Fall Camp Report, Day 6: Offense (Rolland & Hood)

CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina held its sixth practice of fall camp Thursday, which was also its first in full pads, and afterward, Tar Heels Spencer Rolland and Caleb Hood met with the media via zoom.

Rolland, an offensive tackle and Harvard graduate, discussed his transition and what it’s like playing for o-line coach Jack Bicknell. Hood, a sophomore running back, was asked about the competition in the RB room, the QB battle and more.

Below are the full videos of their interviews along with some notes and pulled quotes from what they had to say:

A native of Burnsville, MN, Rolland started twenty games in the two seasons he played at Harvard. He arrived in 2018 and did not see any action that season. He started all 10 games in 2019, the Crimson did not play in 2020 due to the Ivy League canceling the season because of COVID, and Rolland started all 10 games last fall.

He was first-team All-Ivy League and has earned a host of academic awards. Rolland, who is 6-foot-6 and weighs 310 pounds, has two years of eligibility remaining.

*Rolland has undergone many adjustments since arriving to UNC in June, among them playing for offensive line coach Jack Bicknell.

“Coach Bicknell has been amazing for our offensive line,” Rolland said. “He’s focusing on the details and really focusing us on our effort and making sure we’re coming off the ball strong and having the right footwork. I think when we’re focused on that, our o-line has gotten better each day, day in and day out.”

*Playing football at UNC is a significant step up from playing at Harvard, so what have been Rolland’s impressions about being on a team with this degree of talent, size, strength, intensity, and speed?

“Definitely the speed is a lot quicker, and every single guy out here can play ball,” Rolland said. “So, every single rep you’ve got to bring your all, bring your best, and I think, honestly, that’s making myself better, and the rest of the team – both offensive line, defensive line.”

*Rolland graduated from Harvard in May, so he didn’t get to Chapel Hill until June. The next six weeks were about getting bigger and stronger, and he has put on around 20 pounds since arriving, but also adjusting to everything that goes along with playing at a P5 program. Rolland said the adjustments were helped a lot in getting him geared toward the start of fall camp.

“It really helped me understand the playbook and the offense,” he said. “And once I came into fall camp, I could focus on the more physical side of things, because during the player-led practices, I already had all the mental scheme down, I just needed to implement that and implement my physicality onto the field.”

*Now, while things have gone well for Rolland, this is a big jump, especially for a lineman. Rolland’s process is continue adjusting to squaring off with ACC players with NFL aspirations, a process he has fully embraced.

“The biggest challenge for me has been adapting to the more physical level of play,” Rolland said. “Guys are bigger, guys are stronger, guys are faster. And at this level, every single guy is going to be that. So, my biggest adjustment is making sure I bring it every single day, every single practice, and every single play.”

*At Harvard, Rolland was a right tackle, and he was an all-conference one as well. But Bicknell cross-trains his linemen, and has worked Rolland at both left and right tackle, and there is definitely a difference. So, part of Rolland’s process right now is gaining comfort on the left side, as well.

“At Harvard, I solely played right tackle both my sophomore and senior years,” said Rolland, who didn’t play in his junior year because the season was cancelled. “So, switching over to left tackle has been a bit of an adjustment, and the biggest thing is flipping the footwork a little bit and making sure that my left side is as strong as my right side.

“But I’ve been flipping both sides, taking reps both at left tackle and right tackle, so I feel pretty confident after six days of practice that it’s getting better.”

Hood was the third running back through UNC’s first four games last season, but suffered an injury and only saw action there in the last two contests. He played in seven games overall, including special teams, with 64 snaps coming on offense.

He ran for 97 yards on 22 attempts and scored a touchdown. Early on, Hood was UNC’s short-yardage back. Hood said he feels “great” and says “this is the best I’ve felt since I’ve been here.”

*Hood says the competition in the RB room has been great and that they are all learning from each other. Six players are battling for three spots in the rotation, and with UNC Coach Mack Brown saying all six are capable of being one of the guys, the intensity has clearly been there in camp.

Along with Hood, British Brooks, D.J. Jones, and Elijah Green are all in the mix, but so are true freshmen George Pettaway and Omarion Hampton. What are Hood’s impressions of the two newcomers?

“George, he’s quick, he’s really fast,” Hood said. “Omarion to be that big coming in here, he’s super strong, and I was really impressed to see how fast come in here and picked everything up. They’re both doing really good.”

*Hood was asked about true freshman offensive lineman Zach Rice, and gave an interesting answer. He hit on the one thing that usually requires most newbie o-linemen to sit for a year, as their bodies usually aren’t ready. So while Rice appears to fan and media eyes as looking the part one hundred percent, Hood says he still must get bigger.

“He’s doing good,” Hood said. “Coming in here as a freshman o-line, I think you’ve got to get bigger, because you’re blocking grown men. I think that’s probably the biggest part for him, just trying to stay in the weight room. He has everything else. He’s a real good player, he’s really talented, obviously – won the Gatorade Player of the Year as an offensive lineman, that’s pretty impressive.

“I think if he keeps getting bigger and stays in the weight room, he’ll be really good.”