CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina football coach Larry Fedora met with the media for just the second time during spring practice Thursday to field questions about his team.
Fedora discussed his quarterbacks, receiver Anthony Ratliff-Williams, his defensive front, not having a spring game and more.
Here are some snippets from what the seventh-year head Tar Heel had to say:
*Given how last season went with so many players being lost for the season early in the campaign, many of whom will miss the spring and are still rehabbing, does Fedora have enough bodies for a quality spring series of practices?
“That I would like to see? Nah, that’s a loaded question,” Fedora replied, almost predictably. “Never, but we’ve got everybody we need to have right now and we’re going to get. But there’s never enough.”
*Fedora said that Ratliff-Williams, who had a breakout season last fall as a pass catcher and kick returner, has a lot to still work on. The talent is there, now he needs to work on the nuances of the receiver position.
“There’s so many things he can work on, from how to use the leverage of the DB, how to get open, how to make competitive catches – that’s one thing that he specializes in,” Fedora said. “Now, it’s just learning the finer nuances of the position.”
*In two practices since Chazz Surratt returned from working with quarterback guru George Whitfield in California, has Fedora noticed a difference in Surratt?
“Yeah, you noticed that he went and worked for a full week,” the coach replied. “He worked on his craft and tried to get better as a quarterback, and I think he came back with some insight and I think he’s doing a really nice job with it.
“I like it when guys want to work on football during spring break.”
On the difference between the fall and now with Surratt?
“He’s got more confidence,” Fedora replied. “His body demeanor, his presence, all of that’s improved, and it’s gonna continue to improve.”
*Fedora on how he came about bringing Robert Gillespie onto the staff:
“I’ve known G since back when I was coaching at Florida and he had just finished playing at Florida. The guys that were in that room – Ernest Graham, Ran Carthon, Willie Green, and guys like that that were there at the time, they spoke very highly of one of their peers. So I knew who he was at that time and I got to meet him a few years later.
“He’s from Hattiesburg, MS, a coincidence there, and I actually had some input when he got hired at Oklahoma State. So he’s a guy that I’ve always kept my eye on and was fortunate enough to be able to get him this year.”
*Fedora said not having a spring game won’t be an issue. In fact, he said his young team will get more work, and they need it.
“It’s going to give us an extra scrimmage is what we need; we need as many reps as possible, and in a spring game you don’t get that,” he said. “We’ll utilize that opportunity to get more reps because we need them.”
*Last season, the Tar Heels wore only practice helmets that had the Jordan Brand Jump Man logo on them. This spring the Heels are wearing their traditional Carolina blue game helmets with the Interlocking. Naturally, Fedora was asked why, and naturally, he didn’t give much of a response.
“I didn’t even notice, thank you,” he said, smiling. “I didn’t, so I had to look. I don’t know, maybe there is something to it, I’ll have to find out.”
