

“What you’ve got to do is prepare yourself for a true freshman that would play against Minnesota in the first game he’s ever played, and on the road in a tough environment. It takes a lot of confidence, so we’re just going to keep working him.

“He is going to play this year and he’s going to be a really good player.”

*Running back depth is not an issue, Brown says. The Tar Heels have four right now that can be trusted in a game. After Hampton, in no order, it’s senior Caleb Hood, graduate Darwin Barlow, and true freshman Davion Gause.

---Brown praises Hood’s abilities speaking of him as if he’s RB2, but always qualifies his remarks that Hood must remain healthy, which hasn’t been the case during his UNC career.

---Barlow has run for 993 yards and scored 11 TDs in college, he can do a lot of things well, but Brown noted the USC transfer is still adjusting and has to take care of the ball better.

---Gause will play. Brown said he’s on four special teams unit, but can run the ball, and the head coach said Gause is either the Heels’ best or second best pass blocker in that room.

*Brown has not seen what he wants from the punters yet. Tom Maginness struggled some last season, and certainly in the spring. But he hasn’t pulled away yet from true freshman Lucas Osada.

“We’re punting the regular punt and the rugby punt both. Both punters have tremendous legs, and I would say that both have been 75% good, but some inconsistency that we’ve got to get rid of.”

*The battle for the two primary backup spots at linebacker has developed into one of the more interesting storylines of camp. As we’ve noted many times, the Heels have legit linebacker bodies in that room outside of the starters. They have guys meant to play the position, which hasn’t always been the case since the Hall of Famer returned nearly six years ago.

“You’ve got (Michael) Short, (Caleb) LaVallee, you’ve got Ashton Woods, you’ve got the Law brothers (Cade and Crews), all that are competing for those two spots. And what we’re trying to do is tell the coaches it needs to be the best player.”

If a player can play Mike but not Will, Brown doesn’t want that, he wants a guy to cross train and simply be the best available player for that role.